Kamitonda Town

Said to have drifted in, forest and all.

Tanaka Shrine forest, Okafuji

Photo by 運動会プロテインパワー (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Oji site

Horses left, purification in the river,then across to Ichinose-oji, it is said.

Inabane-oji is one of the five principal oji (Gotai-oji), shrines of high standing among the Ninety-nine Oji of Kumano. The town writes that on the Kumano pilgrimage horses were left here, purification was done in the river, and the opposite bank was crossed to Ichinose-oji, it is said. Ichinose is the first point on foot where the river was crossed, and the site of Ichinose-oji is a prefectural historic site. The site of Inabane-oji was added to the World Heritage property in 2016.

One of the five principal oji
Ichinose-oji site: prefectural historic site
Added to the World Heritage property, Oct. 2016

02 ／ Bridge

A prefecture-run ferry that carried mailgave the Yubin-bashi bridge its name.

The modern postal system began in 1871 (Meiji 4), and the next year mail-handling offices opened in the villages of southern Kii. One of the ferries on the Tonda River ran as a prefecture-run service to carry the mail; later a large bridge spanning both banks was built and named Yubin-bashi, the town and the prefecture write. The bridge joins Iwasaki in Kamitonda and Tomita in Shirahama.

Modern postal system began in 1871
A prefecture-run ferry gave the bridge its name
Joins Iwasaki in Kamitonda and Tomita in Shirahama

03 ／ Lion dance

A lion dance of some 20 pieces, said to havetaken in the Koza style in the Ansei years.

The Oka lion dance is offered at the autumn festival of Yagami Shrine and at the July festival of Tanaka Shrine, and is a prefectural intangible folk cultural property. The prefecture writes that it was once of the Sano school and is said to have taken in the Koza school, of the Ise Daikagura line, in the Ansei years (1854 to 1859), giving it a very rich repertoire. About 20 pieces are performed in the open courtyard.

Prefectural designation, 13 April 1972
Said to have taken in the Koza style in the Ansei years
About 20 pieces in the courtyard

Living here

The town's station is Asso, on the JR Kinokuni Line.

about 20,000 people
Rural district town

Asso Station on the JR Kinokuni Line is the station in the town, and the tourist information centre Kuchikumano Kamitonda is inside the station building (town website). The station's timetable on JR-Odekake Net for 14 October 2026 shows no limited expresses; trains run to Kii-Tanabe and Gobo, and to Susami, Kushimoto and Shingu. The town borders Tanabe and Shirahama, and the Tonda River runs through its centre.

People living here: 15,236people
Area: 57.37km²
Households: 6,368households
Rent (average for rentals): 43,130yen
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 14 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —2 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 2 municipalities.

Kamitonda Town in Japan33.696°N 135.429°E

Territory of Kamitonda Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

11.3km

田辺市, 白浜町

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

Kamitonda Town isthis kind of town.

01Tanaka Shrine forest is a grove beside the Oka River. The town writes that the shrine once stood about 6 km upstream and is said to have been carried down by a flood, forest and all. It is part of the nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty Minakata Mandala Landscape and a prefectural natural monument, and the Nanki-Kumano Geopark writes that Minakata Kumagusu named its wisteria Okafuji
02Yagami-oji is today's Yagami Shrine, and the town writes that it appears as Yagami-oji in the Kumano Gokoki of 1201 (Kennin 1). The shrine grove is protected as the guardian shrine of the area, the shrine is also part of the Minakata Mandala Landscape, and two monuments to Saigyo's poems stand beside the main building
03The Tonda River has two submersible bridges without railings, Hatayama-bashi and Sanno-bashi, and Sukumadani lies on the boundary between two geological layers of different origins. The site of Ryushozan Castle became a prefectural historic site in 2021, and the Ichinose Oodori dance is also a prefectural intangible folk cultural property

See the town as it is now.

Facebookkamitondatown ↗

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kamitonda Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗