Article

35202 ／うべし

Ube City

Dam site said to come from an oracle

Lake Tokiwa, main embankment

Photo by そらみみ (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Open-air sculpture

Children sketching a statue by the stationled to an open-air sculpture exhibition.

In 1958 Ube used surplus greening-campaign funds to buy a replica of Falconet's "Bather" (Yuami-suru onna) and set it in the fountain in front of Ube-Shinkawa Station. Children's sketching built momentum, and the first Ube Open-Air Sculpture Exhibition was held in 1961. Works that win recognition are installed in the city.

1958: replica of "Bather" bought
1961: first Ube Open-Air Sculpture Exhibition
Works recognized at the exhibition are installed around the city; over 200 open-air sculptures
2024: certified by Guinness World Records as the longest-running outdoor sculpture competition

02 ／ Sorinji Temple Garden

A garden whose shallows suggest the tides,the "higatayo" style.

Sorinji Temple (宗隣寺) was built in 1670 by Fukuhara Hirotoshi, lord of Ube, to pray for his father Motohiro, on the site of the ruined Fusaiji. The garden behind the main hall is called Ryushin-tei (龍心庭). Its pebble shallows appear and disappear with the pond's water level, like a tidal flat. Admission is charged.

Nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty (1983)
Built 1670 by Fukuhara Hirotoshi
Said to be, with Motsuji Temple (毛越寺) in Hiraizumi, the only surviving examples of the tidal-flat style
Admission: adults 300 yen (tourist association)

03 ／ Watanabe Memorial Hall

Seven companies donated this hall; the columnsin front are said to stand for them.

A civic hall built with donations from seven related companies to honor Watanabe Sukesaku. It was completed in 1937 and presented to Ube City. The architect was Togo Murano. The central pedestal and the three memorial columns on each side of the front terrace are said to represent the seven companies. It is also known for its acoustics.

July 1937: completed and presented to Ube City
Designed by Togo Murano
Nationally designated Important Cultural Property (2005)
Tours possible by advance reservation on days without events

Living here

A coal museum, and a sea of boulders in the north.

about 160,000 people

Ube lies in southwestern Yamaguchi on the Suo-nada Sea. Once prosperous on coal, it saw its last mine close in 1967. The Coal Memorial Museum in Tokiwa Park tells that history. In Kibe, in the north, boulders cover about 3 hectares at the Kibe Great Boulder Field, and the local dish yurei-zushi is handed down.

People living here: 162,570people
Area: 287.05km²
Households: 72,595households
Rent (average for rentals): 42,422yen
Healthcare: 19 hospitals ／ 153 clinics

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

Population from 2005 onward (municipal boundary changed).2004-11-01 に合併。2005年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —27 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 3 municipalities.

Ube City in Japan33.952°N 131.247°E

Territory of Ube City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

27.5km

山口市, 山陽小野田市, 美祢市

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

Ube City isthis kind of town.

01Lake Tokiwa, in southeastern Ube, is the largest lake in Yamaguchi Prefecture, according to the city, and the heart of Tokiwa Park. Construction of its embankment began in 1695 and finished in 1698, and it was registered as a World Heritage Irrigation Structure in 2016. The city says an anecdote survives that the site of the main embankment was decided by the oracle of a white-haired old man.
02Open-air sculpture exhibitions are held on the Hill of Sculptures in Tokiwa Park, and the city has over 200 open-air sculptures. Ryushin-tei at Sorinji is a nationally designated Place of Scenic Beauty, and the Watanabe Memorial Hall, designed by Togo Murano, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property.
03In Kibe, in the north, lies the Kibe Great Boulder Field, a nationally designated Natural Monument. The district also hands down yurei-zushi, pressed sushi made without toppings. The Coal Memorial Museum in Tokiwa Park tells the history of Ube's coal-mining days.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Ube City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗