Nichinan Town

His father's hometown, loved for life.

Matsumoto Seicho Monument, Yato

Photo by Sodonotfear (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Wakamatsu Chrome Mine Ruins

Ore for a furnace's fireproof brickswas mined deep in the mountains.

The chrome mine began operating in 1905 in the Yukawa district of Tari. Its ore was used as raw material for the fireproof bricks that line iron-making furnaces, supporting Japan's modern ironmaking. It closed in 1997. The ruins lie deep in the mountains, at 700m. Tours are suspended indefinitely because safety cannot be ensured.

Operated from 1905 until closing in 1997
Ruins deep in the mountains, at 700m
Certified in 2009 as METI's Industrial Heritage Group Sequel 33

02 ／ Inoue Yasushi Memorial Hall, Nowake-no-yakata

A poem calling Nichinan a 'colony of the heavens'is carved into the monument.

井上靖記念館（野分の館）.jpg — Photo by Sodonotfear (CC BY-SA 4.0)

From June 1945, for half a year, Inoue Yasushi sent his family to Fukuei Village (now Kamifuku) to escape the wartime fires in Osaka. A poem is carved into the literary monument beside the hall. In 2018 the whole town became a prefectural Starry Sky Preservation Area, the first town-wide designation in the prefecture.

Family evacuated here for half a year from June 1945
June 28, 2018: whole town became Starry Sky Preservation Area No. 2
Hall is free; open 8:00-17:00

03 ／ Shimodan-Nakayama Iron Works Ruins

Until the year tatara ironmaking ended in Hino County,the ironworks kept operating.

下谷中山鉄山跡（橋台）.jpg — Photo by Sodonotfear (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Shimodan-Nakayama is a large tatara (traditional ironmaking) site that the town takes pride in. It operated until 1921 (Taisho 10), run by the Kondo family of Neu on land leased from the Kinoshita family of Abire. Traces from about 200 years ago remain, and it became a town historic site in October 2022.

Operated until 1921 (Taisho 10)
Traces of tatara ironmaking from about 200 years ago remain
Designated a town historic site on Oct. 4, 2022

Living here

The Hino River begins in the very middle of the Chugoku Mountains.

about 4,000 people
Rural district town

Nichinan lies near the center of the Chugoku Mountains, a mountain town bordering Shimane Prefecture to the west, Okayama to the south and Hiroshima to the southwest. The Hino River, one of the prefecture's three major rivers, rises within the town. Snow falls from December to March, and the deepest areas see 1 to 1.5m. Town buses connect the JR Hakubi Line's Shoyama Station with the rest of the town.

People living here: 4,196people
Area: 340.96km²
Households: 1,791households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 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.

Shape

Borders 6 municipalities across 3 prefectures.

Nichinan Town in Japan35.163°N 133.306°E

Territory of Nichinan Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

23.5km

Tottori Prefecture: 日野町, 南部町
Shimane Prefecture: 奥出雲町, 安来市
Okayama Prefecture: 新見市
Hiroshima Prefecture: 庄原市

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

Nichinan Town isthis kind of town.

01The Matsumoto Seicho Monument stands in Yato, Nichinan, and honors the writer Matsumoto Seicho. Yato is the hometown of his father Minetaro, a place Seicho loved all his life. The stories his father told him about it also appear in his novel 'Fukei no yubi' (父系の指).
02The Wakamatsu Chrome Mine at Tari mined the raw material for fireproof furnace bricks. It closed in 1997, and tours are now suspended. Nowake-no-yakata in Kamifuku stands where Inoue Yasushi sent his family to evacuate, and its monument carries a poem calling Nichinan a 'colony of the heavens.'
03In 2018 the whole of Nichinan became a prefectural Starry Sky Preservation Area. The Shimodan-Nakayama Iron Works Ruins, a town historic site, operated until 1921, when tatara ironmaking ended in Hino County. The town's stations on the JR Hakubi Line are Shoyama and Kamiiwami.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Nichinan Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗