Tosu City

A locomotive that grew one more bump.

Locomotive No. 268, Class 230

Photo by Muyo (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Oiwake Stones of Tashiro-juku

The stones at Tashiro-juku's east and west gates carvethe way to Mt. Hiko, Kokura, Hakata and the Kurume road.

Tashiro-juku (田代宿) was a post town of the Tashiro domain, an exclave of the Tsushima Domain. The stone at the east gate is carved "Right: Mt. Hiko (ひこ山); left: Kokura (こくら), Hakata (はかた)," and the stone at the west gate "Right: Saka (さか); left: Kurume road (くるめ道)." Both are natural stones about 1 m tall, and the east stone is also recorded in a travel diary of 1802.

Natural stones about 1 m tall
East stone recorded in a 1802 travel diary
City Important Cultural Property (designated 1974)

02 ／ Yasunagata Site

A mold for a bronze bell was found at the Yasunagata Site:a bell type thought not to exist in Kyushu was made here.

In 1979, a casting mold for a dotaku bronze bell (銅鐸) was unearthed at what is now Yasunagata Historic Site Park (安永田史跡公園). The city's explanatory sheet says it became clear that dotaku, until then thought not to exist in Kyushu, had been made here, and that this caused a great stir. The 4,400 m² surveyed area is a designated historic site, and the 10 mold fragments are a national Important Cultural Property.

1979: a dotaku mold unearthed
10 mold fragments, for dotaku and bronze spears
4,400 m² surveyed area designated a historic site

03 ／ Hyagansan Tumulus

The hill's name is also said to mean "the god who makes you crawl,"and the tumulus was rebuilt about 700 m to the west.

This round tumulus of about 1,430 years ago stood on a hill that locals called Hyagansan (ヒャーガンサン). The city's explanatory sheet records that the name may mean "the god who makes you crawl," since people who carried down felled trees could no longer stand, and also a theory that writes it with the characters for "gray rock mountain" (灰岩山) or "prayer mountain" (拝願山). In 2002 it was moved and restored in Umezaka Park (梅坂公園), about 700 m to the west.

Red circle and cross patterns in bengara on the rear wall
One of 3 prefectural tumuli with painted murals
Stone chamber: City Important Cultural Property (2004)

Living here

At the eastern end of Saga: 8.2 km east to west, 9.0 km north to south.

about 70,000 people
Shinkansen stops here

Tosu lies at the eastern end of Saga Prefecture, facing the Fukuoka Plain across the Sefuri Mountains to the north and Kurume across the Chikugo River to the south. It covers 71.72 km² and has 74,210 residents (end of July 2026, per the city). It was founded in 1954 through the merger of Tosu Town, Tashiro Town and the villages of Kisato, Fumoto and Asahi. The name means "nest of birds," and is said to derive from an entry in the Hizen no Kuni Fudoki.

People living here: 74,196people
Area: 71.72km²
Households: 29,816households
Rent (average for rentals): 49,924yen
Healthcare: 8 hospitals ／ 71 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —13 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.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Tosu City in Japan33.378°N 130.506°E

to OsakaSanyo-Kyushu Shinkansen168min

Travel times follow JR西日本「JRおでかけネット」区間時刻表『東海道･山陽･九州新幹線(東京～博多～鹿児島中央) 下り』（ページの日付は2026年9月30日）。さくら747号：新大阪8:53発→新鳥栖11:41（11:41は新鳥栖『発』の欄の時刻）＝168分。『運転日注意』の欄は空（毎日運転）。乗り換えなしで市内の新鳥栖駅に着く (checked 2026-09-30). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 6 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Tosu City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

11.4km

Saga Prefecture: 基山町, みやき町
Fukuoka Prefecture: 久留米市, 小郡市, 那珂川市, 筑紫野市

Tosu City isthis kind of town.

01Locomotive No. 268 is a steam locomotive built in 1905 as Hokuetsu Railway G-class No. 18 (北越鉄道G形18号機関車). After nationalization it became No. 268 of the Class 230, and a small modification that moved the sand box behind the steam dome gave it two dome-shaped bumps ("kobu") instead of one. It served as a yard switcher until it was scrapped in 1954, and now stands on the east station plaza as a City Important Cultural Property (historical material).
02The Katsuno Castle Chikushi Clan Site (勝尾城筑紫氏遺跡) is the castle-town ruin of the Chikushi clan of the Sengoku period, and its main area of about 230 ha is a national historic site. The city introduces it as preserved just as it was when it fell in 1586. Tashiro Ota Tumulus (田代太田古墳) is also a national historic site, but to protect its murals the city said in 2025 that it has not been open to the public for the last five years.
03The Shuku no Kane Furyu (宿の鉦浮立) is a folk performance in which 10 people each hold and strike one of 10 gongs of the same size while dancing, offered on April 29 at the shrine in the Shuku district (宿町の船底神社). The main building of Tosu Station was built of wood in 1903 as a single story, and the city council's 2016 draft report calls it one of the oldest stations to keep its original appearance. It is owned by Kyushu Railway Company.

See the town as it is now.

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Tosu City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗