Kaminoseki Town

French stained glass on the top floor.

Shikairo, four-story wooden hall

Photo by Clare lau (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Kanmai ritual, Iwaishima

In the Kanmai, three sacred boats travel49 km of sea to and from Oita.

Tradition says it began in 886, when people from Imi in Bungo were caught in a storm and drifted into Miura Bay on Iwaishima. Priests of the Imi Betsugu shrine are welcomed, ships and rowing boats stage the arrival and departure rites, and kagura is offered at a temporary shrine.

Three sacred boats cross 49 km of sea between Yamaguchi and Oita (town bulletin)
Prefectural Intangible Folk Cultural Property (designated 1976)
Held 16-18 August 2024

02 ／ Stone-piled Neribei walls, Iwaishima

Stone walls built against fire and windline the village houses.

The Fisheries Agency describes the walls of stone and clay as built against fire and wind, and as a piece of islanders' practical wisdom on a steep island that still remains. In 2006, "Iwaishima's Kanmai and stone-piled village" was selected for the Agency's "100 Fishing Village Historical and Cultural Assets to Preserve for the Future".

Walls of stone and clay piled together (Fisheries Agency)
Selected in 2006 for the 100 Fishing Village Assets
Piled up to the eaves and used as house walls (prefecture)

03 ／ Shiroyama History Park

Castle troops collected sail and cargo feesfrom ships passing the Kaminoseki Strait.

This is the site of Kaminoseki Castle, a sea castle of the Murakami navy from the Nanbokucho to Sengoku periods. Murakami Yoshiaki of the Noshima navy set up a sea checkpoint here, and its troops issued passes to passing ships. Excavated from FY1998, the site is now a park with about 180 Kawazu cherry trees.

Troops collected sail and cargo fees and issued passes (tourism association)
Excavations from FY1998; now a park
About 180 Kawazu cherry trees (town)

Living here

A 34.69 km² town of a peninsula tip and islands.

about 2,000 people
Rural district town

The town centers on the tip of the Murotsu Peninsula and the islands of Nagashima, Iwaishima and Yashima, and lies within Setonaikai National Park. The Kaminoseki Bridge, opened in 1969, joined Nagashima to the mainland, and ferries link Iwaishima and Yashima. A local bus runs from Yanai Station.

People living here: 2,342people
Area: 34.69km²
Households: 1,251households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 6 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.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Kaminoseki Town in Japan33.831°N 132.110°E

to YanaiLocal bus47min

Travel times follow 事業者公式（防長交通『柳井地域時刻表（2026.10.1改正）』の『柳井駅前～平生～佐賀～上関』）の平日・土日祝ダイヤで、柳井駅前→渡船場前の最短を数えた（47分）。町公式『アクセス』は『JR柳井駅⇒上関町渡船場前バス停（所要時間：約50分運賃：1,110円）』と丸めて書く (checked 2026-09-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 2 municipalities.

Territory of Kaminoseki Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

16.6km

柳井市, 平生町

Kaminoseki Town isthis kind of town.

01Kaminoseki has Shikairo, a four-story wooden pseudo-Western building that Ogata Kenkuro built in 1879 as a guest and lodging house; French stained glass fills its top-floor windows.
02On Iwaishima, the Kanmai welcomes priests from the Imi Betsugu shrine in Oita, stone-and-clay Neribei walls run through the village, and on Nagashima the site of Kaminoseki Castle, a Murakami navy sea castle, is now a park.
03The 34.69 km² town of the Murotsu Peninsula tip, Nagashima, Iwaishima and Yashima lies within Setonaikai National Park.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kaminoseki Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗