Yokoze Town

Growing 30 m of ice from stream water.

Ashigakubo Ice Pillars

Photo by Totti (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Ice pillars

Water sprayed on a hillside,frozen by the winter cold.

あしがくぼの氷柱01.jpg — Photo by ちちびあん (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The Ashigakubo Ice Pillars (あしがくぼの氷柱) are a winter landscape made by spraying stream water over a mountain slope and letting the cold, and local hands, do the rest. Spreading 200 m wide and 30 m high, they are one of Chichibu's three great ice pillar sites. They are a 10-minute walk from Ashigakubo Station, and the Seibu Chichibu Line runs right alongside, so you can see them from the train. They open every year from January to late February, with evening light-ups.

200 m wide, 30 m high
10 minutes' walk from Ashigakubo Station
January to late February each year

02 ／ Terraced rice fields

Terraces that nearly went wild,won back by local hands.

The Terasaka terraced rice fields (寺坂棚田), facing Mount Bukō (武甲山), are among the largest in the prefecture: about 5.2 ha in all, of which about 4 ha are paddies. They fell into neglect for a time for lack of successors, but were restored mainly by the Terasaka Tanada Preservation Society (寺坂棚田保存会), founded in 2012. A firefly and bonfire festival is held in early July, and a red spider lily festival in late September.

Among the largest in the prefecture
About 5.2 ha in all
Preservation society founded 2012

03 ／ Yokolab

The whole town,offered as a place to try things.

In October 2016 the town launched Yokolab (よこらぼ), a public-private partnership scheme. Companies and individuals propose field trials or community projects set in the town; once a proposal passes the monthly review, the town provides places and connections with residents and works alongside them. As of September 2026, 169 projects have been adopted. The town calls itself "the town that takes on the most challenges in Japan" (日本一チャレンジする町).

Launched October 2016
169 projects adopted
Reviewed every month

Living here

73 minutes from Ikebukuro by limited express to Yokoze Station.

about 8,000 people
90 min to a city centre
Rural district town

The town has two stations on the Seibu Chichibu Line, Yokoze and Ashigakubo, and the Chichibu limited express from Ikebukuro stops at Yokoze. The town office is 200 m north of Yokoze Station. The town borders Hannō and Chichibu, and National Route 299 crosses it from east to west. The town has its own childcare support too, such as a birth gift of 30,000 yen for a first child and 100,000 yen for a third or later.

People living here: 7,979people
Area: 49.36km²
Households: 3,080households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 4 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —1 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.

Yokoze Town in Japan35.987°N 139.100°E

to IkebukuroSeibu limited express73min

Travel times follow 町公式「横瀬町の観光」の「東京から電車で73分」と、町の官民連携サイト「よこらぼ」（横瀬町まち経営課連携推進室）の「都内（池袋）から横瀬町までは、特急電車でわずか73分」。西武鉄道の駅の案内から開く公式の時刻表（seibu.ekitan.com・2026-09-24 平日）で、池袋発の特急ちちぶの横瀬着を突き合わせ、最短73分（平日 10:30〜15:30 発の各時30分発など）を確かめた (checked 2026-09-24). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Territory of Yokoze Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

9.1km

秩父市, 飯能市, ときがわ町

Yokoze Town isthis kind of town.

01The Ashigakubo Ice Pillars, 200 m wide and 30 m high, are made by spraying stream water over a mountain slope
02The Terasaka terraced rice fields, among the largest in the prefecture and facing Mount Bukō, were restored by a local preservation society
03Since 2016, through the public-private Yokolab scheme, the town has opened itself up as a place for field trials and community projects

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Yokoze Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗