Photo: Kuma83 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Kawamoto Town
Shimane Prefecture · Town
Official websiteShimane Prefecture page
Kawamoto Town in central Shimane Prefecture is crossed by the Gonokawa River, and it is the only town in the Chugoku region whose "town" is read "machi." In the Edo period, it came under direct shogunate rule because of Iwami Ginzan, and in the Meiji era the Ochi District office was here. The Maruyama Castle and Nuruyu Castle ruins remain.
Key facts
Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2025 Population Census (population, area and density); area from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI), Area Statistics of Prefectures and Municipalities (2025). National ranks are among the 1,741 municipalities, ordered by this site from these values.
Live information
Current weather (observed)
Places to visit
Chosen automatically, most popular first, from landmarks and cultural properties registered in Wikidata (we have not checked whether each is open). Names and descriptions: Wikidata (CC0); photos: Wikimedia Commons (photographer and license under each photo).
Neighboring municipalities
Municipalities sharing a boundary (computed from the National Land Numerical Information administrative boundaries, January 2021).
Other municipalities in Shimane Prefecture
The description was written for this site, picking out representative features.