North Akita · KazunoNo.936★★Open in map →

Oyu Stone Circles

historyOff the trail — and worth it

Two Jomon stone rings set in open grass on a terrace in northern Akita, facing each other across a road. Each has a separate upright arrangement, known as a sundial, standing outside the outer ring.

FromMorioka Station
~2 h 40 minJR Hanawa Line, then local bus
Get off atKazuno-Hanawa Station (JR Hanawa Line)
From there
Oyu Stone Circles

Directions ↗

The sweet spot

Nothing here announces itself: no wall, no roof, no statue, only low stone in mown grass. Kazuno sits well off the Shinkansen line in a valley better known for its hot springs, and the circles read as empty ground until you know how they are laid out — which is why the site stays quiet even now that it carries a World Heritage listing.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

Oyu Stone Circle Museumthe guidance building beside the site, holding the excavated pottery and clay figures plus a hands-on workshop
Manza circlethe larger ring, with reconstructed post-built structures standing on the ground behind it
Manza's sundial stonesan upright stone ringed by radiating cobbles, set north-west of the circle's centre
Nonakado circlethe second ring across the road, 44 metres at its widest, with a sundial arrangement of its own

How to actually get there

Morioka Station → Kazuno-Hanawa Station (JR Hanawa Line, about 2 hours; only a few services a day).
Kazuno-Hanawa Station → Oyu Kanjoresseki-mae (Shuhoku bus towards Oyu Onsen, about 35 minutes).
Start at the guidance building, then walk Manza, its sundial stones and Nonakado across the road.
Return on the same bus line to Kazuno-Hanawa; check the departure time when you arrive.

JR Hanawa Line from Morioka, then a local bus: Morioka is on the Tohoku Shinkansen. The JR Hanawa Line runs from there to Kazuno-Hanawa in about two hours, and services are few, so choose the train before you leave. From the station a Shuhoku bus towards Oyu Onsen reaches the Oyu Kanjoresseki-mae stop beside the site in about 35 minutes.
Return via Kazuno-Hanawa: The same bus line runs back to Kazuno-Hanawa, and the Hanawa Line then returns to Morioka or, in the other direction, to Odate for the Ou Main Line. Both the bus and the train run thin timetables with long gaps, and the usable connections end well before late evening, so fix the return before you set out.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

The site occupies a terrace above the Oyu river in Kazuno, at the top of Akita. Two rings were built here, Manza and Nonakado, each a double circle of river cobbles with a separate stone arrangement set outside it. Manza, at 52 metres across at its widest, is the larger of the pair. The stones were carried up from the riverbed, and most are a speckled quartz diorite quarried a few kilometres away. Post holes, storage pits and pit graves ring both circles in concentric bands, so the stones are only the visible layer of a much wider plan.

How to enjoy it

Buses from Kazuno-Hanawa are sparse, so confirm the return departure before you walk over to the stones. The site itself takes about an hour and the museum roughly another. Read the layout from the models indoors first: the rings only make sense once you know where the sundial settings stand relative to the centres. Part of the route is closed through the snow season, so the practical window runs from spring to autumn.

Background & history

The rings were built in the late Jomon period, roughly 4,000 years ago, by people who lived by hunting, fishing and gathering rather than farming. Archaeologists read the individual stone settings as graves and the site as a whole as a burial and ritual ground. It was designated a national historic site in 1951 and raised to special historic site in 1956. In 2021 it was inscribed on the World Heritage list as one of the Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan.

Before you go

Cash: The circles themselves stand in open parkland. Entry to the guidance building is listed as free, with a separate charge for the permanent exhibition room and for the workshop sessions. The bus is cash-based, so bring notes and coins.
Good to know: Northern Akita takes heavy snow, and part of the viewing route is closed off from late autumn until spring. The guidance building keeps shorter hours in the snow season and closes on Mondays then, and it is shut over the new year. The site is open grass with almost no shade, so summer is easier early or late in the day.
Another way: By car it is about 15 minutes from the Towada interchange on the Tohoku Expressway, and the guidance building has a car park. From Akita city the rail alternative is the Ou Main Line to Odate, then the Hanawa Line east.
After you get off: The last leg from Kazuno-Hanawa Station is the Shuhoku bus towards Oyu Onsen. The stop is named for the site itself and sits on the road that runs between the two rings, so the walk in is a short one.