Shirahama Town

The marks of ripples have become fossils.

Shirahama fossil ripple marks

Photo by さかおり (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Ago ferry crossing

On the Kumano Kodo Ohechi route at Ago,a boat crosses the Hikigawa River.

A ferry crossing the Hikigawa River from the Ago hamlet, which the town describes as the only place on the Ohechi route of the Kumano Kodo where you cross by boat. The Ago no Watashi Preservation Society revived it in October 2005 after 50 years; the boat is a river boat 7.5 m long and 1.6 m wide.

Revived October 2005
River boat 7.5 m long, 1.6 m wide
Only crossing by boat on the Ohechi route (town)

02 ／ Atagi clan castle sites

Two castles are set at both endsof the land route to the western estate.

In the Atagi estate downstream on the Hikigawa River, the naval lord Atagi clan built a residence site and four castle sites, which became a National Historic Site in 2020. No such castles are found on the northern and eastern boundaries, and the town's conservation plan considers this to show that the clan was wary of attack from the west.

National Historic Site, March 10, 2020
A residence site and four castle sites
No castles on the northern and eastern boundaries

03 ／ Saki-no-yu

Saki-no-yu, the "Muro hot spring,"appears in the Nihon Shoki and Manyoshu.

According to the town, Saki-no-yu in the Asuka and Nara periods was a hollow eroded in sandstone that served as a natural tub, where people are said to have bathed while looking at the sea. The Nihon Shoki records that in 657 Prince Arima commended the Muro hot spring, and today the water runs into the sea.

Nihon Shoki entry for 657
Sandstone hollow as a natural tub
Water flows into the sea

Living here

143 minutes from Osaka by Limited Express Kuroshio.

about 20,000 people
Rural district town

The town has four JR Kisei Main Line stations: Shirahama, Kii-Tonda, Tsubaki and Kii-Hiki, and the Limited Express Kuroshio stops only at Shirahama Station. From departure at Osaka Station to arrival at Shirahama Station, the fastest daily service takes 143 minutes (timetable revised October 2026). The former Shirahama Town and Hikigawa Town merged in March 2006.

People living here: 20,262people
Area: 200.99km²
Households: 9,382households
Rent (average for rentals): 42,905yen
Healthcare: 2 hospitals ／ 18 clinics

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

Population from 2010 onward (municipal boundary changed).2006-03-01 に新設合併（日置川町）。2010年調査から市域が変わっている。

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.

Shirahama Town in Japan33.678°N 135.348°E

to OsakaLtd. exp. Kuroshio143min

Travel times follow JRおでかけネット（JR西日本の時刻検索 timetable.jr-odekake.net）の区間時刻表（2026-10-14 に表示。列ごとに列車番号・種別・列車名・運転日注意・各駅の着発時刻が出る）と、列車ごとの時刻ページ（運転日『毎日運転』を確かめた）。時刻データは交通新聞社『JR時刻表』2026年10月号に基づく (checked 2026-10-14). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Territory of Shirahama Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

17.6km

すさみ町, 田辺市, 上富田町, 古座川町

Shirahama Town isthis kind of town.

01The fossil ripple marks of Shirahama are the fossilized traces of small waves, found on a shore in the town, and were designated a National Natural Monument on February 20, 1931
02The Ago ferry crossing on the Kumano Kodo Ohechi route was revived in October 2005 after 50 years, and the Atagi clan castle sites, a National Historic Site, lie in the Atagi estate downstream on the Hikigawa River
03Saki-no-yu appears in the Nihon Shoki and the Manyoshu as the "Muro hot spring," and Engetsu Island, floating at sea, is formally named Takashima

See the town as it is now.

Facebookshirahamatown ↗

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Shirahama Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗