Hokuto City

A triangular stone parts water in three.

Sanbuichi Spring

Photo by ブルーノ・プラス (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Great zelkovas

Two zelkovas were said to foretellrice and field harvests by budding.

The two zelkovas before the worship hall of Negoya Shrine are called Tagi, on the left as you face the hall, and Hatagi, on the right. They became a National Natural Monument in 1958. By tradition, a year when Tagi buds and leafs well brings a good rice harvest, and a year when Hatagi does so brings good field crops, which gives the trees their names. The city's newsletter calls them an important object of divination and faith for people here.

Tagi and Hatagi
Budding foretells the harvest
National Natural Monument, 1958

02 ／ Irrigation

On summer Sundays, three hamletspatrol their canals and tags.

The hamlets of Nagasaka Kamijo, Nagasaka Shimojo and Shibusawa draw water through separate canals from three sources: Metori Spring, Sanbuichi and Hachiemon Deguchi. Notice boards stand at 31 spots where water is easily taken. After a mid-May check in which tags are set, a patrol on duty goes out each Sunday, checks for leaks and stolen water, and puts a tag in the case. The prefecture designated the system in 2018.

Three water sources
31 notice-board spots
Prefectural designation, 2018

03 ／ Jomon

Stone-lined graves and a ritual sitewere found together.

This Late and Final Jomon settlement lies about 770 m up on the southern foot of the Yatsugatake range. Its hallmark is a large stone-setting complex that joins stone-lined graves with a ritual site. It became a National Historic Site in 1983. The city's newsletter says the winter-solstice sun seen from here sets on the summit of Mount Kaikomagatake, and that people are thought to have gathered at the village then to pray.

About 770 m above sea level
Late and Final Jomon
National Historic Site, 1983

Living here

From Shinjuku, 111 minutes by express to Kobuchizawa.

about 40,000 people
2 hours to a city centre

Kobuchizawa is the only station in the city where the Limited Express Azusa of the Chuo Main Line stops, and the fastest daily train takes 111 minutes from Shinjuku. Nagasaka and Hinoharu stations have no limited express. Kobuchizawa is an interchange with the Koumi Line. The main city hall is in the Sutama district, away from the station.

People living here: 44,053people
Area: 602.48km²
Households: 18,893households
Rent (average for rentals): 39,483yen
Healthcare: 2 hospitals ／ 23 clinics

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

Population from 2010 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。2006-03-15 に編入合併（小淵沢町）。2010年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —14 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.

Hokuto City in Japan35.776°N 138.424°E

to ShinjukuJR limited express111min

Travel times follow JR東日本『駅の時刻表』小淵沢駅（中央本線・上り＝甲府・新宿方面の平日・土曜休日、下り＝上諏訪・松本方面の平日・土曜休日）と、各列車の『停車駅一覧』ページ。ページの注記は『JRデータの内容は、株式会社交通新聞社発行の「JR時刻表」2026年10月号に基づいています』。2026-10-08 に読んだ (checked 2026-10-08). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 9 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Hokuto City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

29.1km

Yamanashi Prefecture: 韮崎市, 甲府市, 南アルプス市, 甲斐市
Nagano Prefecture: 富士見町, 南牧村, 川上村, 伊那市, 原村

Hokuto City isthis kind of town.

01At Sanbuichi Spring in Komaruma, Nagasaka, a triangular stone at the middle of the weir parts the water three ways; the city says tradition holds that Takeda Shingen set it to divide irrigation water equally among three villages downstream
02Negoya Shrine in Sutama has great zelkovas, a National Natural Monument said to have foretold rice and field harvests by their budding, and the Yamataka Jindai-zakura cherry in Mukawa is also a National Natural Monument
03The three hamlets of Nagasaka keep the prefecture-designated fudaban and mizuban system of patrolling their canals with tags, and the Kinsei Site in Oizumi, with Jomon stone settings, is a National Historic Site

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Hokuto City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗