Yazu Town

Found 12 new comets; his dome remains.

Minoru Honda, Discovery King

Photo by Sodonotfear (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Kooge Hanagosho Persimmon

A single branch of Gosho persimmongrafted onto an astringent tree is said to be its start.

In the Tenmei era, Noda Gorosuke of the Hana district in the former Kooge Town is said to have brought back one branch of Gosho persimmon from Yamato Province and grafted it onto an astringent persimmon. The name "Hanagosho" was given in 1909 after the place name. In 2018, "Kooge Hanagosho Persimmon" was registered as a Geographical Indication.

Said to have begun with a graft in the Tenmei era
Named "Hanagosho" in 1909
Registered as a GI on Dec. 27, 2018
Average sugar content of 17 degrees or more

02 ／ Hakuto Shrine in Fukumoto

The shrine of the rabbit said to have guided Amaterasunow stands inside a temple hall.

Hakuto Shrine in Fukumoto enshrines a rabbit that, in the age of the gods, served as a guide when the sun goddess Amaterasu descended here. It is a different tale from the "White Hare of Inaba." The shrine building was moved to Narita-san Seiryuji Temple in Shimomondo, and the wave-rabbit carving on the shrine inside is said to date from the Edo period.

Founding date unknown
Shrine building moved to Narita-san Seiryuji Temple
Wave-rabbit shrine carving said to be Edo-period
Torii dated 1776 (Anei 5)

03 ／ Ando Ide Canal and Ando Festival

A canal 10.8km long,completed by a man who gave his own fortune.

During the Bunka era, a great drought caused repeated crop failures in Kooge. Ando Iemon gave his private fortune to complete the Ando Ide canal. The Ando Festival honors his memory: floats roll out and dancers with umbrellas and hand dances parade through the district, held once every two years.

Canal length: 10.8km
2023 marked 200 years since completion
Held in late September every other year
Memorial festival on Sept. 30, 2023

Living here

About 80% of the town is forest. The bus is persimmon-colored.

about 20,000 people
Rural district town

Yazu lies in southeastern Tottori Prefecture and covers 206.71 square kilometers, about 80% of it forest. It was formed in 2005 when the towns of Kooge, Funaoka, and Hatto merged. The town-run "Yazu Bus" has a red body in the color of the local persimmon.

People living here: 15,937people
Area: 206.71km²
Households: 5,326households
Rent (average for rentals): 31,429yen
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 12 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —7 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.

Yazu Town in Japan35.409°N 134.250°E

to OsakaLtd. exp. Super Hakuto142min
to KyotoLtd. exp. Super Hakuto176min

Travel times follow 鳥取県（輝く鳥取創造本部観光交流局まんが王国官房）のページ「スーパーはくと名探偵コナン号」に載る運行予定表PDF（20260924_timetable1011.pdf・2026年9月24日時点・「2026年3月14日改正」）の時刻表。京都・大阪→鳥取・倉吉の下り。JR西日本・智頭急行の時刻をそのまま載せたもの。鳥取の agent（targets-tottori.json の accessCheck.sources）が見たPDFを、八頭が郡家の着時刻で数え直した (checked 2026-09-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Territory of Yazu Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

16.5km

鳥取市, 若桜町, 智頭町

Yazu Town isthis kind of town.

01Minoru Honda came from the former Hatto Village (now Yazu) and discovered 12 new comets and 11 novae in his lifetime, earning the name "Tentai Hakken-o" (天体発見王, roughly "King of Celestial Discovery"). A 2.5-meter observation dome remains in Kajiya, where he grew up, and the Minoru Honda Memorial Hall opened in 2022.
02Hanagosho persimmon is a local variety said to have begun when Noda Gorosuke grafted a branch of Gosho persimmon onto an astringent tree; the Kooge area's fruit is registered as a Geographical Indication. Hakuto Shrine in Fukumoto enshrines the rabbit that guided Amaterasu, and its shrine building was moved to Seiryuji Temple.
03In Kooge, the Ando Festival, held every two years, honors Ando Iemon, who gave his own fortune to complete the 10.8km Ando Ide canal and save farmers from crop failure caused by a great drought.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Yazu Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗