Satosho Town

A study window said to face the sea.

Dr. Nishina Yoshio's birthplace

Photo by Carpkazu at Japanese Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Ōhara Ware (大原焼)

Said to reach back to the Nara period,this pottery was known nationwide for its pans and jars.

Ōhara ware is pottery in the line of Haji ware, said to reach back to the Nara period. Known nationwide for hōroku (roasting pans) and haze-tsubo (jars used as fishing gear), it was shipped across Japan from the Edo to the Meiji era. It resists a second firing, and dōan baths and tea kettles were made too. The guardian dogs of Miyaji Hachiman Shrine, made of Ōhara ware, are town-designated cultural properties.

Said to date back to the Nara period (town website)
Shipped nationwide from the Edo to the Meiji era (Takahashi River Basin Federation)
Local History and Folklore Museum: free, open the 1st and 3rd Sundays, 9:00–16:00

02 ／ New Cherry Varieties (新種の桜)

Made by irradiating branches with heavy-ion beams,new cherry varieties are planted in Satosho.

They were made by irradiating cherry branches with heavy-ion beams from RIKEN's Ring Cyclotron accelerator. Satosho has been planting Nishina-Zao (仁科蔵王), Nishina-Otome (仁科乙女) and others since 2008. RIKEN says "Nishina" comes from Dr. Nishina Yoshio, the father of its accelerators.

Made by inducing mutations with heavy-ion irradiation (RIKEN)
Planted in the town: Nishina-Zao in 2008, Nishina-Otome in 2010 (Nishina Hall website)
"Nishina" is taken from Dr. Nishina Yoshio (RIKEN)

03 ／ Ōhara Dance (大原踊り)

A dance said to have begun to calm the spiritsof battle victims is handed down in Ōhara.

A Bon dance handed down in the Ōhara district of Satomi. It is said to have begun to calm the spirits of those who died in a battle. The Ōhara Dance Preservation Society was formed in July 1950, and it has been danced at the town's cherry-blossom viewing and industrial and cultural festival, among other events. A source records a memorial service before the war-dead monument on August 15.

Designated a town cultural property on March 23, 2011 (Takahashi River Basin Federation)
Preservation society formed in July 1950 (same)
Danced at the cherry-blossom viewing, athletic meet and festival (same)

Living here

Mt. Kokūzō to the north, Mt. Kenomura to the south, and a plain between.

about 10,000 people
Rural district town

The town's relocation guide says Mt. Kokūzō (虚空蔵山) lies to the north and Mt. Kenomura (毛野無羅山) to the south, with the plain running roughly east to west between them forming the town's center. The JR Sanyō Main Line and National Route 2 cross the plain. The town's walking map (updated January 2026) calls out: "As the second-smallest town in Okayama Prefecture, come explore on foot."

People living here: 10,950people
Area: 12.23km²
Households: 4,138households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 5 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —2 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 2 municipalities.

Satosho Town in Japan34.514°N 133.557°E

Territory of Satosho Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

5.3km

浅口市, 笠岡市

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Satosho Town isthis kind of town.

01The Nishina Yoshio Birthplace in Satosho is the village headman's house where Dr. Nishina lived until age 14; his study on the second floor is said to have had a west window from which he gazed at the sea. Its main house was registered in 2026 as a nationally registered tangible cultural property, the Former Nishina Residence Main House, and is open every Sunday.
02The town has Ōhara ware, said to date back to the Nara period; new cherry varieties made with a RIKEN accelerator; and the Ōhara Dance of the Ōhara district (a town cultural property). Mugiwara-sanada (wheat-straw braid), at its peak from the Meiji to the Taishō era, can be seen at the Local History and Folklore Museum.
03It is the second-smallest town in Okayama Prefecture, about a 10-minute walk from JR Satoshō Station to the town hall. Mt. Kokūzō lies to the north and Mt. Kenomura to the south, with the plain between them at the town's center.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Satosho Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗