Kamikatsu Town

Residents haul waste to one place.

Zero Waste Center

Photo by Sorrysorry (CC0)

01 ／ Kashihara Rice Terraces and Rural Landscape

Set beside an 1813 survey map,the land use is unchanged after 200+ years.

樫原の棚田.JPG — Photo by Indiana jo (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In Kashihara, terraced fields and hamlets spread across steep slopes in the upper reaches of the Katsuura River. The Agency for Cultural Affairs selected them as an Important Cultural Landscape in 2010. Compared with the fields, houses and roads in a survey map (bunken ezu) from Bunka 10 (1813), the land use shows no change in over 200 years.

Selected as an Important Cultural Landscape in 2010
Survey map (bunken ezu) of Bunka 10 (1813)
500–700m above sea level

02 ／ Awa Bancha | Chajin Hachiman Shrine

Summer tea leaves are heated,then fermented in tubs.

Awa bancha is a tea made from summer leaves: heat halts oxidation, then the leaves are packed into tubs for lactic fermentation. It is made in July and August and is handed down in Kamikatsu, Naka, Minami and other towns. At Chajin Hachiman Shrine in Tanono, Yokoo Gon no Kami (横尾権守), a fugitive Heike warrior, is said to have brought the method.

Designated an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2021
Made in July and August
Handed down in Kamikatsu, Naka, Minami and other towns

03 ／ Nojiri Irrigation Canal

An irrigation canal proposed by 31 Nojiri farmersdraws water through a hand-dug tunnel.

In 1737, 31 Nojiri farmers proposed an irrigation system to secure a steady water supply, and it was completed in 1740. The canal carries water from the Asahi River more than 12km from Yaeji to Nojiri, dug through mountains and valleys with hand tools, and is still in use.

Proposed 1737, completed 1740
More than 12km from Yaeji
Proposed by 31 farmers

Living here

55 hamlets lie between 100m and 700m.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

Kamikatsu is 88% forest across 109.63 square kilometers. There is no train station in town; the town bus is the daily link. It marked 70 years as a town in 2025 and belongs to the Most Beautiful Villages in Japan association. It also runs the "leaf business," aimed at creating jobs for older residents.

People living here: 1,380people
Area: 109.63km²
Households: 638households
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.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Kamikatsu Town in Japan33.889°N 134.402°E

Territory of Kamikatsu Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

12.1km

那賀町, 勝浦町, 神山町, 佐那河内村

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Kamikatsu Town isthis kind of town.

01In Kamikatsu, no garbage trucks run; residents drive their own cars to the town's one waste station. The Zero Waste Center opened in April 2020 as a renovation of that former station.
02The Kashihara terraces and rural landscape are a national Important Cultural Landscape, and awa bancha production is a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property (Kamikatsu, Naka, Minami and other towns). In Yaeji stands the Tanaka family residence, a national Important Cultural Property with a ridge-tablet dated Jokyo 2 (1685).
03The Nojiri canal, which brings Asahi River water to Nojiri, was completed in 1740. The town also runs the "leaf business," aimed at creating jobs for older residents.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kamikatsu Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗