Minabe Town

An ume named to honor a high school's horticulture course.

Nanko-ume, Minabe High School

Photo by 663highland (CC BY 2.5)

01 ／ Minabe Oji

Go-Toba gave 6 rolls of silk, 150 ryo of cotton,and 3 horses to this Kumano Oji shrine.

According to the town, Retired Emperor Go-Toba visited in the first year of Kennin (1201) and presented 6 rolls of silk, 150 ryo of cotton and 3 horses. Beneath the grounds lies a Middle Yayoi site, and there is a well where Oguri Hangan is said to have drunk. The Minabe Oji site is a Prefectural Historic Site.

First year of Kennin (1201)
6 rolls of silk, 150 ryo of cotton, 3 horses
Prefectural Historic Site (1958)

02 ／ Suga Shrine festival

Eleven districts join the procession,in a festival also known as a "horse festival".

Each October the procession leaves Akiba Shrine on the shore and heads to Suga Shrine, with eleven districts of the surrounding plain joining together. The festival includes horse races and yabusame archery, and became a Prefectural Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2018. The three main shrine buildings are also prefectural designations, vermilion-painted with cypress-bark roofs.

Eleven districts join the procession
Prefectural Intangible Folk Cultural Property (2018)
Three main shrine buildings, prefectural designation (1968)

03 ／ Revolving stage

The long-hall stage for children's dancesalso once hosted traveling actors' plays.

The revolving stage of Nishi-Iwashiro Hachiman Shrine sits in a large long hall, 7 bays by 4, rebuilt in 1882. It is the stage for the children's dances of the autumn festival, and once also hosted plays by local young men and traveling actors. It became a Prefectural Tangible Folk Cultural Property in 1993.

7 bays by 4
Rebuilt in 1882
Prefectural Tangible Folk Cultural Property (1993)

Living here

129 minutes from Osaka by Limited Express Kuroshio.

about 10,000 people
Rural district town

The town's JR Kisei Main Line (Kinokuni Line) stations are Minabe and Iwashiro, and the Limited Express Kuroshio stops at Minabe (some services do not stop). From departure at Osaka Station to arrival at Minabe Station, the fastest daily service takes 129 minutes (JR-Odekake Net timetable, October 2026 issue; checked on 14 October 2026).

People living here: 11,818people
Area: 120.28km²
Households: 4,277households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 9 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —4 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.

Minabe Town in Japan33.772°N 135.321°E

to OsakaLtd. exp. Kuroshio129min

Travel times follow JRおでかけネット（JR西日本の時刻検索 timetable.jr-odekake.net。改正日 2026-10-03・『JR時刻表』2026年10月号に基づく）の南部駅の駅時刻表（きのくに線・紀伊田辺／白浜／新宮方面＝station-timetable/3135070001、和歌山／天王寺／新大阪方面＝同3135070002。2026-10-14 に表示）と、そこから開いた列車ごとの『列車時刻表』（運転日と各駅の着発時刻）。駅の番号は紀伊田辺〔3133070001〕・新宮〔3105070001〕の並びから南部〔3135〕を割り出し、開いたページの表題が『南部駅』であることで確かめた (checked 2026-10-14). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 2 municipalities.

Territory of Minabe Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

16.6km

田辺市, 印南町

Minabe Town isthis kind of town.

01Nanko-ume is a variety named for the efforts of the horticulture course at Minabe High School, after "Takada-ume" was selected from 114 kinds of local ume over five years from 1950, and it makes up 80 percent of the ume grown in the town
02Minabe Oji is one of the Kumano Ninety-Nine Oji shrines, eleven districts join the Suga Shrine festival procession, and the revolving stage of Nishi-Iwashiro Hachiman Shrine sits in a long hall used for children's dances
03Senrinohama Beach on the Kumano Kodo is known as a nesting ground for loggerhead turtles, the knotted pine at Iwashiro is tied to a poem by Prince Arima, and a pure stand of Isu trees is a Prefectural Natural Monument

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Minabe Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗