Gotsu City

Tiled roofs line an old shipping street.

Gotsu Honmachi Iraka Kaido

Photo by 663highland (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Arifuku Onsen

Said to be found by the monk Hodo Senninin the Asuka era: three baths in the hills.

Arifuku Onsen has more than 1,370 years of history, said to have been discovered by the monk Hodo Sennin (法道仙人) during the Asuka era. Its alkaline simple hot spring, at 47°C, is cherished as a "beauty bath" for its smooth touch. Day visitors can use three public baths: Gozen-yu, Satsuki-yu, and Yayoi-yu.

More than 1,370 years of history
47°C, alkaline simple hot spring
Three public baths: Gozen-yu, Satsuki-yu, Yayoi-yu

02 ／ Iwami Ware's "Hando" Jars

Jars strong against acid and salt,fired from Tsunozu clay.

Iwami ware pottery is said to have arrived in Gotsu in 1763, its technique brought from the Iwakuni domain in Suo Province. Fired from local Tsunozu clay, its large jars called hando are prized for resisting acid, salt, and water, and were shipped nationwide by kitamae-bune ships in the late Edo period. Designated a national Traditional Craft in 1994. Hando jars even decorate the nameplate of the Shin-Egawa Bridge, where folklorist Yanagi Muneyoshi wrote that he sensed "the people of Iwami" in the kiln's powerful work.

Said to have arrived in 1763
Designated a national Traditional Craft in 1994
Large "hando" jars resist acid, salt, and water

03 ／ Go-Con Business Plan Contest

Since 2010, open to anyone from in or outside the city:a contest for business plans.

Facing population decline, a fading traditional industry, and an exodus of young people, Gotsu City launched the Go-Con business plan contest in 2010. Anyone with a serious business plan may enter, from in or outside the city, and the city and the Gotsu Chamber of Commerce support it. It reached its 15th edition in 2025, and finalists have launched 41 businesses so far.

Started in 2010; 15th edition in 2025
41 businesses launched so far
Supported by the city and its Chamber of Commerce

Living here

Where the Gonokawa meets the Sea of Japan.

about 20,000 people

Gotsu City absorbed the former town of Sakurae in 2004 and sits where the Gonokawa River meets the Sea of Japan; its official Facebook page describes it as "the town where the Gonokawa flows into the Sea of Japan." Mt. Takatsuno, sung of in the Man'yoshu, holds Hitomaru Shrine and its stone poem monument. The city's promotion campaign calls itself a "creative zone" to draw newcomers and startups.

People living here: 22,959people
Area: 268.24km²
Households: 9,953households
Rent (average for rentals): 41,250yen
Healthcare: 2 hospitals ／ 28 clinics

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

Population from 2005 onward (municipal boundary changed).2004-10-01 に合併。2005年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —12 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.

Gotsu City in Japan35.012°N 132.218°E

to OsakaOvernight bus555min

Travel times follow JRバス中国・西日本JRバス「グラン昼特急出雲号／グランドリーム出雲号／青春ドリーム出雲・浜田号」時刻表（2026.9.17改正）。京都・大阪→松江・出雲・浜田の表で「青春ドリーム出雲・浜田9号」は大阪駅JR高速バスターミナル22:20発→（松江駅・宍道・斐川インター・出雲市駅・出雲大社を経て）→江津駅7:35着→東青山7:43→浜田駅8:10着 (checked 2026-09-26). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Territory of Gotsu City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

18.8km

浜田市, 邑南町, 川本町, 大田市

Gotsu City isthis kind of town.

01Gotsu Honmachi Iraka Kaido is an old port townscape where red Sekishu-tiled roofs still line a street that once prospered with kitamae-bune shipping in the Edo period.
02Arifuku Onsen is a hot-spring town with more than 1,370 years of history, said to have been discovered by the monk Hodo Sennin, with three public baths including Gozen-yu.
03Large jars called hando, fired from local Tsunozu clay, have been shipped nationwide as Iwami ware since the Edo period and are still made today. Gotsu City also runs the Go-Con business plan contest to draw newcomers and startups.

See the town as it is now.

Facebookgotsucity ↗

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Gotsu City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗