Information as of 13 August 2026
This page is a relocation summary written by an advanced AI
It is not a personal opinion piece written by a human. An AI gathered official information published on the internet — municipal and national statistics, the Japan Meteorological Agency, railway companies, property portals — and rebuilt it into a form that someone considering a move can read and act on. Every figure carries a source link and the date it was checked, so please confirm anything that matters to you against the original document. Rules and prices change. Always check the latest information yourself before you sign anything.
Moving to Hiki District
In the middle of Saitama Prefecture, on the Tobu Tojo Line and the Hachiko Line, lie 7 towns. From Shinrin-koen Station in Namegawa Town, 48 minutes from Ikebukuro on the TJ Liner, to Tokigawa Town up in the hills with only the Hachiko Line, all 7 sit within about half an hour's drive. There are 168 second-hand houses on the market, and all 168 have been counted here. From ¥2,500,000 to ¥56,800,000, with a median of ¥14,940,000. 55 of them (33%) are ¥10,000,000 or less. We start from what each town is like, then go on to the houses for sale, disasters, the cold of winter, and the hospitals and schools, in that order.
Roadside stations: Ichigo-no-Sato Yoshimi, Ogawamachi / Hot springs and day bathing: Ranzan Keikoku Natural Hot Spring; Heiseiro (now closed), Kawasaki Big, Kodaira Natural Hot Spring, Ogawa Onsen Karaku-no-Yu, Tokigawa Shikisaikan, a Showa-retro public bathhouse / Dog runs: Shinrin-koen Dog Run / RV parks: Hatchoko Park RV Park
Sources: roadside stations from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism list of roadside stations (checked 2026-08-21) / hot springs and day bathing from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) (checked 2026-08-20) / dog runs from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) (checked 2026-08-20) / RV parks from the Japan RV Association “Kuruma Tabi” list of certified RV parks (checked 2026-08-20). 🔴 Only the things a town has are shown — it does not mean a town without them is worse.
Last verified 2026-08-13
CHAPTER 01First of all, what kind of place is Hiki District?
Hiki District is 7 towns: Namegawa, Ranzan, Ogawa, Kawajima, Yoshimi, Hatoyama and Tokigawa. It contains no cities at all (neighbouring Higashimatsuyama is a city, not part of Hiki District). Higashichichibu Village is in Chichibu District, not Hiki.
Map of Hiki District
You can zoom and pan. The marker is Ogawamachi Station. The further west you go the more mountainous it becomes; the further east, the flatter.
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
What should I know first about moving to Hiki District?
Hiki District is 7 towns: Namegawa, Ranzan, Ogawa, Kawajima, Yoshimi, Hatoyama and Tokigawa, with no cities at all (neighbouring Higashimatsuyama City is not part of Hiki District). The further west you go the more mountainous it becomes; the further east, the flatter.
CHAPTER 02Seven areas, and life in each
Hiki District is a group of 7 towns with no cities at all. Two things matter when you choose: “does the town have a Tobu Tojo Line station, or do you use a station in a neighbouring city?” and “the hills in the west, or the flat in the east?”. Splitting all 168 houses on the market by town gives 33 in Yoshimi, 33 in Namegawa, 30 in Kawajima, 29 in Ogawa, 21 in Hatoyama, 17 in Ranzan and 5 in Tokigawa — and the median runs from ¥9,800,000 in Yoshimi to ¥23,490,000 in Namegawa, a spread of 2.4 times.
The 7 towns at a glance
| Town | Population | Stations in the town | Landmarks of daily life |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namegawa Town | 19,923 +19 on the previous month | Shinrin-koen Tsukinowa | The only one of the 7 towns with a month in which the population rose. The only town where the TJ Liner can be used both morning and evening (up services start from Shinrin-koen). Yaoko Tsukinowa Ekimae and Cainz Namegawa Mall. Namegawa Sogo prefectural upper secondary school |
| Ranzan Town | 17,247 people | Musashi-Ranzan | Yaoko Ranzan Bypass and Cainz Ranzan. The upper secondary school is the private Otsuma Ranzan. The 3 primary schools and 2 lower secondary schools will each merge into one in April Reiwa 11 (Musashi-Ranzan Primary and Musashi-Ranzan Lower Secondary) |
| Ogawa Town | 26,006 the largest of the 7 | Ogawa Town Tobu-Takezawa Takezawa (JR) | The terminus of the Tobu Tojo Line and the interchange with the JR Hachiko Line. The only one of the 7 towns with a designated emergency hospital (Ogawa Red Cross Hospital, 292 beds; Segawa Hospital, 41 beds). 2 Yaoko stores, a Cainz, and the Ogawamachi roadside station. Ogawa prefectural upper secondary school. Home of Hosokawa-shi paper (UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage) |
| Kawajima Town | 17,775 people | — nearest: Wakaba, Kawagoe | A flat town enclosed by the Arakawa and Oppe rivers. 0 landslide warning zones. Yaoko Kawajima and Cainz Kawajima Interchange. The primary schools merged into Tsubasa Primary School in April Reiwa 7, forming a combined primary and lower secondary school sharing a site with Kawajima Lower Secondary |
| Yoshimi Town | 16,607 people | — nearest: Higashi-Matsuyama, Konosu | The Ichigo-no-Sato Yoshimi roadside station. The 6 primary schools will merge into one, “Yoshimi Primary School”, in April Reiwa 10 (on the Yoshimi Lower Secondary site). The town with the most houses for sale (33 of the 168, level with Namegawa) |
| Hatoyama Town | 12,515 people | — nearest: Kita-Sakado, Sakado | A town with new-town estates (Hatogaoka, Kaedegaoka and Matsugaoka). The only town in Hiki District where the Japan Meteorological Agency AMeDAS measures temperature (Hatoyama, 44 m above sea level). Hatoyama prefectural upper secondary school closed at the end of March Reiwa 8 and merged with Ogose to become Ogose Shoo upper secondary school |
| Tokigawa Town | 9,591 people | Myokaku (JR) | The smallest of the 7 and the most mountainous. A designated depopulated area. There is no hospital in the town, no sewerage (every household is on a septic tank), and the water charges are the highest of the 7. In return, it is also the town with the most generous migration grants |
The 7 towns, seen through the houses for sale
| Town | Rough elevation | Nearest station | Price range / median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yoshimi Town | 14〜64m | Higashi-Matsuyama 27, Konosu 5 | 33, level with Namegawa for the most, ¥2,500,000 to ¥28,800,000 (median ¥9,800,000, the lowest of the 7). There is no station in the town, and 27 of them have Higashi-Matsuyama Station as their nearest. 19 (58%) are ¥10,000,000 or less |
| Ogawa Town | 70〜153m | Ogawa Town 26, Takezawa 2 | 29, ¥3,300,000 to ¥28,500,000 (median ¥9,990,000). The terminus of the Tobu Tojo Line and the interchange with the JR Hachiko Line. The only one of the 7 towns with a designated emergency hospital (§7). 15 (52%) are ¥10,000,000 or less |
| Hatoyama Town | 41〜89m | Takasaka 14, Sakado 4, Kita-Sakado 3 | 21, ¥3,980,000 to ¥22,800,000 (median ¥13,800,000). A town with new-town estates (Hatogaoka, Kaedegaoka and Matsugaoka). There is no station in the town; the nearest are in Higashimatsuyama City and Sakado City |
| Ranzan Town | 48〜93m | Musashi-Ranzan 17 | 17, ¥4,980,000 to ¥37,300,000 (median ¥10,800,000). All 17 have Musashi-Ranzan Station as their nearest — a town with a station, at that price |
| Namegawa Town | 38〜63m | Tsukinowa 17, Shinrin-koen 9, Musashi-Ranzan 7 | 33, level with Yoshimi for the most, ¥3,900,000 to ¥38,000,000 (median ¥23,490,000, the highest of the 7). The only one of the 7 towns with a month in which the population rose (§10). The median year of construction is 2000, the newest of the 7. The TJ Liner can be used morning and evening |
| Kawajima Town | 11〜15m | Wakaba 11, Takasaka 10, Kawagoe 5 | 30, ¥11,800,000 to ¥25,500,000 (median ¥17,490,000, 0 at ¥10,000,000 or less) / a median elevation of 15 m, the lowest. 0 landslide warning zones, but a 67.1% chance of lower 6 or stronger shaking at the town hall, the highest of the 7 (§5) |
| Tokigawa Town | 66〜113m | Myokaku 5 | 5, ¥7,850,000 to ¥56,800,000 (median ¥15,800,000). Houses hardly ever come up for sale. The median plot is 672 m², far and away the largest of the 7. It is the smallest and most mountainous of the 7, and a designated depopulated area. In return it is the town with the most generous migration grants (§14) |
Where the stations are — 7 stations in 4 towns; the other 3 use stations in neighbouring cities
There are 7 stations in Hiki District. Shinrin-koen and Tsukinowa in Namegawa Town, Musashi-Ranzan in Ranzan Town, Ogawamachi, Tobu-Takezawa and Takezawa in Ogawa Town, and Myokaku in Tokigawa Town.
Kawajima, Yoshimi and Hatoyama have no station, so the nearest station for the houses on sale there is in a neighbouring city — Kita-Sakado and Sakado (Sakado City) for Hatoyama; Higashi-Matsuyama (Higashimatsuyama City) and Konosu and Kita-Konosu (Konosu City) for Yoshimi; and Wakaba (Sakado City) and Kawagoe (Kawagoe City) for Kawajima. The diagram includes these stations outside the district, so you can match them straight against the station names in the property list below.
Positions, directions and scale are based on the real coordinates (stations from OpenStreetMap, towns from each town's representative point). The Tobu Tojo Line links only the stations that properties use as their nearest, so the stations between Kawagoe and Wakaba are left out. You can scroll sideways.
How daily life differs from town to town
Prices are the median of the properties on the market now (all 168 listed on SUUMO).
Who it suits = someone commuting into central Tokyo by train
What to watch = Myokaku in Tokigawa is on the JR Hachiko Line, which is a different thing from the Tojo Line in both frequency and destination
Who it suits = someone happy to build life around a car
What to watch = Kawajima Town is the most expensive of the 7 and yet has no station. The price is set by how close it is to Kawagoe and Wakaba
In Typhoon Hagibis in 2019, Tokigawa recorded 604.5 mm over the event (2nd in the prefecture) and 2 districts were cut off
What to watch = Tokigawa Town has no public sewerage; every household is on a septic tank. Its water charges are also the highest of the 7 (§8)
What to watch = check the flood modelling for the exact address. Even within “Hiki District”, the nature of the risk swaps over between west and east
Which town in Hiki District is best to live in?
Two things matter: “does the town have a Tobu Tojo Line station, or do you use a station in a neighbouring city?” and “the hills in the west, or the flat in the east?”. The median runs from ¥9,800,000 in Yoshimi to ¥23,490,000 in Namegawa, a spread of 2.4 times, and Namegawa is the only one of the 7 towns with a month in which the population rose.
CHAPTER 03Trains and cars — how you get around
Getting about in Hiki District comes down to one line, the Tobu Tojo. Ikebukuro is 48 minutes from Shinrin-koen and 61 minutes from Ogawamachi. But only 4 of the 7 towns have a station; Kawajima, Yoshimi and Hatoyama use stations in neighbouring cities.
How you get to Tokyo
| Section | Time | One way |
|---|---|---|
| Ikebukuro → Shinrin-koen (Namegawa Town) | 48 min 47–50 min | IC ¥743 + ¥360 TJ Liner seat reservation |
| Ikebukuro → Tsukinowa (Namegawa Town) | 51 min | IC ¥743 + ¥360 seat reservation |
| Ikebukuro → Musashi-Ranzan (Ranzan Town) | 53 min | IC ¥743 + ¥360 seat reservation |
| Ikebukuro → Ogawamachi (Ogawa Town) | 61 min 60–63 min | IC ¥827 + ¥360 seat reservation |
So the seated morning commute is available to Namegawa Town, which has Shinrin-koen Station within it. The up services leave at 6:02, 6:30, 7:54, 8:18 and 8:53 on weekdays, reaching Ikebukuro at 6:53, 7:23, 8:49, 9:11 and 9:49. A seat reservation costs ¥460 going up and ¥360 coming down.
For ordinary services, Shinrin-koen Station has a first train at 5:00 and a last train to Ikebukuro at 23:17 (weekdays); Ogawamachi Station 5:08 and 23:04; Musashi-Ranzan Station 5:15 and 23:12. There are trains after midnight as well, but they terminate at Kawagoeshi or Shinrin-koen. Sources: Tobu Railway TJ Liner timetable (revised 15 March 2025) / the same, TJ Liner fares / the same, ordinary fare-by-distance table (PDF) (Ikebukuro to Shinrin-koen 52.6 km, Musashi-Ranzan 57.1 km, Ogawamachi 64.1 km) / first and last trains from Tobu station timetables (revised 14 March 2026) / checked 2026-08-13
✈ Airports
The nearest is Tokyo International Airport (a hub airport under national management), about 66.6 km away in a straight line. Next is Narita International Airport (about 97.2 km in a straight line). 🔴 These are straight-line distances. They are not road distances or journey times — please check the operators' timetables for how to actually get there.
🛣 Expressway junctions
This area has 2 motorway entrances (interchanges and junctions).
The Kan-Etsu Expressway Niigata Line = Ranzan-Ogawa (Ranzan Town)
The Metropolitan Inter-City Expressway = Kawajima (Kawajima Town)
How long does it take from Hiki District to Tokyo?
One line, the Tobu Tojo, takes you to Ikebukuro in 48 minutes from Shinrin-koen and 61 minutes from Ogawamachi. But only 4 of the 7 towns have a station; Kawajima, Yoshimi and Hatoyama use stations in neighbouring cities. Namegawa Town is where you can get a seat into Tokyo in the morning.
CHAPTER 04Homes actually on the market right now
SUUMO lists 168 second-hand houses in Hiki District. All 168 have been counted, and the list shows the 18 cheapest. From ¥2,500,000 to ¥56,800,000, with a median of ¥14,940,000, and 55 (33%) at ¥10,000,000 or less. The median plot is 182 square metres (about 55 tsubo) and the median year of construction 1990. Pressing anywhere on a row opens the SUUMO property page.
"Nearest the station first" converts everything to minutes — a walk of ◯ min, ◯ min by bus plus ◯ min from the stop, ◯ km by car (reckoned at 30 km/h) — and compares those. Listings with no such information always appear last, whatever the sort.
Hiki District Yoshimi Town Minamiyoshimi¥2,500,000Yoshimi TownElev. approx. 50 m / Land 231 m² (70 tsubo) / Building 55 m² (17 tsubo) / built 1967 / Higashi-Matsuyama Sta. 38 min walk2 photos →
Hiki District Ogawa Town Koshigoe¥3,300,000Ogawa TownElev. approx. 100 m / Land 182 m² (55 tsubo) / Building 110 m² (33 tsubo) / built 1979 / Ogawa Town Sta. 28 min walk10 photos →
Hiki District Yoshimi Town Kitayoshimi¥3,800,000Yoshimi TownElev. approx. 60 m / Land 439 m² (133 tsubo) / Building 96 m² (29 tsubo) / built 1967 / Higashi-Matsuyama Sta. bus 8 min+25 min walk9 photos →
Hiki District Namegawa Town Haneo¥3,900,000Namegawa TownElev. approx. 50 m / Land 58 m² (18 tsubo) / Building 64 m² (19 tsubo) / built 1975 / Shinrin-koen Sta. bus 6 min+17 min walk10 photos →
Hiki District Hatoyama Town Kaedegaoka 4¥3,980,000Hatoyama TownElev. approx. 60 m / Land 195 m² (59 tsubo) / Building 77 m² (23 tsubo) / built 1975 / Kita-Sakado Sta. bus 12 min+18 min walk8 photos →
Hiki District Hatoyama Town Kaedegaoka 4-16-14¥4,000,000Hatoyama TownElev. approx. 60 m / Land 199 m² (60 tsubo) / Building 77 m² (23 tsubo) / built 1974 / Takasaka Sta. bus 15 min+2 min walk7 photos →
Hiki District Hatoyama Town Kaedegaoka 4¥4,500,000Hatoyama TownElev. approx. 50 m / Land 192 m² (58 tsubo) / Building 77 m² (23 tsubo) / built 1974 / Takasaka Sta. bus 10 min+3 min walk10 photos →
Hiki District Yoshimi Town Minamiyoshimi¥4,800,000Yoshimi TownElev. approx. 50 m / Land 212 m² (64 tsubo) / Building 77 m² (23 tsubo) / built 1966 / Higashi-Matsuyama Sta. 39 min walk3 photos →
Hiki District Ogawa Town Otsuka¥4,900,000Ogawa TownElev. approx. 90 m / Land 166 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 80 m² (24 tsubo) / built 1978 / Ogawa Town Sta. 10 min walk8 photos →
Hiki District Ranzan Town Shiga¥4,980,000Ranzan TownElev. approx. 50 m / Land 165 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 84 m² (25 tsubo) / built 1971 / Musashi-Ranzan Sta. 17 min walk9 photos →
Hiki District Hatoyama Town Kaedegaoka 4¥5,100,000Hatoyama TownElev. approx. 50 m / Land 192 m² (58 tsubo) / Building 77 m² (23 tsubo) / built 1974 / Kita-Sakado Sta. 57 min walk9 photos →
Hiki District Hatoyama Town Kaedegaoka 4¥5,100,000Hatoyama TownElev. approx. 70 m / Land 192 m² (58 tsubo) / Building 77 m² (23 tsubo) / built 1974 / Takasaka Sta. bus 10 min+3 min walk9 photos →
Hiki District Yoshimi Town Higashino 5-6-2¥5,550,000Yoshimi TownElev. approx. 10 m / Land 168 m² (51 tsubo) / Building 93 m² (28 tsubo) / built 1980 / Konosu Sta. bus 13 min+4 min walk3 photos →
Hiki District Ogawa Town Suguro¥5,800,000Ogawa TownElev. approx. 150 m / Land 194 m² (59 tsubo) / Building 82 m² (25 tsubo) / built 1981 / Takezawa Sta. 21 min walk5 photos →
Hiki District Yoshimi Town Shimohosoya 336-14¥5,800,000Yoshimi TownElev. approx. 20 m / Land 156 m² (47 tsubo) / Building 93 m² (28 tsubo) / built 1990 / Higashi-Matsuyama Sta. bus 12 min+11 min walk10 photos →
Hiki District Ranzan Town Hirono¥5,800,000Ranzan TownElev. approx. 70 m / Land 185 m² (56 tsubo) / Building 116 m² (35 tsubo) / built 1990 / Musashi-Ranzan Sta. 37 min walk10 photos →
Hiki District Ogawa Town Suguro¥5,800,000Ogawa TownElev. approx. 150 m / Land 194 m² (59 tsubo) / Building 82 m² (25 tsubo) / built 1996 / Takezawa Sta. 21 min walk2 photos →
Hiki District Ranzan Town Hirono¥6,480,000Ranzan TownElev. approx. 70 m / Land 166 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 96 m² (29 tsubo) / built 1995 / Musashi-Ranzan Sta. 34 min walk10 photos →
The photographs are the images carried on SUUMO. They disappear once a listing ends. Check the real condition of a property on site.
See all 168 on SUUMO → Sources: listings from SUUMO second-hand houses (Hiki District, Saitama). All 168 were retrieved and the top 18 are shown (from ¥2,500,000) / checked 2026-08-19. For price, address, plot area, building area, year of construction and nearest station, 9 randomly chosen listings were checked item by item against the SUUMO property pages and matched. The elevations come from putting the per-property map coordinates in the SUUMO property pages through the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's elevation API (rounded to 10 m). For an exact elevation, GSI Maps .Akiya bank — 11 listings
All 11 houses for sale registered on the at home municipal akiya bank (as checked on 17 August 2026). They are listed cheapest first. There are also 3 land-only registrations. For one of them the building area is not published, so the floor-plan button does not appear.
What do houses start at in Hiki District?
SUUMO lists 168 second-hand houses, from ¥2,500,000 to ¥56,800,000 with a median of ¥14,940,000. The lowest is ¥2,500,000 in Minamiyoshimi, Yoshimi Town (built 1967, plot 231 m²), and 55 (33%) are ¥10,000,000 or less.
CHAPTER 05Is the ground safe?
In Hiki District, what you have to watch out for divides cleanly: landslides in the hills to the west, and water on the flat to the east.
Is this town inside a national earthquake-preparedness zone?
For each major earthquake, national law designates the areas where preparation is to be advanced. Whether a town is designated tells you directly how the national government views the shaking and tsunami expected there.
| Municipality | National designation | Lower 6 or stronger in 30 years | Upper 6 or stronger |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namegawa Town | 🔴 Tokyo Inland | 18.8% | 1.6% |
| Ranzan Town | 🔴 Tokyo Inland | 5.9% | 0.2% |
| Ogawa Town | Tokyo Inland | 4.8% | 0.2% |
| Kawajima Town | Tokyo Inland | 67.1% | 17.6% |
| Yoshimi Town | Tokyo Inland | 51.3% | 9.7% |
| Hatoyama Town | Tokyo Inland | 7.8% | 0.3% |
| Tokigawa Town | Tokyo Inland | 7.3% | 0.3% |
Look up an address on J-SHIS → Designations from the Cabinet Office list of designated municipalities (Nankai Trough Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area／Tokyo Inland Earthquake Emergency Measures Area／Japan Trench / Kuril Trench Earthquake Disaster Prevention Promotion Area ) / probability and surface ground from theNational Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Resilience, J-SHIS earthquake hazard information API (2024 edition, average case, all earthquakes), queried at the town hall coordinates / verified 2026-08-13
Landslide warning zones — 637 across the 7 towns, 8 in 10 of them in Ogawa and Tokigawa
| Town | Landslide warning zone (yellow) | of which special warning zone (red) |
|---|---|---|
| Ogawa Town | 261 | 239 |
| Tokigawa Town | 258 | 223 |
| Ranzan Town | 37 | 35 |
| Yoshimi Town | 37 | 35 |
| Hatoyama Town | 24 | 24 |
| Namegawa Town | 20 | 20 |
| Kawajima Town | 0 | 0 |
Kawajima Town, by contrast, has 0. Saitama Prefecture’s Higashimatsuyama Land Improvement Office does not even list Kawajima Town in its area designations. Sources: Saitama Prefecture, designation of landslide warning zones under the Sediment Disaster Prevention Act (5,236 warning zones and 4,708 special warning zones across the prefecture, as of 28 February Reiwa 8), whose list of sites (PDF, all 5,236 rows) was tallied by town by this site (the prefecture does not publish totals by municipality). / Higashimatsuyama Land Improvement Office, Sediment Disaster Prevention Act (designations in its area). Note that Ogawa Town’s own page gives 121 red zones, but that figure is as of 1 July Heisei 29. The table above is based on the prefecture’s list as of 28 February Reiwa 8. / checked 2026-08-13
What actually happened in Typhoon Hagibis in 2019
Typhoon Hagibis (12 October 2019) brought record rain to the western side of Hiki District. Only the real figures recorded in the towns' official documents and the national report are set out here.
| Town | Rain | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Tokigawa Town | 604.5 mm over the event 19:00 on the 10th to 24:00 on the 12th. 2nd in the prefecture 587.0 mm in 24 hours, 7th in the country |
Landslides cut off 2 districts — 5 households and 11 people in Otsuki, and 17 households and 27 people in Ono (no one called for rescue in either). 8 households lost water. 1 landslip (Otsuki). 19 evacuation centres were open at 22:00 on 12 October, with 76 people in them |
| Ogawa Town | 476 mm in 24 hours the Saitama Prefecture rain gauge at Patria Ogawa |
69 homes damaged (13 partly destroyed / 10 partly damaged (near half) / 46 partly damaged (under 10%). Of these, 29 flooded above floor level and 27 below. None were destroyed outright). Evacuees peaked at 1,443 at 20:00 on 12 October (4 self-organised shelters plus 27 designated emergency evacuation places). There was also bank collapse along the Tsuki River, forest-road collapse, 13 forest landslides, and 239 cases of damage to roads, channels and rivers |
| Hatoyama Town (for comparison) | 324.0 mm over the event | The AMeDAS site that measures temperature in Hiki District. In the same typhoon it had about half Tokigawa's rain |
When a property catches your eye, open these 3
-
Overlay Hazard MapMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Enter an address and it lays flooding, landslides and inland flooding onto one map. Start here.
Open → -
List of landslide warning zones and related sitesSaitama Prefecture, as of 28 February Reiwa 8
It carries the zone name and the oaza of the location for all 5,236 sites in the prefecture. For a property in one of the western towns, searching the oaza here before you go and view it will make the conversation much quicker.
List (PDF) → Explanatory page → -
Saitama Prefecture flood inundation mapsSaitama Prefecture
Inundation modelling river by river for the Arakawa, Oppe, Tsuki, Ichino and other rivers that run through Hiki District. Saitama Prefecture had designated zones on every river it manages by May Reiwa 6. Open this when you are looking at the towns on the eastern flat. The prefecture's page also leads to each town's own flood hazard map.
Open → Flood hazard maps by town →
Is Hiki District at high risk from disasters?
All 7 towns are inside the Tokyo Inland earthquake zone, but the chance of lower 6 or stronger shaking in 30 years differs greatly by town — 67.1% in Kawajima Town and 51.3% in Yoshimi Town, against 4.8% in Ogawa Town and 5.9% in Ranzan Town. The nature of the risk also divides: landslides in the western hills, water on the eastern flat.
CHAPTER 06What summer and winter are like
In Hiki District, the only Japan Meteorological Agency site that measures temperature is Hatoyama (44 m above sea level). Tokigawa has an observation point too, but it measures only rainfall. Below are the normals for Hatoyama (1991 to 2020), with Kumagaya Local Meteorological Office alongside for comparison.
The twelve months of temperature, set out as they are
The left end of each bar is the mean daily low for that month and the right end the mean daily high (Hiki (Hatoyama), 30-year mean 1991 to 2020).
These are the numbers for how summer nights and winter mornings compare with Tokyo
| Days per year | Hiki (Hatoyama) | Tokyo |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical nights minimum 25°C or above | 2.3 days | 17.8 days |
| Days above 35°C maximum 35°C or above | 16.5 days | 4.8 days |
| Days above 30°C maximum 30°C or above | 59.6 days | 52.1 days |
| Frost days minimum below 0°C | 92.1 days | 15.2 days |
| Days below freezing all day maximum below 0°C | 0.0 days | 0.0 days |
Rain at Hatoyama is 1,377 mm a year. Tokigawa, up in the hills, has 1,690 mm a year (mean 2000 to 2020), about 300 mm more. Sources: Japan Meteorological Agency normals (1991 to 2020) for Hatoyama, Kumagaya and Tokigawa (Tokigawa’s statistical period is 2000 to 2020) / what each site measures from the Japan Meteorological Agency list of regional observatories (PDF) / checked 2026-08-13
Snow matters once in ten years
But on 15 February 2014, Kumagaya recorded 62 cm and Chichibu 98 cm. Both are the highest ever recorded at those sites (Kumagaya since December 1896, Chichibu since January 1926). Against Kumagaya’s normal deepest cover of 9 cm, 62 cm is a different order of magnitude, so it is safer to assume that the once-in-a-decade snow is on another scale.
What is worth having is winter tyres and something to shift snow with. Especially if you are buying in one of the hillside settlements in Ogawa Town or Tokigawa Town in the west, it is reassuring to check the gradient of the road when you view, and judge whether you could get the car out on a heavy snow day. Sources: Japan Meteorological Agency, top 10 values ever recorded, for Kumagaya (deepest monthly snow cover 62 cm on 15 February 2014, records from December 1896) and Chichibu (98 cm on 15 February 2014, records from January 1926) / normals from Kumagaya / checked 2026-08-13
How cold is winter in Hiki District?
The only Japan Meteorological Agency site measuring temperature is Hatoyama (44 m above sea level), where the August daily high is 32.1°C and the January daily low −4.0°C. Summer is much the same as Kumagaya, but the winter morning is 3.6°C colder than Kumagaya (−0.4°C).
CHAPTER 07Shops, hospitals, schools
Hospitals — the critical care centre is in Kawagoe, the designated emergency hospitals in Ogawa Town
| Tertiary emergency care | Saitama Prefecture has 11 critical care centres. There is none in Hiki District or Higashimatsuyama City; the nearest is Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University (Kawagoe City). It is also one of the prefecture's 2 paediatric critical care centres |
|---|---|
| Designated emergency hospitals | Of the 7 towns of Hiki District, only Ogawa Town has designated emergency hospitals — Ogawa Red Cross Hospital (292 beds) and Segawa Hospital (41 beds). In practice, acute admissions and emergencies are taken by Higashimatsuyama City (6 designated emergency hospitals) and Ogawa Town |
| Hospitals in the town | Namegawa 1 (Saitama Shinrin Hospital, 274 beds, mainly psychiatric) / Ranzan 1 (Saitama Prefectural Ranzango, 65 beds) / Ogawa 3 / Kawajima 1 (Heisei-no-Mori Kawajima Hospital, 238 beds, long-term care) / Hatoyama 1 (Asamie Hospital, 305 beds, long-term care) / Yoshimi 0 and Tokigawa 0 |
| From the ambulance call to hospital | The average from the call to arrival at hospital is 54.0 minutes for the Hiki Wide-Area Fire Department (Namegawa, Ranzan, Ogawa, Yoshimi and Tokigawa, plus Higashimatsuyama City), 53.7 minutes for the Kawagoe District Fire Bureau (Kawajima Town) and 52.0 minutes for Nishi-Iruma Wide-Area (Hatoyama Town). The Saitama Prefecture average is 49.8 minutes and the national average 44.6 minutes (all during Reiwa 6) |
| Children at night | The Hiki District Children's Night Emergency Centre (Shinmei-cho 1-15-10, Higashimatsuyama City, inside Higashimatsuyama Medical Association Hospital / 0493-22-2822). Monday to Friday (except public holidays and the New Year period), reception 19:30 to 22:00, consultations from 20:00. For children aged 15 and under, and you must telephone before you go. At weekends and on public holidays, the Higashimatsuyama City holiday and night emergency clinic at the same address (Monday to Saturday 17:00 to 23:00 / Sundays and holidays 9:00 to 23:00) |
Schools — mergers are under way right now
| Town | Primary schools | Lower-secondary schools | What is coming |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yoshimi Town | 6 schools | 1 schools | The 6 primary schools become one, “Yoshimi Primary School”, in April Reiwa 10 (on the Yoshimi Lower Secondary site) |
| Ranzan Town | 3 schools | 2 schools | In April Reiwa 11, 3 primary schools become 1 (Musashi-Ranzan Primary) and 2 lower secondary schools become 1 (Musashi-Ranzan Lower Secondary) |
| Ogawa Town | 5 schools | 2 schools | In April Reiwa 9 and April Reiwa 11, 5 primary schools become 2; in April Reiwa 12, 2 lower secondary schools become 1 (the first lower secondary merger was carried out in April Reiwa 7) |
| Kawajima Town | 3 schools | 2 schools | Merged into Tsubasa Primary School in April Reiwa 7. A combined primary and lower secondary school sharing a site with Kawajima Lower Secondary |
| Namegawa Town | 3 schools | 1 schools | No merger plans can be found. Tsukinowa Primary School was newly built in Heisei 22 |
| Hatoyama Town | 3 schools | 1 schools | Merged in Heisei 19. The FY Reiwa 7 board of education minutes show no review of school size under way |
| Tokigawa Town | 3 schools | 2 schools | Merged in Heisei 16. No current reorganisation plan can be found |
Shopping — the supermarkets and DIY stores are concentrated in the 4 eastern towns
| Town | Yaoko | Cainz | Roadside station |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namegawa Town | Tsukinowa Ekimae (Tsukinowa 1-4-1, 9:00–22:00) | Namegawa Mall (Haneo 2740, 9:30–20:00) | — |
| Ranzan Town | Ranzan Bypass (Hirasawa 2440, 9:00–21:30) | Ranzan (Hirasawa 800-1, 9:30–20:00) | — |
| Ogawa Town | Ogawa Shopping Center (Otsuka 1152-1) / Midorigaoka (both 9:00–22:00) | Ogawa (Otsuka 1280, 10:00–19:00) | Ogawamachi |
| Kawajima Town | Kawajima (Nakayama 1373-1, 9:00–21:45) | Kawajima Interchange (Kamiigusa 210, 9:00–20:00) | — |
| Yoshimi Town | The nearest are stores in Higashimatsuyama City and Konosu City | Ichigo-no-Sato Yoshimi | |
| Hatoyama Town | The nearest are stores in Sakado City and Higashimatsuyama City | — | |
| Tokigawa Town | The nearest are stores in Ranzan Town and Ogawa Town | — | |
Are there hospitals in Hiki District?
Of the 7 towns, only Ogawa Town has designated emergency hospitals (Ogawa Red Cross Hospital, 292 beds, and Segawa Hospital, 41 beds), and Yoshimi Town and Tokigawa Town have no hospital at all within them. There is no critical care centre in the district; the nearest is Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University (Kawagoe City).
CHAPTER 08What it costs you every year after you buy
Even within Hiki District, what water and drainage cost varies a good deal by town. All 7 are set out here on the same terms (13 mm meter, 20 m³ a month, including tax).
Water charges differ 1.8 times between the dearest town and the cheapest
| Town | 20 m³ a month (including tax) | Meter reading | Most recent revision |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hatoyama Town | ¥2,288 | 1 month | — |
| Kawajima Town | ¥2,651 | 1 month | Revised in October Reiwa 7 (the minimum-volume system was abolished) |
| Ranzan Town | ¥2,832 | 1 to 2 months | — |
| Yoshimi Town | ¥2,948 | 2 months | Revised in October Reiwa 6 |
| Namegawa Town | ¥3,014 | 2 months | Revised in April Reiwa 8 (it was ¥2,310 before) |
| Ogawa Town | ¥3,014 | 2 months | Revised in October Reiwa 6 |
| Tokigawa Town | ¥4,147 | 2 months | Revised in October Reiwa 4 (an average rise of 39.3%) |
One more thing: most of the towns bill every two months (Yoshimi, Namegawa, Ogawa and Tokigawa), so the bill that arrives is about twice the figure above. Sources: calculated and cross-checked by this site from each town’s official tariff — Hatoyama Town / Kawajima Town / Ranzan Town (the town’s worked example states “¥2,832”) / Yoshimi Town / Namegawa Town (revised 1 April Reiwa 8) / Ogawa Town (quick-reference PDF, two-month table) / Tokigawa Town (the town’s worked example states “¥8,294 for two months”). The waivers from Tokigawa Town, waiving a quarter of the water standing charge and each town’s notices / checked 2026-08-13
Public sewerage, or a septic tank
| Town | Wastewater treatment overall coverage | Sewerage | Rural community drainage | Septic tanks and others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranzan Town | 92.7% | 69.1% | 0.0% | 23.6% |
| Namegawa Town | 90.8% | 56.4% | 6.8% | 27.6% |
| Hatoyama Town | 89.5% | 67.8% | 6.7% | 14.9% |
| Kawajima Town | 88.4% | 53.4% | 0.0% | 35.1% |
| Yoshimi Town | 80.2% | 28.9% | 27.4% | 24.0% |
| Ogawa Town | 79.1% | 58.7% | 5.2% | 15.3% |
| Tokigawa Town | 79.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 79.0% |
Whether the house you are considering is on public sewerage or a septic tank is something to ask without fail when you view it. Even outside Tokigawa Town, sewerage coverage is 53 to 69%, with the rest on septic tanks or rural community drainage. Yoshimi Town has 27.4% on rural community drainage, the highest of the 7, so the arrangement changes from district to district. Sources: Saitama Prefecture, the state of sewerage in Saitama and its list by municipality (end of FY Reiwa 6, PDF) / checked 2026-08-13
5 of the 7 towns qualify for the migration support grant
| Qualifying towns | The 5 towns of Ogawa, Kawajima, Yoshimi, Hatoyama and Tokigawa (15 municipalities across Saitama Prefecture). Namegawa Town and Ranzan Town do not qualify. |
|---|---|
| Amount | ¥600,000 for a single person / ¥1,000,000 for a household (2 or more) / ¥300,000 to ¥1,000,000 added for each household member under 18 who moves with you. Up to ¥2,000,000 |
| Where you move from | In the 10 years before you transfer your resident registration, 5 years or more in total either 1. living in the 23 wards of Tokyo, or 2. living in the Tokyo area (Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba and Kanagawa, excluding designated disadvantaged areas) and commuting into the 23 wards of Tokyo. Even a move from within Saitama Prefecture qualifies if your workplace is in the 23 wards of Tokyo. |
| Work requirements | As well as taking a job advertised on the prefecture's migration and employment matching site, there are categories for starting a business, teleworking and so on |
| Other | Apply within 1 year of moving / intend to go on living there for 5 years or more / not have received the same grant in the past 10 years |
What do water charges cost in Hiki District?
Even on the same terms (13 mm meter, 20 m³ a month, including tax) it varies a good deal by town: ¥2,288 in Hatoyama Town at the cheapest and ¥4,147 in Tokigawa Town at the dearest, a difference of 1.8 times.
CHAPTER 09What happens when you want to sell
Hiki District has 168 second-hand houses on SUUMO and 11 on the akiya bank. Against the 119,664 people in the 7 towns, that is 1 house per 668 people. And on land prices — while Saitama Prefecture as a whole rose 2.0% for residential land in the Reiwa 8 published land prices, all 7 towns of Hiki District were down.
| Town | Average, residential land | Year on year |
|---|---|---|
| Saitama Average | ¥149,500/m² | ＋2.0% |
| Kawagoe City(for comparison) | ¥153,700/m² | ＋2.1% |
| Higashimatsuyama City(neighbouring, for comparison) | ¥57,600/m² | ＋0.2% |
| Namegawa Town | ¥53,100/m² | −0.1% |
| Ranzan Town | ¥36,600/m² | −0.3% |
| Kawajima Town | ¥33,700/m² | −1.1% |
| Hatoyama Town | ¥29,800/m² | −0.5% |
| Yoshimi Town | ¥27,200/m² | −0.4% |
| Ogawa Town | ¥25,300/m² | −0.6% |
| Tokigawa Town | ¥16,900/m² | −1.2% |
| What to look at | The reality across the 7 towns of Hiki District |
|---|---|
| Depth of the market | SUUMO 168 plus 11 on the akiya bank. 1 per 668 people. 55 (33%) at ¥10,000,000 or less, and 10 at ¥5,000,000 or less |
| Price band | ¥2,500,000 to ¥56,800,000, median ¥14,940,000 (all 168). By town the median runs from ¥9,800,000 in Yoshimi to ¥23,490,000 in Namegawa, a spread of 2.4 times |
| Where it stands in the prefecture | Even Namegawa Town, the highest, is 36% of the prefectural average, and Tokigawa Town is 11%. Namegawa is 3.1 times Tokigawa. |
| The pool of buyers | 119,664 across the 7 towns. Namegawa Town is the only one with a month in which the population rose (+19 on the previous month at 1 July Reiwa 8, §10) |
| About the schools | Mergers are under way right now — Kawajima merged into Tsubasa Primary in Reiwa 7, Yoshimi brings 6 schools into 1 in Reiwa 10, and Ranzan brings 3 primary and 2 lower secondary schools each into 1 in Reiwa 11 (§7). Check the catchment before you buy. |
Will the house I buy sell when I want to sell it?
168 on SUUMO plus 11 on the akiya bank, that is 1 per 668 people. 🔴 While Saitama Prefecture as a whole rose 2.0% for residential land in the Reiwa 8 published land prices, all 7 towns of Hiki District were down (Namegawa −0.1% to Ogawa −0.6%).
CHAPTER 10Who lives here, and how many
| Town | Population | Households | Change on the previous month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ogawa Town | 26,006 | 11,632 | −27 |
| Namegawa Town | 19,923 | 8,207 | +19 |
| Kawajima Town | 17,775 | 7,304 | −13 |
| Ranzan Town | 17,247 | 7,648 | −14 |
| Yoshimi Town | 16,607 | 6,848 | −16 |
| Hatoyama Town | 12,515 | 5,313 | −16 |
| Tokigawa Town | 9,591 | 4,087 | −15 |
For comparison, neighbouring Higashimatsuyama City has 91,617 people. All 7 towns of Hiki District together are about 1.3 times Higashimatsuyama City. Sources: Saitama Prefecture, estimated population (monthly report data), Reiwa 8 summary (Excel) / as of 1 July Reiwa 8 / checked 2026-08-13
The information on this site is gathered by an AI that visits primary sources — municipalities, the Japan Meteorological Agency, national statistics — on a regular cycle, and it is updated with a source and a date of verification attached.
Taking the 7 municipalities covered on this page together, 3,424 of the 122,388 people living there are foreign residents. That is below the national average (3.26%).
Nationally, foreign residents make up 3.26% of the total population (4,031,159 out of 123,767,642).
34 municipalities in the country are above 10%.
Source: calculated by this site from the municipality-level tables of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Population, population change and households based on the Basic Resident Register" (as of 1 January Reiwa 8, published 2026-07-29). The ministry's publication page / verified 2026-08-17
Is the population of Hiki District falling?
119,664 across the 7 towns (1 July Reiwa 8). The largest is Ogawa Town with 26,006 and the smallest Tokigawa Town with 9,591. Of the 7 towns, only Namegawa Town is up on the previous month, by 19.
CHAPTER 11Community life and the year's events
Hiki District is 7 towns, each its own local authority. Even within “Hiki District”, how you put out the rubbish and what water costs differ — and so does how you get on with the community. Tokigawa Town is the clearest case.
| Where you live | What community life involves |
|---|---|
| Tokigawa Town, Ogawa Town | Settlements in the hills. Every household in Tokigawa Town is on a septic tank (§8), so keeping the water and drainage working is each household's responsibility. In the 2019 typhoon, 2 districts were cut off (§5) — this is land where helping each other actually counts |
| Yoshimi Town, Kawajima Town | Farming villages on the flat. Yoshimi Town has 27.4% on rural community drainage, the highest of the 7 (§8), and the drainage arrangement differs from district to district. Maintaining the channels is the settlement's work |
| Namegawa Town, Ranzan Town | There is newer housing around the station. Namegawa Town is the only one of the 7 with a month in which the population rose (§10), and it is an area where many people have moved in |
| Hatoyama Town | It has the new-town estates of Hatogaoka, Kaedegaoka and Matsugaoka. Hatoyama prefectural upper secondary school closed at the end of March Reiwa 8 and merged with Ogose to become Ogose Shoo upper secondary school (§7) |
What comes round every year
The biggest event in Hiki District is the Ogawamachi Tanabata Festival. It began in 1949 (Showa 24) as a wish for the recovery of “Ogawa Town, home of washi paper”, and still, over two days in late July, bamboo decorations made lavishly from Ogawa washi line the whole town centre. There are fireworks too. Ogawa washi, with 1,300 years of history (Hosokawa-shi is UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage), has become the town's festival — this is the face of the western side of Hiki District.
Sources: the Tokigawa Town conditions from Tokigawa Town migration and settlement renovation grant (conditions and amounts) / the Tanabata festival from Saitama Prefecture official tourism site “Choko Tabi Saitama”, Ogawamachi Tanabata Festival / Hosokawa-shi paper, population, drainage and schools from the same sources as §1, §8, §10 and §7 / checked 2026-08-18Is community life in Hiki District demanding?
The 7 towns are each their own local authority, so how you put out the rubbish, what water costs and how you get on with the community all differ. Tokigawa Town's grant conditions say plainly that “the household must intend to live with an awareness of being part of the community”.
CHAPTER 12Things nearby that move land prices
What drives land prices in Hiki District is whether there is a Tobu Tojo Line station, the difference between the western hills and the eastern flat, and the fact that each town is independent.
1. Prices are not set by whether there is a station
This is what makes Hiki District interesting. The highest land price is in Namegawa Town (¥53,100/m²), and the highest median for houses on the market is also Namegawa Town (¥23,490,000) — it has the 2 stations of Shinrin-koen and Tsukinowa, on the side of the Tobu Tojo Line nearer central Tokyo. Yet Ogawa Town, at the terminus of the same line, has a median of ¥9,990,000, second from bottom of the 7. What counts is not whether there is a station but how close you are to central Tokyo. And Kawajima Town, with no station, has a median of ¥17,490,000, second of the 7. Kawajima sits across the Arakawa on the Kawagoe and Saitama side, with Wakaba and Kawagoe as its nearest stations — it belongs to the Kawagoe living sphere, not the Tobu Tojo Line. The cheapest is Yoshimi Town, with no station, at ¥9,800,000.
2. The more Saitama Prefecture rises, the wider the gap
Residential land in Saitama Prefecture is +2.0%, and Kawagoe City +2.1%. Meanwhile all 7 towns of Hiki District are down (§9). Against the prefectural average of ¥149,500/m², Tokigawa Town is ¥16,900/m², or 11%. The more the prefecture rises, the wider the gap with Hiki District grows. A tailwind when you buy, a headwind when you sell — this is land you choose with that asymmetry in mind.
3. Landslides in the west; water and ground in the east
There are 637 landslide warning zones across the 7 towns, and 519 (81%) of them are in Ogawa Town and Tokigawa Town. Most are special warning zones (red), which put conditions on rebuilding (§5). Kawajima Town, by contrast, has 0. In exchange, the chance of lower 6 or stronger shaking at the town hall is 67.1%, and that is because the ground there is back marsh (Ogawa Town, on a sandy gravel terrace, is 4.8%). The reason things are cheap is completely different in the west and the east — mistake one for the other and you will judge it wrongly.
4. School mergers are under way right now
Kawajima Town merged its primary schools into Tsubasa Primary School in April Reiwa 7, making a combined primary and lower secondary school sharing a site with Kawajima Lower Secondary. Yoshimi Town brings 6 primary schools into one, “Yoshimi Primary School”, in April Reiwa 10 (on the Yoshimi Lower Secondary site). Ranzan Town brings 3 primary and 2 lower secondary schools each into one in April Reiwa 11. In three of the towns, where the school is will change. For a household with children that matters sooner than land prices. Check with the town's board of education before you buy.
Sources: land prices from[Official land prices] (Reiwa 8) Table of average prices and year-on-year change by prefecture, municipality and land use (compiled from the Land Information Center and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism published land prices, 27 April Reiwa 8) / the properties as in §9, landslides and earthquakes as in §5, schools as in §7 / checked 2026-08-18What sets land prices in Hiki District?
🔴 What counts is not whether there is a station but how close you are to central Tokyo. Namegawa Town has both the highest land price and the highest median for houses on the market (¥53,100/m² and ¥23,490,000), yet Ogawa Town, at the terminus of the same Tojo Line, is ¥9,990,000. Kawajima Town, with no station, is second at ¥17,490,000 because it belongs to the Kawagoe living sphere.
CHAPTER 13What this place makes
What a place earns its living from shows up both at your dinner table and in your work once you live there. The amount raised through the hometown tax scheme is a rough measure of how many products a place has that people all over Japan choose.
The largest is Ranzan Town (¥195,400,000, 19th within Saitama Prefecture)
| Municipality | Amount received | Listings | Rank in the prefecture |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ranzan Town | ¥195,400,000 | 7,277 listings | 19th in Saitama Prefecture |
| Yoshimi Town | ¥98,450,000 | 5,577 listings | 28th in Saitama Prefecture |
| Kawajima Town | ¥79,850,000 | 4,229 listings | 30th in Saitama Prefecture |
| Namegawa Town | ¥39,850,000 | 1,792 listings | 46th in Saitama Prefecture |
| Ogawa Town | ¥36,760,000 | 1,523 listings | 48th in Saitama Prefecture |
| Tokigawa Town | ¥21,810,000 | 797 listings | 53rd in Saitama Prefecture |
| Hatoyama Town | ¥15,280,000 | 543 listings | 55th in Saitama Prefecture |
What this town names as its own products
Of the 7 towns of Hiki District, what Ranzan Town lists as “Ranzan Town specialities” is the Ranzan local sake “Omurasaki”, sweet potato yokan in “Beniazuma” and “purple potato”, Ranzan spicy offal yakisoba and the “Ranmaru-yaki” filled cake.
Source:Ranzan Town, “Ranzan Town specialities”/ Verified 2026-08-20You can support a town without living there
Even if a move is still some way off, you can be involved from today through the hometown tax scheme. Your donation goes straight to the municipality, and you choose what it is spent on. A way to give something back to a place you got to know here.
What does Hiki District earn its living from?
Furusato tax donations across the 7 towns came to ¥487,440,000 in FY Reiwa 7 (21,738 donations), the largest being Ranzan Town's ¥195,400,000 (19th within Saitama Prefecture).
CHAPTER 14A message from the 7 towns of Hiki District
How the receiving side sees it. The 7 towns are separate local authorities, so their stances differ too. 5 towns qualify for the migration support grant (Ogawa, Kawajima, Yoshimi, Hatoyama and Tokigawa); Namegawa Town and Ranzan Town do not (§8) — the town whose population is growing has no need to draw people in, and it shows.
The most generous is the smallest town
| Tokigawa Town's grants | Detail |
|---|---|
| Housing acquisition grant (fixed sum) | ¥300,000 for a new build, rebuild or ready-built house / ¥100,000 for a second-hand house. For households with a child of lower secondary school age or younger, or where both partners are under 45 |
| Additions to it | ¥200,000 for someone moving in / ¥100,000 if you use a builder based in the town / ¥50,000 per child of lower secondary school age or younger / ¥100,000 for living with or near your parents' household / ¥200,000 towards demolishing an existing building |
| Renovation grant | Up to ¥500,000. Re-roofing, external walls, the bath boiler and water heater, changing the layout, and even clearing and disposing of bulky rubbish all qualify |
| Builders based in the town | The town names 7 firms publicly (Iwasaki Komuten, Ozawa Kensetsu, Onoda Zaimokuten, Nakajima Zaimokuten, Matsumoto Kensetsu, Yamazaki Komuten and Shibata Shokai) |
| Migration support grant | The prefectural scheme: ¥600,000 for a single person / ¥1,000,000 for 2 or more / ¥300,000 to ¥1,000,000 added per person under 18 (§8) |
Buy a second-hand house, move in, use a builder based in the town, and have one child — ¥100,000 + ¥200,000 + ¥100,000 + ¥50,000 = ¥450,000, with the ¥500,000 renovation grant and ¥200,000 demolition grant on top if you need them. The town with the fewest people of the 7 (9,591) and the fewest houses coming up (5 of the 168) is the one that has prepared the most generous support — that is Tokigawa Town.
Does Hiki District welcome people moving in? Is there any support?
The 7 towns are separate local authorities and their stances differ: 5 towns qualify for the migration support grant; Namegawa Town and Ranzan Town do not. The most generous is the smallest, Tokigawa Town, where the housing acquisition grant is ¥300,000 for a new build and ¥100,000 for a second-hand house, with additions such as ¥200,000 for someone moving in.
CHAPTER 15A year in Hiki District
The temperature, and what happens in daily life. A year in Hiki District comes down to “summer the same as Kumagaya, and a winter morning 3.6°C colder than Kumagaya”. The only Japan Meteorological Agency site measuring temperature in Hiki District is Hatoyama (44 m above sea level), and the figures below are from there (§6).
| Month | Hiki that month |
|---|---|
| month 1 | −4.0 to 9.7°C. 92.1 days a year below freezing at night (Tokyo 15.2) — a quarter of the year has a sub-zero morning. That is 3.6°C different from Kumagaya (−0.4°C) |
| month 2 | −2.8 to 10.6°C. This is the month when the once-in-a-decade snow comes — on 15 February 2014, Kumagaya recorded 62 cm and Chichibu 98 cm, both the highest ever recorded (§6) |
| month 3 | 0.9 to 14.0°C. The morning frosts end in the last third of the month |
| month 4 | 6.2 to 19.6°C. The flower season at Shinrin-koen (Namegawa Town). The most comfortable stretch of the year begins |
| month 5 | 11.8 to 24.2°C. Rice-planting season. The flat land of Yoshimi and Kawajima turns to water as far as you can see |
| month 6 | 16.9 to 26.7°C. The rainy season. Tokigawa, up in the hills, has 1,690 mm a year, 300 mm more than Hatoyama (1,377 mm) (§6) |
| month 7 | 21.1 to 30.6°C. Two days at the end of the month are the Ogawamachi Tanabata Festival — the festival of Ogawa washi bamboo decorations, running since Showa 24 |
| month 8 | A daily high of 32.1°C and 16.5 days above 35°C (Tokyo 4.8). But only 2.3 tropical nights a year (Tokyo 17.8) — far hotter than Tokyo by day and far cooler than Tokyo at night |
| month 9 | 18.3 to 27.6°C. The typhoon month. In Typhoon Hagibis in October 2019, Tokigawa had 604.5 mm and 2 districts were cut off, and Ogawa Town had 1,443 evacuees (§5) |
| month 10 | 11.8 to 21.9°C. The rice harvest, and the autumn colours begin in the western hills |
| month 11 | 4.5 to 16.6°C. The cold mornings come back |
| month 12 | −1.5 to 12.0°C. The month to get winter tyres and something to shift snow with. In the hillside settlements of Ogawa Town and Tokigawa Town in particular, whether you can get the car out on a heavy snow day is what makes the difference (§6) |
What is a year of living in Hiki District like?
92.1 days a year below freezing at night — a quarter of the year has a sub-zero morning. February is the month when the once-in-a-decade snow comes; on 15 February 2014, Kumagaya recorded 62 cm and Chichibu 98 cm, both the highest ever recorded.
CHAPTER 16The people who run this city
When you are thinking about moving, who is running this town, and where they are taking it, is something a future resident wants to know even more than someone already living there. This chapter sets out, with sources, only what each local authority publishes itself. 🔴 This page covers 7 local authorities, and all of them were looked at against the same 6 measures (22 August 2026). 29 of the 7 × 6 = 42 were found, and the head's name could be confirmed for 2 of the authorities.
| Local authority | Head | of the 6 | What was published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Namegawa Town | Could not find one | 4 | Head's introduction, list of assembly members, minutes search, comprehensive plan |
| Ranzan Town | Could not find one | 5 | Head's introduction, policy address, list of assembly members, minutes search, comprehensive plan |
| Ogawa Town | Shimada Yasuhiro | 5 | Head's introduction, policy address, list of assembly members, minutes search, comprehensive plan |
| Kawajima Town | Could not find one | 3 | Head's introduction, live and recorded assembly broadcasts, minutes search |
| Yoshimi Town | Could not find one | 4 | Head's introduction, policy address, list of assembly members, minutes search |
| Hatoyama Town | Ogawa Tomoya | 5 | Head's introduction, policy address, list of assembly members, minutes search, comprehensive plan |
| Tokigawa Town | Could not find one | 3 | Head's introduction, list of assembly members, minutes search |
🔴 Age and gender have not been guessed from the name.Only what is published is reproduced here, as published.Ogawa Town introduction page →
🔴 Age and gender have not been guessed from the name.Only what is published is reproduced here, as published.Hatoyama Town introduction page →
🔴 The names, photographs and social media of individual council members are not carried on this site. We point you to where you can read them.
Once you have moved, when your own turn to decide comes round is something those three will tell you.
🔴 And mayors change. This site always records the date it checked (2026-08-22), and reopens the original page each time to confirm by machine that the name is still there. If you notice something has nonetheless gone out of date, please let us know.
Who is running the local authorities in this area?
This page covers 7 local authorities. As of 22 August 2026, all of them were looked at against the same 6 measures, and the head's name could be confirmed for 2 of them. (Ogawa Town = Shimada Yasuhiro / Hatoyama Town = Ogawa Tomoya) What this site looks at is six things: the head's introduction, the policy address, the list of assembly members, live and recorded assembly broadcasts, a minutes search, and the comprehensive plan. 🔴 It makes no judgement of good or bad. Only whether each is published or not.
CHAPTER 17Where to go on a day off
Days off never show up in the numbers when you are house-hunting, yet they matter directly to how happy you are once you live there. This chapter counts, on the same measure for every area, the places you can go on a day off around Hiki (Hatoyama) and the places family and friends can stay. The area currently has 7 hot spring and day bathing facilities, 1 amusement park, zoo or aquarium, and 2 roadside stations. 🔴 Every figure is the number registered in the map data (OpenStreetMap) — there may well be more in reality.
| What | Number counted, and names |
|---|---|
| ♨ Hot springs and day baths | Ranzan Keikoku Natural Hot Spring; Heiseiro (now closed), Kawasaki Big, Kodaira Natural Hot Spring / Terme Ogawa, Ogawa Onsen Karaku-no-Yu, Tokigawa Shikisaikan / Toki-no-Yu, a Showa-retro public bathhouse / Tamagawa Onsen and 7 in all |
| 🏯 Castles and castle sites | Yamada Castle ruins, Yamazaki Castle ruins, Sugaya-yakata, Sugiyama Castle, Matsuyama Castle ruins, Ogura Castle ruins in the Hiki castle and residence group (6) |
| 🎡 Amusement parks, zoos and aquariums | Saba-ccha Outdoor |
| 🖼 Museums, galleries and memorial halls | Namegawa Town Eco-Museum Centre, Saitama Prefectural Museum of History, Ogawa Washi Museum, Katakuri and Omurasaki Woods exhibition and rest house, the Yoshida Family House, the Toyama Memorial Museum, Yoshimi Town Buried Cultural Property Centre, Jikoji Treasure Hall (8) |
| ⛩ Shrines and temples | 36 shrines and 45 temples. Those with a Wikipedia entry are Joanji, Ikonohayamitamahime Shrine, Enkoji, Suwa Shrine, Shakuzenji, Hachiman Shrine, Sugaya Shrine and Hojoji |
| 🚗 Roadside stations | Ichigo-no-Sato Yoshimi, Ogawamachi (2) |
| 🐕 Dog runs | Shinrin-koen Dog Run and 2 in all |
| 🛣 Expressway service and parking areas | Ranzan PA (up) / Ranzan PA (down) (🔌 EV charging) |
Somewhere to stay — for family and friends, and for your own travels
| What | Number counted |
|---|---|
| 🏨 Hotels and ryokan | 9 |
| 🏠 Guesthouses and hostels | Not found in the map data |
| ⛺ Campsites and auto-campsites | Kitsuneppara Park Children's Campsite, Dodaira Observatory Stars and Greenery Centre, Kinomura Campsite and 4 in all |
| 🏕 Glamping | Not found among the campsite or hotel names |
| 🚐 RV parks (overnight in your vehicle) | Hatchoko Park RV Park (Yoshimi Town) |
This table is the result of me (an AI) putting the same question to the map data for every area (areas are retrieved in batches, so the verification date on some pages is a day apart). Facilities not registered on the map are not counted. "Not found" does not mean "there are none" — nor that the town is any the lesser for it.
Sources: the counts and names of facilities fromOpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL) / RV parks fromJapan RV Association, list of certified "Kuruma-tabi" RV parks / roadside stations fromMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, list of "michi-no-eki" roadside stations / expressway service and parking areas, and the shops inside them, also from OpenStreetMap (judged by machine on whether they fall within the site outline) / verified 2026-08-20Are there places to go on a day off, and places to stay?
Counting from the map data (OpenStreetMap) and the RV Association and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism lists, there are 7 hot spring and day bathing facilities, 1 amusement park, zoo or aquarium, 2 roadside stations and 9 hotels and ryokan. Facilities not on the map are not counted, so there may well be more in reality (see §17).
What I (an AI) was able to find on this town's official site
This site reads the official websites of every area it covers against the same 30 items, out of 100, measuring how quickly someone thinking of moving can reach the information they need. What was measured is the official website of Ranzan Town, and the total was 56 points (measured 20 August 2026).
"Not found" does not mean "there is none." It means I followed the official site and could not find it. Tell us the published page and the next measurement will reflect it.
| Area | Score | What was found |
|---|---|---|
| Getting started with a move | 0 / 20 | Not found |
| Housing | 10 / 15 | There is an akiya bank; listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area; completed deals are organised |
| The money side of living here | 12 / 15 | Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table; child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope; there are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax |
| Disaster information | 18 / 20 | Hazard maps are published by district; flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered; the year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated; and 2 more |
| Industry and local produce | 10 / 10 | A list of local speciality products is on the official site; hometown tax results are published year by year; there are support schemes for businesses and industry |
| Transport | 4 / 10 | There is a community bus timetable |
| Can an AI read it? | 2 / 10 | Every page carries an updated date; statistics are published as Excel or CSV |
See all 30 items and the pages used to judge them
0 / 3 There is a relocation and settlement pageNot found 0 / 3 There is a dedicated relocation site
Only pages within the official site 0 / 3 A contact point (department, telephone, opening hours)
0 of department, telephone and opening hours were stated 0 / 5 Support schemes state amounts and conditions
Not found 0 / 3 There is trial housing or a trial-stay scheme
Not found 0 / 3 Vacancies in trial housing are published
Not found 4 / 4 There is an akiya bank
About the Ranzan Town akiya bank scheme Go and see → 2 / 4 Listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area
8 of 14 (57%) have all 4 items Go and see → 4 / 4 Completed deals are organised
No completed deals appear in the list Go and see → 0 / 3 The conditions of use are stated
Not found 4 / 5 Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table
The charges are given as figures in the text Go and see → 5 / 5 Child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope
The scope of free and subsidised care is stated down to the age Go and see → 3 / 3 There are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax
Both the rates and the amounts are stated Go and see → 0 / 2 Tie-ups with banks for mortgages and the like
Not found 5 / 5 Hazard maps are published by district
44 documents by area Go and see → 5 / 5 Flood, landslide and earthquake are all covered
Flood / landslide / earthquake Go and see → 3 / 3 The year the assumptions were last reviewed is stated
The “Ranzan Town disaster map” was produced in March Reiwa 4 Go and see → 2 / 4 Is it machine-readable (a map system or a text PDF)?
It appears to be a scanned-image PDF Go and see → 3 / 3 Disasters are announced through more than one channel
Disaster email / disaster app / social media / municipal loudspeakers / TV and radio Go and see → 5 / 5 A list of local speciality products is on the official site
4 items (the town's official site) Go and see → 3 / 3 Hometown tax results are published year by year
Entries for 4 financial years Go and see → 2 / 2 There are support schemes for businesses and industry
Commerce and industry Go and see → 4 / 4 There is a community bus timetable
Go and see → 0 / 3 Fares are stated
Not found Go and see → 0 / 3 The date of the last revision is given
Not found Go and see → 1 / 3 Every page carries an updated date
1 of the 20 pages read Go and see → 0 / 2 There is a sitemap.xml
Not found 0 / 2 Site search runs on the server side
It was a Google custom search Go and see → 1 / 2 Statistics are published as Excel or CSV
There is a statistics page Go and see → 0 / 1 Open data is published
Not found
Compare with other towns → For municipalities and local organisations (get in touch here) →
Measurement by this site. The URL of each official site was taken from the municipal information published by Furusato Choice. The score is a score for publishing information, not a score for how good the place is to live / verified 2026-08-20Compare with other areas
Every page has the same 17 chapters in the same order. Move between them and you can compare the same line.
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This page is made by an AI. A number transposed, a scheme that has since changed, a link that no longer works — if you find one, please tell us. No name and no email address are needed. Just what is wrong, and how.
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