Article

09204 ／さのし

Sano City

Spring water fills a pond 138 m around.

Izuruhara Benten Pond

Photo by Qurren (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Kateki statue

Kept as a statue of Kateki,it was found in 1930 to be Erasmus.

The wooden statue of Erasmus held by Ryuko-in Temple was kept in a hall south of the temple gate as a statue of Kateki, regarded in China as the founder of shipbuilding. From its appearance, a folktale about "Azukitogi Baba" arose near the temple. A survey in 1930 identified it as Erasmus, and the scroll in its right hand bears the characters "1598".

National Important Cultural Property
Identified as Erasmus, 1930
Scroll reads "1598"

02 ／ Tenmyo casting

From preparing raw materials to finishing,1,522 tools for the stages are assembled.

Tenmyo casting takes its name from an old place name of Sano, and temple bells, tea-ceremony kettles and farm tools were cast there. Its origins are said to go back to the Tenkei era (938-947). Of the 1,556 items designated a national Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property, 1,522 are tools and 34 are products. The tools cover the stages from making moulds to pouring the metal and removing the moulds.

Said to date back to 938-947
1,522 tools, 34 products
National Important Tangible Folk Cultural Property, 2024

03 ／ Karasawayama Castle Ruins

The summit's high stone walls reach 8 m,and mirror stones are used at the gate.

The summit of Karasawayama Castle Ruins, a national historic site, has high stone walls from the Shokuho period, rare in the Kanto region. The walls reach 8 m at most and are built of split chert, with mirror stones used at the gateway. In 2020 the city dismantled and surveyed the wall at the main enclosure's gateway, revealing the inner structure of "kagami-zumi" masonry, in which flat, large stones are stood against the wall face.

National historic site, 2014
Walls up to 8 m high
Inner structure of "kagami-zumi" surveyed

Living here

Tokyo is 95 minutes away by express bus.

about 120,000 people
2 hours to a city centre

From Sano Shintoshi Bus Terminal, express buses take about 95 minutes to Tokyo Station's Nihombashi exit and about 100 minutes to Busta Shinjuku. The JR Ryomo Line and Tobu Sano Line serve the city. It merged with Tanuma and Kuzu in 2005; Mt. Karasawa lies north of the city centre and Izuruhara Benten Pond to the northwest.

People living here: 116,228people
Area: 356.04km²
Households: 48,121households
Rent (average for rentals): 42,962yen
Healthcare: 4 hospitals ／ 101 clinics

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

Population from 2005 onward (municipal boundary changed).2005-02-28 に合併。2005年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —25 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.

Sano City in Japan36.314°N 139.578°E

to TokyoHighway bus95min
to ShinjukuHighway bus100min

Travel times follow JRバス関東「東京・新宿～佐野マロニエ新宿号/マロニエ東京号」デジタル時刻表（2026年8月1日改正）の上り〈佐野新都市バスターミナル発→東京駅日本橋口・バスタ新宿着〉 (checked 2026-10-08). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 7 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Sano City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

34.6km

Tochigi Prefecture: 栃木市, 足利市, 鹿沼市
Gunma Prefecture: 桐生市, 館林市, みどり市, 板倉町

Sano City isthis kind of town.

01Izuruhara Benten Pond, a prefectural natural monument fed by clear water welling from cracks in limestone, is a round pond 138 m around with an area of about 2,300 m²
02The wooden Erasmus statue of Ryuko-in, a national Important Cultural Property, was kept as a statue of Kateki, and the Tenmyo casting designation includes 1,522 tools
03The national historic site of Karasawayama Castle Ruins has high stone walls from the Shokuho period, rare in Kanto, and express buses reach Tokyo Station in about 95 minutes from Sano Shintoshi Bus Terminal

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Sano City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗