Ogawa Town

A town of Hosokawa paper, from kozo alone.

Photo by Subcommandante at German Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Washi

Papermaking from kozo aloneis on UNESCO's intangible heritage list.

Hosokawa-shi (細川紙) is a handmade washi made only from kozo (楮, paper mulberry), and it is carried on today in Ogawa and the neighbouring village of Higashichichibu. The technique is said to have come in the mid-Edo period from Hosokawa village on Mount Kōya in Kii Province, and the strong paper, which does not fluff easily, was favoured for the ledgers of Edo merchants. Its making was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1978 and inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2014.

Kozo is the only raw material
Important Intangible Cultural Property, 1978
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2014

02 ／ Organic farming

Organic farming, once eyed warily,became the whole community's work.

Shimosato Farm (霜里農場) in the Shimosato (下里) district began farming organically in 1971. Neighbouring farmers kept their distance at first, but from 2001 the community took up organic soybeans, wheat and rice together, and in 2010 it received the Emperor's Cup at the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Festival. Today 18.7% of the town's cultivated farmland is farmed organically (2020).

Began at Shimosato Farm, 1971
Emperor's Cup (community category), 2010
18.7% of cultivated farmland

03 ／ Local sake

Water from the Chichibu hillsearned it the name "Kantō Nada".

Water rising in the Chichibu mountains and a basin climate suited to brewing: Ogawa has long been a noted sake town, nicknamed "Kantō Nada" (関東灘) after the famous brewing district of Nada, and three sake breweries remain today (one is currently closed). Matsuoka Jōzō (松岡醸造) was founded in 1851 and Seiun Shuzō (晴雲酒造) in 1902. A local drinks festival of sake, wine and craft beer is also held on the street by the town office.

Nicknamed "Kantō Nada"
Three sake breweries
Matsuoka Jōzō founded 1851

Living here

72 minutes to Ikebukuro, seated from the first stop.

about 30,000 people
90 min to a city centre
Rural district town

Ogawamachi Station in the town centre is served by the Tobu Tojo Line and the JR Hachikō Line, and the town's relocation support centre gives 72 minutes to Ikebukuro. Calling Ogawamachi a "starting station", the town helps newcomers who commute to Tokyo and elsewhere with the cost of reserved-seat tickets on the evening outbound TJ Liner, up to 7,500 yen a month for three years.

People living here: 28,524people
Area: 60.36km²
Households: 11,781households
Rent (average for rentals): 46,361yen
Healthcare: 3 hospitals ／ 26 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —5 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.

Ogawa Town in Japan36.057°N 139.262°E

to IkebukuroTobu Tojo Line72min

Travel times follow 町の移住サポートセンター（町の移住促進事業。運営はNPO法人霜里学校、町公式トップのバナーと町公式「移住支援策・移住相談等」から案内されている）の「小川町紹介」の「東京・池袋から72分（東武東上線）」 (checked 2026-09-24). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Territory of Ogawa Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

10.5km

寄居町, 東秩父村, 嵐山町, ときがわ町

Ogawa Town isthis kind of town.

01The technique of Hosokawa paper, made from kozo alone, became an Important Intangible Cultural Property in 1978 and UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2014
02Organic farming, begun at Shimosato Farm in 1971, spread to the whole community, which received the Emperor's Cup in 2010
03A sake town once called "Kantō Nada" for its water from the Chichibu hills, where three breweries still stand

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Ogawa Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗