Chibu Village

A stone wall split the hill into four.

Myogaki, makihata field walls

Photo by Asturio Cantabrio (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Sominshōrai-fu

Willow branches, marked against illness,are planted at seven gates to the hamlet.

Every January 12, residents of the Furuumi (古海) hamlet write "Somin Shōrai Massha Kojin" (蘇民将来末社小神) on 30cm willow branches and plant them at seven entrances along the hamlet's roads, to keep disease from entering. The prefecture calls it a custom kept up nowhere else in Japan.

Every January 12
30cm willow branches at seven spots
Village Intangible Folk Property (2001)

02 ／ Oki Chibu Sekiheki

Still hot from the eruption, the cliff oxidized.At sunset, it glows a deeper red.

The cliffs along Chiburijima's west coast, 50 to 200m high, are said to have turned red, yellow and brown when they oxidized while still hot from an eruption. Designated a national Scenic Beauty and Natural Monument in 1935, they expose a volcanic cross-section rarely seen elsewhere. Islanders have long called them "Akakabe" or "Akadaki" (赤壁, 赤滝).

1935: National Scenic Beauty and Natural Monument
Cliffs 50-200m high
Known locally as Akakabe or Akadaki

03 ／ Kaiichi Odori

Before stone-tiered seats, five rows high,dancers form a circle, fans in hand.

知夫村一宮神社の芝居小屋.jpg — Photo by KoheiU (CC0)

The grounds of Amasashihiko-mikoto Shrine (天佐志比古命神社, also Ichinomiya Shrine) hold a village-registered theater building fronted by five tiers of stone seating. To the beat of a drum at its center, a few dancers circle with a single fan each in the Kaiichi Odori (皆一踊り), a village Intangible Folk Property, sung with the words "Kaiichi-sama, please line up."

Theater: Village Tangible Property (1995)
Kaiichi Odori: Village Intangible Folk Property (2001)
Five tiers of stone seating

Living here

From Mt. Akahage, every Oki island in view.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

From the 325m summit of Mt. Akahage, the Shimane Peninsula and the Dōzen and Dōgo islands all come into view. A footbridge, walkable only, reaches the uninhabited islet of Shimazushima to the south. The hamlets hold Kawai Springs, which never run dry, the giant ginkgo at Shōyōji Temple, and a stone where Emperor Go-Daigo is said to have rested. Ōhakajima islet is a national Natural Monument as a breeding ground for streaked shearwaters.

People living here: 634people
Area: 13.7km²
Households: 350households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 1 clinic

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.

Chibu Village in Japan36.014°N 133.040°E

to SakaiminatoOki Kisen145min

Travel times follow 隠岐汽船（事業者公式）「時刻表」ページからダウンロードできる2026年フェリー時刻表PDF（Ferry Timetable）の『1–8 Mar, 1 Jun–7 Aug, 17 Aug 2026–28 Feb 2027』欄（今日2026-09-26はこの期間に含まれ、現行の時刻表）。フェリーしらしまが Sakaiminato（境港）14:10発 → Kurii（来居港）16:35着、乗り換えなし。同じ表に Kurii 10:55発 → Sakaiminato 13:20着（逆方向）もある (checked 2026-09-26). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 0 municipalities.

Territory of Chibu Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

4.7km

Chibu Village isthis kind of town.

01On Mt. Akahage in Chiburijima, a stone wall called Myogaki still stands, once dividing the hill in four under the makihata farming system.
02In the Furuumi hamlet, willow branches are planted at the hamlet's gates in the Sominshōrai-fu custom, which the prefecture calls unique to this village nationwide.
03Along the west coast, the Oki Chibu Sekiheki cliffs glow red and yellow from an ancient eruption, while Ichinomiya Shrine keeps its theater building and the Kaiichi Odori dance.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Chibu Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗