Gobo City

The temple "Gobo-sama" named the city.

Hidaka Betsuin, city name origin

Photo by Suikotei (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Shioya Oji site

An oji site with the alias "Bijin Oji"keeps a lawn said to mark Go-Toba's lodging.

The Shioya Oji site is one of the Kumano Ninety-Nine Oji (shrines to the child deities of the Kumano gods) set along the Kii-ji route, on a hill on the right bank at the mouth of the Oji River. Designated a national Historic Site as part of the Kumano pilgrimage route, its grounds hold the "Gosho no Shiba," said to mark where Retired Emperor Go-Toba lodged. Its name appears in the Chuyuki.

One of the Kumano Ninety-Nine Oji
National Historic Site (Kumano pilgrimage route)
Name appears in the Chuyuki

02 ／ Iwauchi Tumulus No. 1

A square tumulus about 19 m on a sidehas a horizontal-entry chamber of huge stones.

The Iwauchi tumulus group stands on a left-bank hill about 2 km upstream from the mouth of the Hidaka River, and only Tumuli No. 1 and No. 3 can be identified today. No. 1 is a late-period tumulus with a ditch on three sides. Swords and lacquer fragments from a coffin were excavated. There is a theory that it may be the tomb of Prince Arima.

Square tumulus, about 19 m a side
Prefectural Historic Site, 1979
Theory: tomb of Prince Arima

03 ／ Kehon-odori

A document granted by the ninth Kishu lord is readbefore a nenbutsu furyu dance begins.

Kehon-odori is a Prefectural Intangible Folk Cultural Property and has also been selected by the national government. It is offered first at the autumn festival of Shino Hachiman Shrine on October 5: a document is read, then dancers in flower-decorated hats dance holding gourds, drums, hand drums and gongs. On the eve of the festival it is offered at Hidaka Betsuin.

Offered first on October 5
Prefectural designation 1955, national selection 1974
Eve-of-festival offering at Hidaka Betsuin

Living here

102 minutes from Osaka by Limited Express Kuroshio.

about 20,000 people
2 hours to a city centre

The city has two JR Kisei Main Line stations, and the Limited Express Kuroshio stops at Gobo Station. From departure at Osaka Station to arrival at Gobo Station, the fastest daily service takes 102 minutes (JR Odekake Net, October 2026 timetable).

People living here: 23,481people
Area: 43.91km²
Households: 10,123households
Rent (average for rentals): 38,227yen
Healthcare: 3 hospitals ／ 33 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —6 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.

Gobo City in Japan33.891°N 135.152°E

to OsakaLtd. exp. Kuroshio102min

Travel times follow JR西日本『JRおでかけネット』の区間時刻表（timetable.jr-odekake.net。ページに『JR時刻表2026年10月号に基づく』とあり、列車ごとに『運転日注意』欄がある）。紀勢本線（きのくに線）の下り（天王寺・京都〜新宮。line-timetable/2312）を 2026-10-15（木）・10-17（土）・10-18（日）の3日分、上り（新宮〜天王寺・京都。line-timetable/2314）を同じ3日分、表の列を機械で読み取って、御坊『着』〈町の外→御坊〉と御坊『発』〈御坊→町の外〉の時刻から分数を数えた。 (checked 2026-10-14). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Territory of Gobo City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

15.5km

印南町, 日高川町, 日高町, 美浜町

Gobo City isthis kind of town.

01Hidaka Betsuin, honored as "Gobo-sama," is the temple that gave the city its name; its main hall, completed in 1825, has a scale unmatched among Shin Buddhist temples in the prefecture, and the ginkgo in its grounds is a Prefectural Natural Monument
02The Shioya Oji site is a national Historic Site as part of the Kumano pilgrimage route, and Iwauchi Tumulus No. 1 is a prefectural Historic Site, a square tumulus about 19 m on a side with a horizontal-entry chamber of huge stones
03Kehon-odori, a nenbutsu furyu dance offered at the Gobo Festival of Shino Hachiman Shrine, is a Prefectural Intangible Folk Cultural Property and a national selection; the festival became prefecturally designated in March 2026, and the Sono family house, a former coastal-shipping merchant's residence in the temple town, is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property

See the town as it is now.

Facebookcity.gobo ↗

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Gobo City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗