Information as of 2026-08-11

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 Nasu

Q: What should I know first about moving to Nasu?

"Nasu" straddles two municipalities, Nasushiobara City and Nasu Town, and the properties and the schemes are separate. The Shinkansen station and the prefectural high schools are on the Nasushiobara City side; the Nasu Town side is more strongly a place of holiday homes and resorts.

Q: Which part of Nasu should I live in?

If you are going to live here all year, the 500–650 m belt from Hiroyachi to Ikkenchaya is recommended, and the belt above 1,000 m is generally regarded as unsuited to living all year round. At 300–400 m, Takaku-ko, Terako, Toyohara and Ashino have little snow and are 10–15 minutes from Nasushiobara Station.

Q: How long does it take from Nasu to Tokyo?

From Tokyo Station to Nasushiobara Station it is 66 minutes with no transfer on the "Nasuno" Shinkansen (ticket ¥2,750 plus a reserved seat). Nasushiobara Station is, however, the southern gateway to Nasushiobara City, and the centre of Nasu Town is further north.

Q: What is the cheapest house you can buy in Nasu?

The private listings on this page start at ¥1,280,000, and the 11 properties on the Nasu Town vacant-house bank run ¥800,000 to ¥14,980,000 (median ¥6,000,000).

Q: Are the shops and hospitals within walking distance?

Kurodahara Station is the only place where you can walk from the station to a supermarket (Daiyu Kurodahara, 7 minutes' walk); in the other three areas both shopping and getting to a doctor assume a car. If you are thinking as far ahead as life after you stop driving, this difference tells more with each passing year.

Q: How much does living in Nasu cost each year?

The management fee on a holiday-home estate is a guide ¥80,000–¥150,000 a year, and at Nasu Heiwakyo, for example, annual upkeep is about ¥150,000–¥300,000. Heating is needed for about half the year, and around ¥150,000 a year is a guide for kerosene at the upper end.

Q: Will the house I buy sell when I want to sell it?

The average transaction price for a house in Nasu Town was ¥9,810,000 in 2025, down 15.9% on the year, and houses are not selling at the asking prices (¥25,660,000 for a 2LDK to 3DK). On the vacant-house bank, though, five properties have sold in the last four months, so things are moving.

Q: Is Nasu's population falling?

Nasu Town has fallen from 27,819 in 2006 to 23,107 (April 2026), about 17% down, but 784 people move in each year and it has recently turned up slightly. At the same time, the town's population vision projects an ageing rate above 50%.

The northern tip of Tochigi Prefecture. From a hot spring village at 990 m down to the station area at 280 m, quite different ways of living sit inside a 700 m difference in elevation. Here we look, in order, at the homes actually on the market now, how safe the land is, and what it costs once you live there.

Tokyo Sta.,

approx. 70 min

Shinkansen, no transfers

One way

¥5,820

Reserved seat, ordinary season

Akiya bank

11 listings

¥800,000–¥14,980,000

Summer (August daily high)

28.6℃

Kuroiso • 2.7°C lower than Tokyo

Winter (January daily low)

-3.9℃

Kuroiso • 5.1°C lower than Tokyo

🚗 Roadside stations5 ⛰ National / Quasi-National Park ♨ Hot springs and day baths30 🐕 Dog runs9 🚐 RV parks6

Roadside stations: Meiji-no-Mori Kuroiso • Tosando Iono • Yu-no-Ka Shiobara • Nasunogahara Museum • Nasu Kogen Yuai-no-Mori / National / Quasi-National Park: Nikko National Park / Hot springs and day baths: Nasushiobara City Health and Longevity Centre • Kaikou-no-Yu • Tera-no-Yu • Naka-no-Yu • Shiobara Motoyu • Mikaeri Onsen Saika-no-Yu • Hana-no-Yu • Pyramid Genki Onsen • Itamuro Kenko-no-Yu Green Green • Sembommatsu Onsen • Shiobara Family Farm Rindo-no-Yu • Shiobara Onsen Akatsuki-no-Yu • Soma-no-Yu • Hako-no-Mori Play Park / Dog runs: Dog Run • Dog Salon Jaime • Nadias Nasu • Nasu Wanwan World / RV parks: RV Park Bivouac + Nasu Kogen • RV Park Hotel Floration Nasu • RV Park Nasu Iyu Auto • RV Park 555 Sachi-no-Yu • Nasushiobara Niwatoko RV Park • RV Park Nasushiobara Ezurin
Sources: roadside stations from Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, "List of roadside stations" (checked 2026-08-21) / National and Quasi-National Parks determined from Ministry of the Environment boundary data and other sources (details in §17 of the text) — Ministry of the Environment (checked 2026-08-21) / hot springs and day baths from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) (checked 2026-08-20) / dog runs from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors) (checked 2026-08-20) / RV parks from Japan RV Association, "List of certified Kurumatabi RV parks" (checked 2026-08-20). 🔴 Only what a place has is listed here — a town without a given tag is not inferior for that reason.

Last verified 2026-08-11

CHAPTER 01First, what kind of place Nasu is

"Nasu" straddles two municipalities. Mix them up and the properties and the schemes will all be off.

Nasushiobara CityThe city with Nasushiobara Shinkansen station and Kuroiso local station. Shops and hospitals are grouped here, and the high schools are on this side too. The relocation support grant is larger.

Nasu TownThe town that contains the Nasu Highlands and the Nasu hot spring villages. It has no Shinkansen station and no prefectural high school. It is strongly a place of holiday homes and resorts. All four areas below are in Nasu Town.

Where Nasu is

At the northernmost tip of Tochigi Prefecture, on the boundary with Fukushima Prefecture. From Tokyo Station it is 157 km and about 70 minutes, with no transfer.

Map of Nasu Town

You can zoom and pan. The marker is Nasu Town Hall (Kurodahara). The mountains to the north-west are Mount Nasu; the further south-east you go, the lower the elevation.
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors

The main districts, and where the stations are

★ Nasushiobara Station = Tohoku Shinkansen stop Station JR Tohoku Main Line ● = district / ■ (orange) = town or city hall

The Shinkansen stops at Nasushiobara Station (Nasushiobara City). From there the Tohoku Main Line runs north through Kuroiso, Takaku, Kurodahara and Toyohara, and the nearest station to Nasu Town Hall is Kurodahara. Toyohara Station, the northernmost on the diagram, is the northernmost station in Tochigi Prefecture; beyond it you cross into Fukushima Prefecture. The Nasu hot spring villages (Yumoto) and the Nasu Highlands, known to visitors, are high up and away from the railway stations, so you drive up to them. The nearest stations in the property list below can be matched against the station names on this diagram.
Positions, directions and scale are based on actual coordinates (station coordinates from OpenStreetMap, districts from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan). You can scroll sideways.
Elevation is not shown on this diagram (the representative point of an oaza can differ from the elevation of an actual property). A guide to each property's elevation is given in the list below.

The four areas, drawn as a diagram

Yumoto and the highlands the Nasu Kaido road for settling permanently the satoyama hills 800 m– 450–800 m –450 m Sta.

A schematic diagram. The scale, the directions and the area boundaries are not exact. Elevations are the representative value for each oaza.
Sources: Nasu Town relocation leaflet (area divisions) / Hyoko Kaibatsu Navi (elevation) / checked 2026-08-11

What should I know first about moving to Nasu?

"Nasu" straddles two municipalities, Nasushiobara City and Nasu Town, and the properties and the schemes are separate. The Shinkansen station and the prefectural high schools are on the Nasushiobara City side; the Nasu Town side is more strongly a place of holiday homes and resorts.

CHAPTER 02Four areas, and life in each

Elevation band	Everyday life
900 m– Yumoto, Oshima	The Nasu hot spring villages. Coolest in summer, but the belt above 1,000 m is generally regarded as unsuited to living all year round
500–650 m Hiroyachi to Ikkenchaya	This is the belt recommended if you are going to live here all year. Summers are cool and the winter snow is lighter than in the higher belt
300–400 m Takaku-ko, Terako, Toyohara, Ashino	Little snow, with supermarkets, hospitals and schools close by. 10–15 minutes to Nasushiobara Station

Every 100 m of elevation lowers the temperature by about 0.6°C. / Sources: explanations by property companies including Tokyu Resort and Nihon Kaihatsu Kikaku / checked 2026-08-11

990 mYumoto and the highlands AreasYumoto / Oshima / Takaku-hei

The heart of the Nasu hot spring villages. Autumn brings the colours of Mount Chausu and the distinctive landscape of the Sessho-seki. Close to the Nasu Ropeway, this is the stretch that feels most like "highland".

Elev.: Yumoto 990 m / Oshima 834 m / Takaku-hei 499 m = about a 500 m difference inside one area
Atmosphere: The most resort-like part of Nasu. There are subdivisions where hot spring water can be piped in, and hot spring rights start at around ¥500,000. Most of it is holiday homes surrounded by deep forest, and many of the estates have a management company
Summer: August high 25.4°C, low 17.5°C. About 6°C cooler than Tokyo, with almost no tropical nights
snow: The most of the four areas. 293 cm of snowfall a year, with a deepest cover of 32 cm in January. The snow is also slow to go
listings: 1 on the vacant-house bank (Yumoto, ¥1,500,000, with a hot-spring bath). Second-hand holiday homes on the open market are the other option
Watch for: Snow clearing and freezing are a given here. On a managed estate the management fee is ¥80,000–¥150,000 a year. This stretch overlaps the assumed range of pyroclastic flows and snowmelt-type volcanic mudflows

543 mthe Nasu Kaido road AreasTakaku-ko / Takaku-otsu

The highland area in the south-west. The roadside station "Yuai-no-Mori" is stocked with local vegetables and specialities and is popular as a base for both visiting and living. The high elevation makes summers cool, so it has long been loved as a summer retreat, with hot springs, cafés and hiking close at hand.

Elev.: Takaku-otsu 543 m / Takaku-ko 343 m = a 200 m difference within the same "Takaku"
Atmosphere: Halfway between forest and everyday life. The 500–650 m belt from the Hiroyachi junction to the Ikkenchaya junction is said to be the most recommended if you are going to live here all year
Summer: At Takaku-otsu, 543 m up, that works out at 4–5°C cooler than Tokyo
snow: Lighter than the highland area. But there is a 200 m difference in elevation between Takaku-otsu and Takaku-ko
listings: The area with the most vacant-house bank listings. 5 properties, ¥3,080,000 to ¥12,000,000
Shopping: Daiyu Nasu Kogen store (Takaku-otsu 2865-1 • 8:00–21:00 • parking for 100 cars). About 5.8 km from Nasu Interchange
Watch for: Traffic in the tourist season. It may fall within the assumed range of volcanic mudflow, so you need to check whether a plot sits in a stream channel

277 mfor settling permanently AreasTerako (Kurodahara Sta.) / Toyohara

The JR Tohoku Main Line runs through, making it convenient to commute to work or school by train. It suits people who want to feel Nasu's nature close by while putting everyday convenience first, and families raising children. The Town Hall is in this area too.

Elev.: Terako 277 m / Toyohara 325 m = the lowest of the four areas. Terako covers a wide range, and its wooded northern part is higher than this
Atmosphere: Different in character from the highland holiday-home estates, this is much more a place to live. There are properties on large plots, and properties managed by the owners themselves, with no management fee. The avenue of trees leading to the imperial villa runs through a quiet wooded stretch
snow: The least of the four areas. It is some distance from Mount Nasu and the lowest in elevation
listings: 4 listings on the vacant-house bank, ranging widely from ¥800,000 to ¥14,980,000 (one of them is suspended)
Shopping: Daiyu Kurodahara store (Terako-hei 3-113 • 7:30–21:00). 7 minutes' walk from Kurodahara Station
Watch for: For the Shinkansen you drive to Nasushiobara Station. The prefectural high schools are outside the town

317 mthe satoyama hills AreasAshino / Iono

In the east, an area where the history and culture of a post town on the Oshu Kaido still live. Unlike the resort area of the Nasu Highlands, nature that could be called Japan's original landscape survives here. The roadside station "Tosando Iono" and the Yugyo Willow are here.

Elev.: Ashino 317 m / Iono 311 m
Atmosphere: This is not a holiday-home estate. It is a land of living and history, where the settlement of a post town gives way to farmland. There is no such thing as a management fee, but in exchange taking your turn in the neighbourhood association is a real commitment
snow: It is the furthest from Mount Nasu and low in elevation, so it is on the lighter side for snow
listings: 1 listing on the vacant-house bank (¥13,000,000). Properties with large plots come up here
Shopping: The roadside station Tosando Iono. For everyday shopping you go towards Kurodahara
Watch for: A valley in the Yamizo hills. Flooding if you are on the valley floor, landslides if there is a slope behind you. It falls outside the assumed volcanic range

Which part of Nasu should I live in?

If you are going to live here all year, the 500–650 m belt from Hiroyachi to Ikkenchaya is recommended, and the belt above 1,000 m is generally regarded as unsuited to living all year round. At 300–400 m, Takaku-ko, Terako, Toyohara and Ashino have little snow and are 10–15 minutes from Nasushiobara Station.

CHAPTER 03Trains and cars — how you get around

Getting around Nasu comes down to one line: "the Shinkansen is fast; what comes after it is long." Tokyo to Nasushiobara takes 66 minutes, but Nasushiobara Station is the southern gateway to Nasushiobara City, and the centre of Nasu Town is further north still. Which station you take as your nearest changes life here completely.

Shinkansen — 66 minutes from Nasushiobara Station to Tokyo

Section	Time	Fare and frequency
Tokyo → Nasushiobara Shinkansen "Nasuno"	66 min	Ticket ¥2,750 plus a reserved seat (operating distance 157.8 km). No transfer
Nasushiobara → towards Tokyo Departures a day	26	First at 6:12, last at 22:11. 5 in the 6 o'clock hour and 4 in the 7 o'clock hour, so the commuting hours are well served. During the day it is 1 an hour
Nasushiobara → Kuroiso Changing to the local line	5 min	Journey time as given on Nasushiobara City's official website

Local lines — the further north you go, the fewer the trains

Sta.	Departures a day	First and last train / the hours with gaps
Kuroiso Towards Utsunomiya and Omiya	38	First at 5:27, last at 21:51. Roughly 2 an hour during the day as well, which makes it the easiest station to use in Nasu
Kurodahara Nearest to Nasu Town Hall • towards Kuroiso	14	First at 5:39, last at 21:37. 🔴 There is not a single train at 9, 13, 15 or 19
Kurodahara Towards Shin-Shirakawa	14	First at 5:49, last at 22:05. 🔴 There is not a single train at 11, 14, 18 or 21

Think of Kuroiso and Kurodahara as different forms of transport. Kuroiso has 2 trains an hour even during the day, but Kurodahara, one stop north, has 14 a day, with four two-hour gaps in a day. "There are trains, so I can manage without a car" holds as far as Kuroiso; on the Nasu Town side the choice is either fitting your life around the timetable or having a car.

By car — the Tohoku Expressway enters the area at 3 interchanges

Interchange	From Kawaguchi Junction	And from there
Nasu Interchange The gateway to Nasu Town and the Nasu Highlands	152km, 100 min	About 13 km and about 20 minutes to Nasu-Yumoto on Prefectural Route 17 (the Nasu Kogen line)
Kuroiso-Itamuro Interchange	145km, 90 min	Itamuro Onsen to 16km, 20 min
Nishinasuno-Shiobara Interchange The southern gateway	140km, 90 min	15 km and 20 minutes to Shiobara Onsen on National Route 400

Nasu Town has 1,020 cars per 1,000 people — one each (Tokyo has 326.5). The figure states, plainly, what movement looks like on this land.

Sources: the journey time, fare and operating distance from Tokyo to Nasushiobara fromJR West's "My Daiya"(searched for a departure in the 8 o'clock hour on 10 September 2026) / the daily frequency, first and last trains and hourly breakdown at each station fromYahoo! Transit station timetablestallied by this site (weekday timetable, retrieved 2026-08-18) / the distances and times from the interchanges fromNasushiobara City, "Transport access"andTochigi Prefecture, "Access to Nasu and Shiobara"/ the number of cars owned fromNasu Town, "Nasu Town in data"(Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2015) / checked 2026-08-18

✈ Airports

The nearest is Fukushima Airport (a regionally managed airport), about 43.7 km in a straight line. Next is Hyakuri Airfield (about 98.9 km in a straight line). 🔴 These are straight-line distances. They are neither road distance nor journey time — please check the actual route with each operator's timetable.

🛣 Expressway junctions

This area has 4 entrances and exits (interchanges and junctions).
Tohoku Expressway Hirosaki Route = Nishinasuno-Shiobara (Nasushiobara City) • Nasu (Nasu Town) • Nasu Kogen smart interchange (Nasu Town) • Kuroiso-Itamuro (Nasushiobara City)

Sources: airports fromNational Land Numerical Information, "Airports", FY2021 edition (category names followthe MLIT list of airports ) / expressway junctions fromthe same, "Expressways time series", 2025 edition, current data only (what is open today). Both were overlaid onthe same, "Administrative boundaries", 2026and judged by machine to fall inside this area / verified 2026-08-21

How long does it take from Nasu to Tokyo?

From Tokyo Station to Nasushiobara Station it is 66 minutes with no transfer on the "Nasuno" Shinkansen (ticket ¥2,750 plus a reserved seat). Nasushiobara Station is, however, the southern gateway to Nasushiobara City, and the centre of Nasu Town is further north.

CHAPTER 04Homes actually on the market right now

All 11 properties registered with the Nasu Town vacant-house bank (as updated on 26 August 2026). Prices run ¥800,000 to ¥14,980,000, with a median of ¥6,000,000.

No.136for settling permanentlyTerako-hei¥14,980,000

Elevation of the surrounding area: about 360 m/ Land 188 m² (57 tsubo) / Building 118 m² (1F 67+2F 51) /built 2013/ 4LDK plus a storeroom, with a loft
1 km to Kurodahara Station, 1.3 km to Kurodahara Elementary School / no management fee / The only recently built one of the 10See the property register (photographs, floor plan, drawings) →

No.106the satoyama hillsAshino¥13,000,000

Elevation of the surrounding area: about 320 m/ Land 12,168 m² (3,675 tsubo)/ building 94 m² (single storey) / built 1997 / 3LDK
6 km to Kurodahara Station, 5.6 km to the Town Hall, 0.4 km to Ashino Onsen / no management fee / About ¥3,500 per tsuboSee the property register (photographs, floor plan, drawings) →An example of a renovation →

Photograph of property 156 (Takahisa-otsu)

No.156the Nasu Kaido roadTakaku-otsu¥12,000,000

Elevation of the surrounding area: about 540 m/ Land 948 m² (286 tsubo) / building 99 m² (single storey, 30 tsubo) / built 1986 (Showa 61) and extended in March 2003 (Heisei 15) / equivalent to 4LDK (3 Japanese-style rooms and 1 Western-style room)
Carport for 2, beside a stream, and a private well (with a hand pump for emergencies) / drinking water from the well, gas bath
No holiday-home management fee / some repair needed (at the buyer's cost)See the property register (photographs, floor plan, drawings) →

Photograph of property 107 (大字 Takaku-ko)

No.107the Nasu Kaido roadTakaku-ko¥9,900,000

Elevation of the surrounding area: about 340 m/ land 727 m² (220 tsubo) / building 84 m² (55 on the ground floor + 30 on the first floor) / built 1994 / equivalent to 4LDK
Elev. approx. 426 m• 5.4 km to Nasu Interchange, 4.5 km to the roadside station, 8 km to Kurodahara Station / no management fee / the building is unregistered (handed over after registration)See the property register (photographs, floor plan, drawings) →

Photograph of property 128 (大字 Terako-hei)

No.128for settling permanentlyTerako-hei¥6,000,000

Elevation of the surrounding area: about 360 m/ Land 992 m² (300 tsubo)/ building 122 m² (single storey, 37 tsubo) / built 1976 / 5DK
2.1 km to Kurodahara Station, 2.6 km to Kurodahara Elementary School / no management fee / some repair neededSee the property register (photographs, floor plan, drawings) →An example of a renovation →

Photograph of property 152 (大字 Toyohara-otsu)

No.152for settling permanentlyToyohara-otsu¥6,000,000

Elevation of the surrounding area: about 450 m/ Land 1,035 m² (313 tsubo)／Building2 buildings(registered single storey 76 m² = major repair needed / unregistered two storey 108 m² = some repair needed) / built 1995
Parking for 2 cars • wastewater soaks away on the plot / Management fee ¥28,280 a year → stated explicitly as rising to ¥55,000 a year from July 2027See the property register (photographs, floor plan, drawings) →

Photograph of property 144 (大字 Takaku-otsu)

No.144the Nasu Kaido roadTakaku-otsu¥4,800,000

Elevation of the surrounding area: about 540 m / land 386 m² (117 tsubo) / building 51 m² (single storey, 16 tsubo) / built 1977 / 3LDK with a sunken hearth
2.1 km to the roadside station "Yuai-no-Mori", 15 km to Nasushiobara Station / Common charge ¥60,000 a year plus a water facilities contribution of ¥800,000 (one-off) / the toilet is a vault toilet
Reduced from ¥5,800,000 in August 2026See the property register (photographs, floor plan, drawings) →

Photograph of property 101 (大字 Takaku-otsu)

No.101the Nasu Kaido roadTakaku-otsu¥3,800,000

Elevation of the surrounding area: about 540 m/ land 421 m² (127 tsubo) / building 142 m² (89 on the ground floor + 53 on the first floor) / built 1980 / equivalent to 6LDK, an LDK of more than 20 mats, a sunken hearth
8.5 km to Nasu Interchange, 4.5 km to the roadside station / Holiday-home management fee ¥101,325 a year / the building is unregistered, part of the floor sags, the washroom drain is faultySee the property register (photographs, floor plan, drawings) →An example of a renovation →

Photograph of property 123 (大字 Takaku-ko)

No.123the Nasu Kaido roadTakaku-ko¥3,080,000

Elevation of the surrounding area: about 340 m/ land 232 m² (70 tsubo) / building 20 m² (6 tsubo — one Japanese-style room and a storeroom only) / built 1990
0.5 km, or 3 minutes' walk, to JR Takaku Station/ 3.3 km to Aeon Town Nasu, 2.7 km to Nasu Kogen Hospital
There is no water, sewerage, gas or electricity connection.The town's own description is "for someone who can enjoy it as camping". Rebuilding is permitted, and the building is valued at zeroSee the property register (photographs, floor plan, drawings) →

No.150Yumoto and the highlandsYumoto¥1,500,000

Elevation around here about 990 m / land 482 m² (146 tsubo) / building 60 m² (single storey, 18 tsubo) / built 1975 (Showa 50) / 2LDK with a storeroom
The bath runs on hot-spring water(the hot-water supply contract runs to 30 May 2030) / Nasu IC 12 km, Daiyu Nasu Kogen store 7 km, Nasushiobara Station 22 km
Building shared-service charge ¥90,373 a year plus a hot-spring base charge of ¥52,800 a year / on transfer there is also a hot-water transfer approval fee of ¥1,200,000 and a ¥10,000 fee to change the name on the certificate
Some repair needed (who pays is negotiable)See the property register (photographs, floor plan, drawings) →

Photograph of property 153 (大字 Terako-otsu)

No.153for settling permanentlyTerako-otsu¥800,000

Elevation of the surrounding area: about 300 m/ land 246 m² (74 tsubo) / building 99 m² (73 on the ground floor + 26 on the first floor) / built 1979 / equivalent to 7DK
0.5 km to "Takaku" Station on the Tohoku Main Line, 2 km to the culture centre / no management fee / a leak on the first floor, left unused for several yearsSee the property register (photographs, floor plan, drawings) →

Nasu Town vacant-house bank (official, with a PDF for each property) → Search with maps and photographs →

Photographs from the Nasu Town vacant-house bank register. Please check the actual condition on site.

Source: the Nasu Town vacant-house bank property list and the registration PDF for each property (updated 26 August 2026) / checked 2026-08-27. Elevations arethe representative point of the oazameasured with the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan's elevation API as a guide, not the elevation of the property itself. For an exact value, check the position of the address withGSI Maps.

The private market - the 96 houses now for sale in Nasu Town

A separate market from the vacant-house bank. All 96 in Nasu Town have been tallied — ¥1,280,000 to ¥398,000,000, with a median of ¥12,000,000, and 44 (46%) are under ¥10,000,000. The median plot is 541 square metres (about 164 tsubo). The list is cheapest first. Tap a row to open the listing with photographs.

Sort

"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.

大字Iono１４０７¥1,280,000the satoyama hillsElev. approx. 240 m / Land 297 m² (90 tsubo) / Building 199 m² (60 tsubo) / built 1901 / 13.3 km to Takaku StationSee 8 photographs →

Toyohara-otsu¥1,500,000for settling permanentlyElev. approx. 440 m / Land 401 m² (121 tsubo) / Building 81 m² (24 tsubo) / built 1978 / Toyohara Sta. 43 min walk10 photos →

Yumoto 206-324¥1,500,000Yumoto and the highlandsElev. approx. 1100 m / Land 419 m² (127 tsubo) / Building 124 m² (37 tsubo) / built 1954 / Kurodahara Sta. bus 23 min+6 min walk8 photos →

大字Terako-otsu１２８３－１６¥1,680,000for settling permanentlyElev. approx. 310 m / Land 269 m² (81 tsubo) / Building 66 m² (20 tsubo) / built 1983 / 11 minutes' walk to Takaku StationSee 10 photographs →

Tomioka¥2,000,000for settling permanentlyElev. approx. 320 m / Land 344 m² (104 tsubo) / Building 94 m² (29 tsubo) / built 2000 / Kurodahara Sta. 51 min walk10 photos →

大字Takaku-otsu3375-2059¥2,480,000the Nasu Kaido roadElev. approx. 790 m / Land 407 m² (123 tsubo) / Building 75 m² (23 tsubo) / built 2004 / 99 minutes' walk to Takaku StationSee 5 photographs →

Takaku-otsu¥2,980,000the Nasu Kaido roadElev. approx. 520 m / Land 400 m² (121 tsubo) / Building 73 m² (22 tsubo) / built 1977 / Kuroiso Sta., 16.5km8 photos →

大字Yumoto５３３－５４¥3,980,000Yumoto and the highlandsElev. approx. 560 m / Land 387 m² (117 tsubo) / Building 72 m² (22 tsubo) / built 1987 / 11.9 km to Takaku StationSee 10 photographs →

Takaku-otsu¥4,000,000the Nasu Kaido roadElev. approx. 770 m / Land 427 m² (129 tsubo) / Building 61 m² (18 tsubo) / built 1988 / Kuroiso Sta., 17.0km9 photos →

Tomioka¥4,000,000for settling permanentlyElev. approx. 290 m / Land 300 m² (91 tsubo) / Building 54 m² (16 tsubo) / built 2000 / Kurodahara Sta. 46 min walk8 photos →

Takaku-ko¥4,900,000the Nasu Kaido roadElev. approx. 350 m / Land 463 m² (140 tsubo) / Building 132 m² (40 tsubo) / built 1974 / Kuroiso Sta., 6.1km2 photos →

大字Takaku-otsu３３７０－２０３２¥4,980,000the Nasu Kaido roadElev. approx. 710 m / Land 330 m² (100 tsubo) / Building 93 m² (28 tsubo) / built 1991 / 16.5 km to Takaku StationSee 10 photographs →

Toyohara-hei 4193－34¥4,980,000for settling permanentlyElev. approx. 430 m / Land 618 m² (187 tsubo) / Building 97 m² (29 tsubo) / built 1997 / Kurodahara Sta. 79 min walk10 photos →

Takaku-hei¥5,800,000Yumoto and the highlandsElev. approx. 500 m / Land 330 m² (100 tsubo) / Building 70 m² (21 tsubo) / built 1998 / Kuroiso Sta. 99 min walk9 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 107 in Nasu District on SUUMO → Source: SUUMO second-hand detached houses (Nasu District, Tochigi Prefecture), filtered to those located in Nasu Town. Of the 107 listed for Nasu District on SUUMO,Nasu Town of 96 listingsallwere collected and the top 14 shown (from ¥1,280,000) / checked 2026-08-28. Elevations are taken by putting the per-property map coordinates on the SUUMO listing pages through the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan elevation API (rounded to 10 m). For exact elevations please useGSI Maps .

Houses on the plateau also come up in good numbers on the open market. In August 2026 one property in Yumoto (¥1,500,000) did join the vacant-house bank. On the open market Takahisa-hei and Takahisa-otsu have the most, and most plateau properties still come through agents. Each row shows a guide to the elevation around that oaza. Across the 96 properties it runs from about 236 m to about 1,096 m — a difference of more than 860 m inside one town. The most properties are in Takahisa-otsu (42) and Takahisa-hei (31), both around 500 m. Heating costs, snow and freezing are all set by elevation, so always read it alongside the address.

The 99 houses for sale on the Nasushiobara City side

The shinkansen stops in Nasushiobara City, so if being near a station matters most, look here. All 99 have been tallied — ¥1,200,000 to ¥68,000,000, with a median of ¥15,800,000, and 24 (24%) are under ¥10,000,000. The median plot is 281 square metres (about 85 tsubo). The list is cheapest first.

Sort

Itamuro¥1,200,000Itamuro (a hot spring village)Elev. approx. 540 m / Land 315 m² (95 tsubo) / Building 46 m² (14 tsubo) / built 1974 / 99 minutes' walk to Takaku StationSee 7 photographs →

Terako¥1,400,000Shiobara (hot springs)Elev. approx. 260 m / Land 292 m² (88 tsubo) / Building 57 m² (17 tsubo) / built 1973 / 61 minutes' walk to Takaku StationSee 7 photographs →

Tayuzuka 3¥1,800,000Shiobara (hot springs)Elev. approx. 240 m / Land 88 m² (27 tsubo) / Building 35 m² (11 tsubo) / built 1975 / Nishi-Nasuno Sta., 1.7km8 photos →

Shimotano¥1,900,000Shiobara (hot springs)Elev. approx. 380 m / Land 208 m² (63 tsubo) / Building 125 m² (38 tsubo) / built 1977 / Nishi-Nasuno Sta. bus 24 min+69 min walk6 photos →

Itamuro¥1,980,000Itamuro (a hot spring village)Elev. approx. 540 m / Land 525 m² (159 tsubo) / Building 74 m² (22 tsubo) / built 1976 / 21.0 km to Takaku StationSee 9 photographs →

Hara-machi 1086-89¥2,400,000Shiobara (hot springs)Elev. approx. 290 m / Land 198 m² (60 tsubo) / Building 76 m² (23 tsubo) / built 1976 / Kuroiso Sta. bus 9 min+10 min walk10 photos →

Nabekake¥2,600,000Shiobara (hot springs)Elev. approx. 280 m / Land 100 m² (30 tsubo) / Building 80 m² (24 tsubo) / built 1996 / Kuroiso Sta. 73 min walk7 photos →

Shiobara 2414-1¥3,800,000Shiobara (hot springs)Elev. approx. 560 m / Land 191 m² (58 tsubo) / Building 171 m² (52 tsubo) / built 1961 / Nishi-Nasuno Sta. 99 min walk10 photos →

Terako205-53¥3,900,000Shiobara (hot springs)Elev. approx. 260 m / Land 272 m² (82 tsubo) / Building 88 m² (27 tsubo) / built 1996 / Takaku Station: 8 minutes by bus + 30 minutes' walkSee 10 photographs →

Kamishiobara 647-28¥3,980,000Shiobara (hot springs)Elevation about 630 m / land 237 m² (72 tsubo) / building 96 m² (29 tsubo) / built 1992 / Kamimiyori-Shiobara-onsenguchi Station, 99 min walkSee 9 photographs →

Higashihara 353－6¥3,980,000Shiobara (hot springs)Elev. approx. 360 m / Land 279 m² (84 tsubo) / Building 110 m² (33 tsubo) / built 1985 / Kuroiso Sta. 66 min walk10 photos →

Itamuro 1173－894¥3,980,000Itamuro (a hot spring village)Elev. approx. 990 m / Land 499 m² (151 tsubo) / Building 85 m² (26 tsubo) / built 1995 / Kuroiso Sta., 22.3km10 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 99 on SUUMO → Source: SUUMO listings for second-hand detached houses (Nasushiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture).All 99 listed on SUUMO were collectedand the top 12 shown (from ¥1,200,000) / checked 2026-08-28. Elevations are taken by putting the per-property map coordinates on the SUUMO listing pages through the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan elevation API (rounded to 10 m). For exact elevations please useGSI Maps .

The cheap end in Nasushiobara City is concentrated in "Itamuro". The cheap end of the list is filled with properties in Itamuro — a hot spring village away to the north-west of Nasushiobara Station. Nothing in the area around the station or in the everyday district of Nishi-Nasuno comes up at this price. What you buy with the low price is distance from the station.

Look on other sites too

Different sites carry different listings. Look at both.

SUUMO Nasu Town (Nasu County) → SUUMO Nasushiobara City → All links confirmed 200 / verified 2026-08-12

Management fees go up. No. 152 states "management fee: currently ¥28,280 (a year); from July 2027, ¥55,000 (a year)". That is nearly double. Before you buy, always ask the management company about the history of past increases and the next scheduled revision.

How each area comes up

Areas	Listings	What defines it
The Nasu Kaido road (Takaku-ko and Takaku-otsu)	4 listings	¥3,080,000–¥9,900,000. The area with the most listings. But 2 of the 4 carry a management fee or a contribution
for settling permanently (Terako, Toyohara)	4 listings	¥800,000–¥14,980,000. Both the 300-tsubo-class large plots and the only recently built one (2013) are here
the satoyama hills (Ashino)	1 listings	¥13,000,000. 3,675 tsubo. If you want a field or a large plot, this is the place
Yumoto and the highlands (Takaku-hei)	1 listings	¥1,700,000 (suspended). Management fee ¥100,000 a year

Since August 2026 the most sought-after plateau area has had a vacant-house bank listing too. It is one property in Yumoto (¥1,500,000, with a hot-spring bath), in a belt about 990 m up. To widen the choice, look at the second-hand holiday homes below as well.

If you want to live in the highlands — the market in second-hand holiday homes

This is a different market from the vacant-house bank. The price band and the assumptions about management fees both change.

Holiday-home estate	Price	Land / Building / Year built
Heiwa Terrace	¥45,000,000	1,018 m² / 199 m² / built 2004
Angel Forest	¥23,500,000	770 m² / 96 m² / built 1988
Heiwa Heights	¥13,500,000	303 m² / 121 m² / built 2006
Angel Forest	¥8,500,000(after a price cut)	403 m² / 51 m² / built 1997

Nasu Kogen Second-hand Holiday Home Centre → Nihon Mount (Nasu) → Seo Real Estate (up to ¥10,000,000) → Examples of listed properties. Source: properties listed by the Nasu Kogen Second-hand Holiday Home Centre / checked 2026-08-11

The main holiday-home estates	Royal Valley / Angel Forest / Shizenmura / Heiwakyo (750,000 tsubo, staffed management 24 hours a day, 365 days a year)
What the buildings tend to be	Plenty of log houses. Full log houses on plots of 300–1,000 tsubo come up from around ¥10,000,000
Hot springs	In the Nasu hot spring village area there are properties into which hot spring water can be piped. Hot spring rights start at around ¥500,000 (it varies by estate)
Management fee	On a managed estate, reckon on ¥80,000–¥150,000 a year. At Heiwakyo, for example, annual upkeep is about ¥150,000–¥300,000

The vacant-house bank and a second-hand holiday home are quite different purchases. The bank runs from ¥800,000 to ¥14,980,000, many with no management fee, and in exchange you take on the wear and the utility connections yourself. A second-hand holiday home runs from ¥8,500,000 to ¥45,000,000, and in exchange for having the roads, water and snow clearing managed, you go on paying a management fee for ever. Which is cheaper is not decided by the price but by how many years you will live there.

Akiya bank (Nasushiobara City) — 14 listings

All 14 houses for sale registered with the municipal vacant-house bank (as checked on 27 August 2026). Listed cheapest first.

Nasushiobara City Tayuzuka 3-chome¥1,800,000

Land 88 m² (27 tsubo) / Building 35 m² (11 tsubo) /built 1975／2K
JR Tohoku Main Line, Nishi-Nasuno Station / 18 minutes' walkAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Toyora-cho¥4,000,000

Land 165 m² (50 tsubo) / Building 50 m² (15 tsubo) /built 1972／3K
JR Tohoku Main Line, Kuroiso Station / 6 minutes by carAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Nishitomiyama exterior

Nasushiobara City Nishitomiyama¥4,500,000

Land 215 m² (65 tsubo) / Building 109 m² (33 tsubo) /built 1978／5DK
JR Tohoku Main Line, Nishi-Nasuno Station / 6 minutes by carAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Sekiya¥4,500,000

Land 994 m² (301 tsubo) / Building 120 m² (36 tsubo) /built 1999／5LDK
JR Tohoku Main Line, Nishi-Nasuno Station / 12 km by carAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Kamishiobara¥4,500,000

Land 333 m² (101 tsubo) / Building 74 m² (22 tsubo) /built 1985／3DK
JR Tohoku Main Line, Nishi-Nasuno Station / 40 minutes by carAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Nishitomiyama¥5,000,000

Land 154 m² (47 tsubo) / Building 71 m² (22 tsubo) /built 1977／4DK
JR Tohoku Main Line, Nishi-Nasuno Station / 10 minutes by carAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Yatsubo¥6,900,000

Land 526 m² (159 tsubo) / Building 46 m² (14 tsubo) /built 1981／2LDK
JR Tohoku Main Line, Kuroiso Station / 10 km by carAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Nishiakada¥7,300,000

Land 1570 m² (475 tsubo) / Building 160 m² (48 tsubo) /built 1959／5K
JR Tohoku Main Line, Nishi-Nasuno Station / 11 minutes by carAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Sakitama¥9,500,000

Land 692 m² (209 tsubo) / Building 120 m² (36 tsubo) /built 1982／4SLDK
JR Tohoku Main Line, Kuroiso Station / 10 minutes by carAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Tayuzuka 4-chome exterior

Nasushiobara City Tayuzuka 4-chome¥10,800,000

Land 237 m² (72 tsubo) / Building 106 m² (32 tsubo) /built 1991／5LDK
JR Tohoku Main Line, Nishi-Nasuno Station / 5 minutes by carAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Higashihara¥12,900,000

Land 2841 m² (859 tsubo) / Building 114 m² (34 tsubo) /built 1970／5LK
JR Tohoku Main Line, Kuroiso Station / 15 minutes by carAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Shinasahi¥17,200,000

Land 596 m² (180 tsubo) / Building 371 m² (112 tsubo) /built 1991／7SLDK
JR Tohoku Main Line, Kuroiso Station /Akiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Minami-cho¥17,800,000

Land 758 m² (229 tsubo) / Building 117 m² (35 tsubo) /built 1989／3LDK
JR Tohoku Main Line, Nishi-Nasuno Station / 5 minutes by carAkiya bank of View listing →

Nasushiobara City Goken-cho¥19,800,000

Land 539 m² (163 tsubo) / Building 182 m² (55 tsubo) /built 1995／6DK
JR Tohoku Main Line, Nishi-Nasuno Station / 17 minutes' walkAkiya bank of View listing →

What is the cheapest house you can buy in Nasu?

The private listings on this page start at ¥1,280,000, and the 11 properties on the Nasu Town vacant-house bank run ¥800,000 to ¥14,980,000 (median ¥6,000,000).

CHAPTER 05Is the ground safe?

Nasu has two histories: water, and the volcano. Both have actually cost lives.

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
Nasu Town	🔴 Japan and Chishima Trench	11.3%	0.8%
Nasushiobara City	🔴 Japan and Chishima Trench	8.2%	0.5%

🔴 This probability is for the single 250-metre grid square the town hall stands in. For example, Nasu Town 11.3%andNasushiobara City 8.2% differ not because one is further from the epicentre, but because of the ground the town hall stands onis the difference (Nasu Town = volcanic footslope / Nasushiobara City = sand-gravel terrace). Even within the same town it changes greatly between the low ground and the terraces. When a listing interests you, look it up by its street address.Enter an address on the J-SHIS map and it shows the probability and the ground for that 250-metre mesh.

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

The 1998 Nasu flood

Scale	Rainfall over the period at the Nasu AMeDAS station was 1,254 mm. The daily rainfall on 27 August was 607 mm
The rivers that flooded	The Yozasa River and the Kuro River (fast-flowing rivers through Nasu Town)
Damage	In Nasu Town, 3 dead, 2 missing and 21 injured
What happened	The meandering Yozasa River could not turn and rode up onto farmland, washing away the bridge approach roads with it. The shape of the river itself changed

The real story is not the main Naka River but the small and medium rivers coming down from the mountains. The Nasu Highlands are not downstream on the Naka River but the source itself. The areas flooded in 2019 — Motegi, Nakagawa, Mito and so on — are 60–100 km to the south-east and do not reach the Nasu Highlands. What to watch is fast-flowing tributaries such as the Yozasa, Kuro, Yu and Sabi rivers, and how far above them you are. Source: Japan Meteorological Agency, report on natural phenomena at times of disaster / checked 2026-08-11

The volcano of Mount Nasu

The erosion-control plan of Tochigi Prefecture and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism puts it like this: "Many of these facilities are spread across the south-eastern footslope of Mount Nasu, and this area overlaps the range within which the Mount Nasu volcanic hazard map shows pyroclastic flows and snowmelt-type volcanic mudflows would have an effect" — "these facilities" here means the tourist and resort facilities: summer retreats, golf courses and hot springs. In other words, an official document states plainly that the south-eastern footslope where Nasu's holiday-home estates are concentrated is itself the assumed range. Source: Tochigi Prefecture, Department of Prefectural Land Development, Erosion Control and Water Resources Division / Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Kanto Regional Development Bureau, Nikko Sabo Office, "Mount Nasu: erosion-control plan for emergency mitigation of a volcanic eruption (background material)", March 2021 / checked 2026-08-11

The streams a mudflow would come down	East side: the Yozasa, Shirato, Nigato, Takao-sawa and Takaomata rivers / west side: Osawa to Lake Miyama
The eruption assumed	A medium-scale magmatic eruption affecting the footslopes (equivalent to the 1410 eruption) and the volcanic mudflows that would come with it
1410	More than 180 lives lost, buried by ejecta and mudflow, along with many cattle and horses
1408	A great quantity of volcanic ash fell. Sulphur came down and the water of the Naka River ran yellow and turbid for several years
In recent times	1881 (a phreatic explosion), 1953, 1960 and 1963 (the most recent eruption). It has been quiet since
How far ejecta reach	Blocks of a few tens of centimetres reach 2–3 km from the crater. Fallen pyroclastic material reaches about 10 km from the crater at the largest scale (the east-south-east footslope)

The same river carries two risks. The Yozasa River is the river that actually flooded in 1998, and at the same time the stream down which a snowmelt-type volcanic mudflow from Mount Nasu would flow. Rather than looking at "flooding" and "the volcano" separately, check in one go which stream channel a piece of land sits in.

When a listing interests you, open these five

All are free. You only need an address or a point on the map.

Overlay Hazard MapMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism

Enter an address and it overlays flooding, landslides, liquefaction and tsunami on a single map. Start here.
Open →
Nasu Town disaster-prevention mapNasu Town

Covers the volcano, landslides, river flooding, reservoirs and ease of shaking. The full version is 67 MB; from "Related materials" at the bottom of the page you can download it a page at a time.
Open →
Mount Nasu volcanic hazard map and handbookNasu Town / Nasushiobara City

It shows the expected reach of snowmelt mudflow, pyroclastic flow and ashfall, and what to do at each eruption warning level.
Nasu Town edition → Nasushiobara City edition →
GSI Maps — flood-control landform classificationGeospatial Information Authority of Japan

It shows whether the land before development was a gully, valley or former river channel. Even where a hazard map is uncoloured, water gathers on land that fills an old channel.
Open the area around Nasu → Older aerial photographs →
Ask the management company and the seller, in personOn site

On holiday-home land, always ask "was this plot made by filling in a gully?" and "where does the water go in heavy rain?" What does not appear on a map can only be learned here.

Hazard conclusions flip at the level of a single address. Within the same oaza, a few hundred metres can change the assessment. A judgement at the level of an area — "Nasu is safe", "this area is dangerous" — does not hold. Always check for the single plot you are considering.

Is the disaster risk high in Nasu?

It falls within the national countermeasure area for the Japan and Chishima trenches, and the chance of intensity 6-lower or above within 30 years is 11.3% for Nasu Town and 8.2% for Nasushiobara City. These are figures for the 250-metre square in which the town or city hall stands, so when a property catches your eye, look at J-SHIS for that address.

CHAPTER 06What summer and winter are like

Tokyo

Elev.25 m

month 8 highest31.3°C

August minimum23.5°C

month 1 highest9.8°C

January minimum1.2°C

Kuroiso (Nasushiobara City)

Elev.343 m

month 8 highest28.6°C

August low20.1°C

month 1 highest5.6°C

January low−3.9°C

the Nasu Highlands (Nasu Town Oshima)

Elev.749 m

month 8 highest25.4°C

August minimum17.5°C

month 1 highest1.9°C

January minimum−5.3°C

The twelve months of temperature, set out as they are

The left end of each bar is that month's average daily low and the right end its average daily high (Nasu (Kuroiso), 30-year average 1991–2020).

month 1

-3.9〜5.6℃

month 2

-3.4〜6.6℃

month 3

-0.6〜10.4℃

month 4

4.2〜16.1℃

month 5

9.8〜21.0℃

month 6

14.8〜23.9℃

month 7

19.2〜27.3℃

month 8

20.1〜28.6℃

month 9

16.2〜24.8℃

month 10

9.8〜19.3℃

month 11

3.1〜13.8℃

month 12

-1.8〜8.3℃

-7℃6℃19℃32℃

0.0 days / 106.0 days

0.0 tropical nights (Tokyo 17.8) and 106.0 days below 0°C (Tokyo 15.2).
These are the figures for how summer nights and winter mornings compare with Tokyo

Days per year	Nasu (Kuroiso)	Tokyo
Tropical nights minimum 25°C or above	0.0 days	17.8 days
Days above 35°C maximum 35°C or above	0.1 days	4.8 days
Days above 30°C maximum 30°C or above	24.5 days	52.1 days
Frost days minimum below 0°C	106.0 days	15.2 days
Days below freezing all day maximum below 0°C	1.6 days	0.0 days

Source:Japan Meteorological Agency, normals for Kuroiso (by month) /the same, day counts by class (view=a2)／the same, Tokyo (all 30-year averages for 1991–2020) / verified 2026-08-14

The biggest difference is summer nights. The August low is 17.5°C in the Nasu Highlands against 23.5°C in Tokyo — 6°C lower — and there are almost no tropical nights. On the other hand, the January high is 1.9°C — close to freezing even in the middle of the day. "Highland coolness" and "a hard winter" come as a pair.

Snow in the Nasu Highlands (by month, normals)

Month	Total snowfall	Maximum snow depth	Mean temperature
month 12	55cm	21cm	1.1℃
month 1	103cm	32cm	−1.7℃
month 2	79cm	32cm	−1.3℃
month 3	45cm	17cm	2.0℃
month 4	7cm	5cm	7.8℃
Year	296cm	Deepest in the year: 41 cm	Annual mean 9.5°C

Source: Japan Meteorological Agency normals (1991–2020) for Nasu Kogen, Kuroiso and Tokyo / checked 2026-08-13. Kuroiso has no snow-cover observation (which means there is no official normal for snow cover in Nasushiobara City).

How a winter morning changes with the elevation band

Nasu takes in, within one everyday sphere, everything from the flat land where the city and town halls stand (120–340 m), through the Nasu Highlands (700–800 m), to Mount Nasu (1,915 m). What separates one winter from another is not the chill of the morning but how many days never rise above 0°C even in the daytime.

Elevation band	Winter temperature and snow	Roads, and what your car needs
120–340 m Kuroiso, Nasushiobara Station, Kurodahara, Ashino. The Town Hall is at 336.6 m	January daily low −3.9°C (Kuroiso, 343 m). There are 106 days a year with a sub-zero morning, but only 1.6 days a year that never rise above 0°C. Snow that falls almost always melts during the day For comparison: Utsunomiya (119 m) has 72.9 days below 0°C and 0.0 days below 0°C all day	Nasu Town is designated a heavy-snow area. Snowploughs go out on a threshold of 10 cm of snowfall, working from late at night into the early morning. This is a belt where you keep winter tyres ready
700–800 m Nasu Kogen, Oshima, Takaku, Hiroyachi. The AMeDAS Nasu Kogen station is at 749 m	January daily low −5.3°C, deepest January snow cover 32 cm, 296 cm of snowfall a year, deepest cover in the year 41 cm. 22 days a year never rise above 0°C (9.1 in January alone) — 14 times Kuroiso. In the actual observations for January 2026, snow lay on the ground (3 cm or more) on 26 days out of 31, with a deepest cover of 27 cm	Nasu Town's own relocation site writes that "because it snows in winter, studded snow tyres are essential". Clearing the snow at your own door and entrance is each household's share
900 m and above (the mountain side) Above Nasu-Yumoto, from Ikkenchaya up the mountain	The Nasu Town Tourist Association writes that "studded snow tyres are essential for anyone heading up the mountain from the Ikkenchaya junction" and that "shaded stretches may stay frozen"	Prefectural Route 17, the Nasu Kogen line (Omaru Onsen to the Toge-no-Chaya trailhead park, 2.3 km) is closed for winter from about mid-December to late March (in fiscal 2025 from 15 December at 11:00 to 27 March at 11:00, with the section up to the ropeway base station reopening earlier in mid-March)

In a heavy-snow year the order of magnitude changes. The record for the Nasu Highlands is 88 cm of snow cover (15 February 2014), with a lowest temperature of −12.1°C. In 2024, by contrast, the annual mean temperature was the warmest on record and there were 7 days that never rose above 0°C (against 22 in a normal year). The swing from year to year is large, so read the normals and the most recent observations separately.

There are no tyre-chain regulation sections in Tochigi Prefecture. Tochigi is not among the 13 sections designated nationwide by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, so in heavy snow it is not a "regulation" but a road closure. On the Nasu Town section of National Route 4, a heavy vehicle skidding in February 2014 led to a long closure, and the Ministry urges drivers to "fit winter tyres and carry chains" and warns that "driving on ordinary tyres is dangerous".

At home, the thing to prepare is the water pipes. Nasushiobara City states that "once the temperature falls to −4°C or below, water pipes become very likely to freeze and burst", and advises draining the pipes when you leave the house, and, in buildings without a drain valve, leaving a trickle of water running. Outdoor water heaters can also fail from freezing. Sources: Japan Meteorological Agency normals (1991–2020) and days by class for Nasu Kogen, Kuroiso and Utsunomiya / the records from Japan Meteorological Agency, 1st to 10th highest values on record for Nasu Kogen / the January 2026 observations from the same, monthly values (snow) / Tochigi Prefecture, Otawara Civil Engineering Office, information on traffic restrictions / Nasu Town, snow-clearing arrangements ("snowploughs go out on a threshold of 10 cm of snowfall") / Nasu Town, designation as a heavy-snow area / Nasu Town relocation and settlement site / Nasu Town Tourist Association / Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, tyre-chain regulation sections / Nasushiobara City, frozen water pipes / checked 2026-08-13

How cold is winter in Nasu?

In January, Kuroiso (343 m up) runs from −3.9 to 5.6°C and Nasu Kogen (749 m up) from −5.3 to 1.9°C, and there are 106.0 days a year below 0°C (Tokyo has 15.2). The deepest snow cover in the Nasu Highlands is 33 cm in the normals.

CHAPTER 07Shops, hospitals, schools

Kurodahara Station (JR Tohoku Main Line) — the gateway to Nasu Town

A schematic diagram. The distance to each ring is walking time in minutes; the directions are not exact. / Sources: NAVITIME, Ekitan, Nasu Town administrative pages / checked 2026-08-11

This is the only place in Nasu Town where you can walk from the station to a supermarket. In the other three areas both shopping and getting to a doctor assume a car, so if you are thinking as far ahead as life after you stop driving, this difference tells more with each passing year.

Petrol and everyday goods — how far you drive to fill up and to shop

Areas	Petrol stations (about 12 forecourts in the town)
Yumoto and the highlands	3. In Yumoto there is only one — Self Nasu Goyotei-mae SS (8:00–19:00) — and as far as the listings show, there is none further up the mountain than the hot spring village. There is one each near Rindo-ko (Takaku-hei) and at Oshima
the Nasu Kaido road	4 (3 in Takaku-ko, 1 in Takaku-otsu). They cluster around Nasu Interchange
for settling permanently	4 (3 in Terako, 1 in Toyohara). 3 of them are in the built-up part of Kurodahara
the satoyama hills	1 at Iono

There is also 1 with no address given, plus 2 inside the Nasu Kogen service area on the Tohoku Expressway (open 24 hours, inside the expressway).

Home-improvement stores (in the town)	4 Komeri Hard & Green stores (2 in Takaku-ko, 1 in Terako, 1 at Iono). All are small-format stores, and only the Atago store opens at 8 in the morning
Large stores	Towards Kuroiso. Cainz Kuroiso (10:00–19:00) / Daiyu Eight Nasushiobara and Kamiatsusaki (9:00–20:00)

The higher up the mountain you live, the more filling up and shopping become errands rather than something you do on the way. From a holiday home above the hot spring village, both refuelling and buying materials mean going down to the foot of the mountain. There is no large home-improvement store in the town, so you drive to Kuroiso.

Sources: cross-checking the petrol station listings on e-nenpi and NAVITIME / the official store pages of Komeri, Cainz and Daiyu Eight / checked 2026-08-11

Hospitals — where you are taken if you collapse in the night

Tertiary emergency care (serious cases)	Nasu Red Cross Hospital (Otawara City). This is the tertiary provider for the northern Tochigi health and medical zone
Secondary emergency care	Nasu Red Cross Hospital / International University of Health and Welfare Nasu Hospital / Sugama Memorial Hospital
Primary (night)	The Nasu district night-time emergency clinic. On holidays during the day, a doctor on home rota
Paediatrics	The paediatrics department at Nasu Red Cross Hospital is the secondary and tertiary provider. Seriously ill children needing admission are covered 24 hours a day
Distance	There is no secondary or tertiary emergency care inside Nasu Town. Drive from the place you are considering to Nasu Red Cross Hospital and time it for yourself

Sources: Nasu Red Cross Hospital / Nasu District Medical Association / Nasu District Wide-Area Administrative Association / checked 2026-08-11

Schools — the high schools are outside the town

Primary and lower-secondary	Nasu Town publishes school catchment areas by oaza
Upper secondary	There is no prefectural high school inside Nasu Town, so pupils travel to Nasushiobara City and elsewhere
Kuroiso High School	Yutaka-cho, Nasushiobara City. 13 minutes' walk from Kuroiso Station
Kuroiso Minami High School	Kamiatsusaki 747-2, Nasushiobara City. About 4 km from Nasushiobara Station, 7 minutes by bus (the municipal "Yu-Bus" comes onto the school grounds)
Getting to school	From the area for settling permanently, take the Tohoku Main Line from Kurodahara to Kuroiso. From the highland area it means driving them there and back every day

Sources: Tochigi Prefecture / Nasu Town administrative pages / checked 2026-08-11

Are the shops and hospitals within walking distance?

Kurodahara Station is the only place where you can walk from the station to a supermarket (Daiyu Kurodahara, 7 minutes' walk); in the other three areas both shopping and getting to a doctor assume a car. If you are thinking as far ahead as life after you stop driving, this difference tells more with each passing year.

CHAPTER 08What it costs you every year after you buy

Holiday-home estate management fees	¥80,000–¥150,000 a year is the usual guide. At Nasu Heiwakyo, for example, annual upkeep is about ¥150,000–¥300,000. Some estates use a formula such as "basic management charge ¥18,000 a year + land-area charge (area owned × ¥50)" What it covers: maintenance and inspection of the private water supply / road repair and snow clearing / the shared refuse point / grounds upkeep
Water	Holiday-home estates in Nasu use either the town water supply or a private supply run by the management company. Some subdivisions with a private supply require a joining fee
Heating	The January mean is −1.7°C in the highlands. Heating is needed for about half the year. There is no mains gas, so it is propane or kerosene. Delivered kerosene averages ¥2,703 per 18 L (about ¥150/L) across Tochigi Prefecture. The highest this winter was ¥2,966. Annual use by a household in a cold region averages about 1,000 L in Hokkaido = a guide of around ¥150,000 a year for kerosene at the upper end Sources: Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, survey of petroleum product prices (first week of August 2026, delivered price in Tochigi Prefecture) / Hokkaido Government (about 1,000 L purchased per household a year) / checked 2026-08-11
Snow clearing	On a managed estate it is usually covered by the management fee; on unmanaged land it is your own job. Which of the two changes the winter burden greatly. An actual example: at Nasu Highland, when it snows the management company clears every road from 3 in the morning (within the management fee). There is no published price in Nasu for hiring a contractor one-off, so you have to get a quote. The Nasushiobara City consumer affairs centre has published a snow-clearing dispute in which a quote of about ¥70,000 became a bill of about ¥120,000 — get the amount in writing Sources: Towa Nasu Resort (management arrangements) / Nasushiobara City Consumer Affairs Centre / checked 2026-08-11
by car	Only the area for settling permanently has a station within walking distance. The other three areas assume a car, and winter tyres are essential

The management fee runs for as long as you own the land — you go on paying it through any period when it will not sell. And the biggest trap is not the amount but that if the management company withdraws, the roads and the water supply are left in limbo. Ask "who manages this, and for how long" before you ask "how much".

Neighbourhood associations and district dues — the invisible subscription on land with no management fee

An actual example from a holiday-home subdivision	The Tosho Neighbourhood Association (the association for a subdivision straddling Nasu Town and Nasushiobara City): annual dues ¥100,000 (for permanent residents and holiday-home owners alike, including use of the water facilities). For land only it is ¥26,000 a year. Because the association owns the water supply, roads and street lighting within the subdivision, joining is effectively compulsory
How it relates to snow clearing	The same association clears the roads within the subdivision once snow reaches 15 cm (within the dues). The snow at your own door is each household's job
Refuse	If you do not join the neighbourhood association, you cannot use the refuse point. In that case you take your refuse to the town's waste facility yourself (as explained by a local estate agent)
An ordinary settlement	District dues are set by each district and the amounts are not published. When you view a property, be sure to ask the seller or the district head "how much are the district dues a year?" and "what duties come round?"

The Tosho Neighbourhood Association's official FAQ on dues and snow clearing → Sources: the Tosho Neighbourhood Association official FAQ / Fudosan no Chris, "Refuse in Nasu" / checked 2026-08-11

How much does living in Nasu cost each year?

The management fee on a holiday-home estate is a guide ¥80,000–¥150,000 a year, and at Nasu Heiwakyo, for example, annual upkeep is about ¥150,000–¥300,000. Heating is needed for about half the year, and around ¥150,000 a year is a guide for kerosene at the upper end.

CHAPTER 09What happens when you want to sell

This is a subject where the information in circulation is aimed at buyers. Before you buy, look at this.

Price movement	The average transaction price of a house in Nasu Town was down 15.9% year on year (2025, ¥9,810,000)
The gap with asking prices	The asking price for a 2LDK to 3DK is ¥25,660,000. In other words, they are not selling at the asking price, and actual transactions are lower
The burden while it does not sell	For a holiday home, upkeep of ¥300,000–¥900,000 a year keeps coming (management fee, property tax, utilities, managed maintenance and so on)
Deterioration	In a building no one lives in, damp brings mould and the fittings deteriorate, and the valuation falls as time passes

Sources: Chukodate! (Nasu Town, Nasu County) / explanations by various estate agents on selling holiday homes in Nasu / checked 2026-08-11

They do move, though — how fast the vacant-house bank turns over

From the update history Nasu Town publishes, here is the movement over the last three months.

Date	Movement
August 2026 (as updated on the 26th)	Properties 150 and 156 newly added / property 129 sold and removed / property 144 price changed
Reiwa 8 (2026), 8/3	Property 139 sold and removed from the listing / property 152 newly added
Reiwa 8 (2026), 7/27	Property 148 removed from the listing
Reiwa 8 (2026), 7/17	Property 132 sold and removed from the listing / properties 144 and 139 newly added
Reiwa 8 (2026), 7/8	Properties 148 and 153 newly added
Reiwa 8 (2026), 7/2	Property 123 price changed
Reiwa 8 (2026), 5/20	Property 134 sold and removed from the listing
Reiwa 8 (2026), 5/7	Property 137 sold and removed from the listing

Five properties have sold in about four months. Registrations stay at around ten at any time, and the turnover continues. Property 139 was listed on 17 July and sold on 3 August — 17 days. A property on good terms passes to the next person while you are still thinking. At the same time prices do change (properties 123 and 144), which is to say that what stays on the list for a long time moves in price. Source: the update history of the Nasu Town vacant-house bank property list / checked 2026-08-27

Will the house I buy sell when I want to sell it?

The average transaction price for a house in Nasu Town was ¥9,810,000 in 2025, down 15.9% on the year, and houses are not selling at the asking prices (¥25,660,000 for a 2LDK to 3DK). On the vacant-house bank, though, five properties have sold in the last four months, so things are moving.

CHAPTER 10Who lives here, and how many

Population (Nasu Town)

23,107 people

2026-04

Households

10,851 households

1 households 2.1 people

Against the peak

−17%

From 27,819 in 2006

Arrivals per year

784 people

2023, up 3.3% year on year

It fell steadily from 27,819 in 2006 to 23,542 in 2024, and has recently turned up slightly. While 784 people move in a year, the town's population vision projects an ageing rate above 50%. "People are moving in, but the town as a whole is ageing" — the two are happening at once. Sources: Nasu Town Basic Resident Register / Nasu Town population vision / checked 2026-08-11

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.

Share of foreign residents

2.67%national average 3.26%

Taking together the two municipalities covered on this page, 3,696 of the 138,186 people living here are foreign residents. That is below the national average of 3.26%.
Nationally, foreign residents make up 3.26% of the total population (4,031,159 of 123,767,642). 34 municipalities in Japan 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 Nasu's population falling?

Nasu Town has fallen from 27,819 in 2006 to 23,107 (April 2026), about 17% down, but 784 people move in each year and it has recently turned up slightly. At the same time, the town's population vision projects an ageing rate above 50%.

CHAPTER 11Community life and the year's events

Community life in Nasu starts from one assumption that differs from other towns. Nasu Town has 9,752 holiday homes — almost the same number as the households on the resident register (10,851). In other words, there are a great many plots inside the settlements where the house exists but nobody lives. That, in itself, decides how the local duties come round.

What you join — a neighbourhood association or a management association

Where you live	Who you deal with, and what it costs
A managed holiday-home estate	You deal with the management company. Roads, the private water supply, snow clearing and the shared refuse point are covered by the management fee (¥80,000–¥150,000 a year / §8). There is little contact with the neighbours, and correspondingly more freedom. But if the management company withdraws, the roads and the water supply are left in limbo
A subdivision's neighbourhood association	You deal with the neighbourhood association. The Tosho Neighbourhood Association (a subdivision straddling Nasu Town and Nasushiobara City) charges ¥100,000 a year (for permanent residents and holiday-home owners alike; ¥26,000 a year for land only). Because the association owns the water supply, roads and street lighting, joining is effectively compulsory
An ordinary settlement	You deal with the ku (administrative district). The amount of the district dues is not published. The refuse point belongs to the neighbourhood association, so without joining you cannot use it and must take your refuse to the town's facility yourself

How often a duty comes round is decided not by the population but by the number of people actually living there

Nasu Town's ageing rate is above 50% (§10). On top of that there are 9,752 holiday homes — houses that pay property tax but turn out for neither the grass cutting nor the festival, in almost the same number. The result is that the duties are shared out among the households that can actually turn out. The smaller the district, the shorter the cycle on which block leader, group leader, fire brigade and festival duty come round.

What to ask when you view a property is not the amount but the head count. "How many households are in this district, and how many of them are actually lived in?" — that is the question that tells you most. Whether the dues are ¥10,000 or ¥20,000 a year matters less to daily life than whether a duty comes round once in three years or once in ten. As written in §8, the only way to learn the dues and the duties is to ask the seller or the district head directly.

The year's events run on two calendars: the visitor's and the settlement's

Two calendars overlap in a year in Nasu. One is the visitor's calendar — traffic starts to build in May, people come to escape the heat in July and August, and the autumn colours in October bring the heaviest crowds. The other is the settlement's calendar, centred on folk performing arts such as the lion dances and the pioneer festival (the Sambongi lion dance in March, the Takabayashi lion dance in April, the Nasunogahara Pioneer Festival in October; see §15). What you will take part in as a new resident is the latter, but the traffic of the former will certainly eat into the time of anyone living there.

Sources: the number of holiday homes, pensions and similar fromNasu Town, "Nasu Town in data"(Nasu Town statistical yearbook, 2016) / household numbers from Nasu Town, April 2026 / association dues, snow clearing and refuse from the Tosho Neighbourhood Association official FAQ (the same source as §8) / folk performing arts from Nasushiobara City, list of folk-art preservation groups and their dedication (activity) dates (fiscal 2025) / checked 2026-08-18

Is community life demanding in Nasu?

Who you deal with changes with where you live. On a managed holiday-home estate it is the management company (¥80,000–¥150,000 a year) and contact is light; in a subdivision it is the neighbourhood association (the Tosho Neighbourhood Association charges ¥100,000 a year); in an ordinary settlement it is the ku. If the management company withdraws, the roads and the water supply are left in limbo.

CHAPTER 12Things nearby that move land prices

What moves property in Nasu is not the supply and demand of housing. It is the stock of a tourist area. Set out in figures, how unusual that is becomes clear.

What the "buildings" in Nasu Town consist of

Type	Buildings or facilities	What it means
Holiday homes	9,752 buildings	Almost the same number as the households on the resident register (10,851). This is the population from which Nasu's second-hand market is drawn
Pensions	124	Buildings put up as guest houses come onto the market as homes once the business closes
Rental villas, lodges and cottages	32 buildings	Buildings put up for tourism come onto the second-hand market just as they are
Dormitories and company retreats	27 buildings	The closure of a company retreat puts a substantial property on the market
Hotels and inns / guesthouses	61 / 19	A guest house that has closed can come on the market as it stands, a large building and all
Golf courses / ski areas / campsites	8／2／13	Much of the land use is directed at tourism

Buying a house in Nasu means buying not from a housing market but from "holiday-home stock". Most sellers are not moving on to another home but simply "want to let it go because they no longer use it" — so there are sellers who put a quick, clean sale ahead of the price. That is why you can buy cheaply, and at the same time it is the situation waiting for you when your own turn to sell comes (§9).

Four outside factors that bear on the price

① Whether it is inside the assumed volcanic rangeMount Nasu is an active volcano, and there is an assumed range for pyroclastic flows and snowmelt-type volcanic mudflows (§5). At the same elevation with the same view, a gap in price may open up from here between inside and outside that range. Check by address

② Managed estate or self-managedThe management fee runs for as long as you own the land, including any period when it will not sell (§8). Conversely, on land with no management fee you maintain the roads and the water supply yourselves. That difference shows up directly in the sale price

③ Tourist trafficThe area around Mount Nasu in the autumn-colour season, and Prefectural Route 17 from Nasu Interchange up to the highlands, get congested. "The appeal of a holiday-home area" and "everyday inconvenience" sit on the same road. If you are settling here, what matters is whether you are placed so that you do not have to use the congested road every day

④ It is dairy countryNasushiobara City's output of raw milk is 2nd in Japan and 1st on Honshu (about ¥22,200,000,000) (§13). Having dairy farms close by also means smell and insects, depending on the season and the wind direction. Go and view a property once on a windy evening

Nasu Town also has an owner-occupancy rate of 89.18% and 141.6 m² of floor area per dwelling (against 57.49 m² in the 23 wards of Tokyo). ¥10,000,000 buys 521 m² of land (9 m² in the 23 wards of Tokyo) — a comparison Nasu Town itself publishes. Space is where this land is strongest.

Sources: the numbers of holiday homes and tourist facilities, the owner-occupancy rate, the floor area and the land ¥10,000,000 buys fromNasu Town, "Nasu Town in data"(Nasu Town statistical yearbook, 2016 / Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2013 Housing and Land Survey and others.All are the values as at the time of publication) / household numbers from Nasu Town, April 2026 / the output of raw milk from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, estimated agricultural output by municipality, 2023 (the same source as §13) / checked 2026-08-18

What decides land prices in Nasu?

The pool from which Nasu's second-hand market is drawn is not housing but 9,752 holiday homes (almost the same number as the 10,851 households on the resident register), and closed guest houses and company retreats come onto the market too. You can buy cheaply because there are sellers who put a quick sale ahead of the price — but the same conditions will apply when it is your turn to sell.

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.

¥2,038,230,000

Hometown tax donations received in fiscal 2025 by the two municipalities together (60,290 donations).
The larger is Nasu Town (¥1,106,680,000, 6th within Tochigi Prefecture)

Municipality	Amount received	Listings	Rank in the prefecture
Nasu Town	¥1,106,680,000	18,289 listings	6th within Tochigi Prefecture
Nasushiobara City	¥931,550,000	42,001 listings	7th within Tochigi Prefecture

The main produce of Nasu

🥛

Raw milk — 2nd in Japan by output

Nasushiobara City's output of raw milk is 2nd in Japan (for the 4th year running) at about ¥22,200,000,000, and 1st on Honshu. First place is Bekkai Town in Hokkaido. The city has designated 2 September as "Milk Day" and has even passed a bylaw on "a toast with milk!"

🧀

Cheese and dairy products

Products made from the local raw milk are registered under the "Nasushiobara brand"

🥬

Highland vegetables and rice

Vegetables and rice grown where the temperature swings. Nasu Town has dairy farming on the slopes and paddy country across its centre and east

🍷

Wine from Nasushiobara

Grapes grown in the city are made into wine in the city

Source:Nasushiobara City, livestock farming (output of raw milk 2nd in Japan / estimated agricultural output by municipality, 2023, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)／the same, "A toast with milk!" (bylaw on regional revitalisation through milk and dairy products)／the same, specialities of Nasushiobara City/ Verified 2026-08-14

We have not yet been able to describe this place's local specialities

I (the AI) searched the official website of Nasu Town, the Nasu Town part of Nasu, and the tourism and produce association sites the municipalities point to, but could not find a list of specialities officially set out (checked 20 August 2026).
This site is made by checking sources one at a time, so that the AI does not introduce information that is not true. Because no sourced information could be found, nothing has been written here yet. This does not mean there are no specialities — our apologies.

🔴 To municipalities and local organisations
If you would like this filled in,please tell us the official page . We will put it here with a source and the date it was checked.

For municipalities and local organisations (get in touch here) →

You 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.

Support Nasu Town with a hometown tax donation →Support Nasushiobara City with a hometown tax donation →

Source:Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, "Survey on the state of the hometown tax scheme (conducted FY Reiwa 8)", the table of amounts and numbers received (provisional FY Reiwa 7 settlement), tallied by this site. The rank is out of all 1,788 municipalities in that table / verified 2026-08-14

What does Nasu earn its living from?

Nasushiobara City's output of raw milk is 2nd in Japan (about ¥22,200,000,000) and 1st on Honshu. The city has designated 2 September as "Milk Day", and hometown tax donations received by the two municipalities came to ¥2,038,230,000 in fiscal 2025.

CHAPTER 14A message from Nasu Town and Nasushiobara City

How the people receiving you think about it. "Nasu" straddles two municipalities, so both sets of words are given as they stand.

A message from the town

Nasu Town, a town living with the bounty of the Nasu Highlands. / A life where the out-of-the-ordinary becomes the everyday — Nasushiobara Life (Nasushiobara City)

Nasu Town runs an official relocation and settlement site, "Yu-yu Jiteki Nasu Gurashi", and has relocation support coordinators. The point of contact is the Hometown Settlement Division (0287-72-6955), and you can book an online consultation through the town's official LINE account.
Nasushiobara City calls itself "the gateway to the Nasu Highlands" and has been named, as a city, among the "Top 100 sustainable destinations in the world" two years running.
You can also apply for a relocation consultation through Tochigi Prefecture's relocation portal "Very Match Tochigi".

Nasu Town relocation and settlement site "Yu-yu Jiteki Nasu Gurashi" →Nasu Town relocation and settlement consultation desk →Very Match Tochigi (Tochigi Prefecture relocation advice) →

Sources: Tochigi Prefecture relocation and settlement site "Very Match Tochigi", Nasu Town / the same, Nasushiobara City / Nasu Town relocation and settlement consultation desk / checked 2026-08-14

This section is transcribed as written on the municipality's own website. If an officer of the municipality sends us their own text, we will replace it. Get in touch here →

Does Nasu welcome people moving in? Where is the consultation desk?

Nasu Town runs a relocation and settlement site, "Yu-yu Jiteki Nasu Gurashi", and has relocation support coordinators and a Hometown Settlement Division (0287-72-6955). The relocation support grant is larger on the Nasushiobara City side.

CHAPTER 15A year in Nasu

What is in season, the festivals, and the temperature. Twelve months of living here, on one page.

Month

Nasu that month

Temperature (minimum to maximum)

month 1

Mornings are below freezing almost every day. In the Nasu Highlands (700–800 m) the normal for deepest snow cover is 33 cm

−3.9 to 5.6°C • the Kuroiso figures

month 2

The height of snow and ice. On the highland estates, life turns on how the roads are cleared

-3.4〜6.6℃

month 3

The Sambongi lion dance (the Sunday nearest the 24th, from 13:00, at the Sambongi Jizoson square, Nasushiobara City)

-0.6〜10.4℃

month 4

The Takabayashi lion dance (the 3rd Sunday, spring grand festival of Takabayashi Shrine). Cherry blossom comes late to the highlands, opening from the lowland upwards

4.2〜16.1℃

month 5

The season for dairy grass. Tourist traffic starts to build

9.8〜21.0℃

month 6

The rainy season. The month to check on a map the rivers in the same basin as the 1998 Nasu downpour (end of August)

14.8〜23.9℃

month 7

People arrive to escape the heat. The lowland has 24.5 days above 30°C; the highlands have 3.1

19.2〜27.3℃

month 8

The citizens' Bon dance (Nasushiobara City). 0.0 tropical nights a year — you can sleep without air conditioning

20.1〜28.6℃

month 9

2 September is "Nasushiobara City Milk Day". "A toast with milk!" at events across the city

16.2〜24.8℃

month 10

The Nasunogahara Pioneer Festival (the Kuroiso Makigari drums and the Higashi-Nasuno festival music). The autumn colours come down the mountain from Mount Nasu

9.8〜19.3℃

month 11

The Higashi-Nasuno community centre festival. In the highlands, the first snow, and measures against frozen pipes

3.1〜13.8℃

month 12

The holiday-home estates get ready for winter. Winter tyres on during November

-1.8〜8.3℃

The folk performing arts are taken from the dedication (activity) dates of the preservation groups published by Nasushiobara City; the temperatures are the normals for Kuroiso (343 m). Within the same everyday sphere, the Nasu Highlands (700–800 m) have a different winter. Before you move, come once, on one of the days in this table.

Source:Nasushiobara City, list of folk-art preservation groups and their dedication (activity) dates (fiscal 2025) / temperatures fromJapan Meteorological Agency, normals for Kuroiso,the same, Nasu Kogen/ Verified 2026-08-14

What is a year in Nasu like?

In January the mornings are below freezing almost every day, and the normal for deepest snow cover in the Nasu Highlands is 33 cm. August has 0.0 tropical nights a year, so you can sleep without air conditioning. June is the month to check on a map the rivers in the same basin as the 1998 Nasu downpour.

CHAPTER 16The people who run this city

When you are thinking about moving, who is running this town now, and where they are trying to take it is, I think, something a future resident wants to know even more than someone already living there. This chapter sets out, with sources, only what each municipality publishes itself. 🔴 This page brings together two municipalities, so all of them were looked at on the same six measures (22 August 2026). Of 2 × 6 = 12 items, 9 were found, and the name of the head of the municipality could be confirmed for 1 of them.

Local authority	Head	of the 6	What was published
Nasushiobara City	Watanabe Michitaro	5	introduction of the head of the municipality, policy statement, inaugural statement, list of council members, council broadcasts and recordings, search of council minutes
Nasu Town	Could not find one	4	Head's introduction, policy address, list of assembly members, minutes search

The mayor of Nasushiobara CityWatanabe Michitaro. The page carrying that name was last updated2026-04-01.
🔴 Age and gender have not been guessed from the name.Only what is published is reproduced here, as published.Nasushiobara City introduction page →

🔴 I (an AI) could not find the name of the mayor of Nasu TownI followed 101 pages of Nasu Town's official website, butcould not take the name from anywhere I could say with certainty was the page introducing the current mayor。That does not mean there is none, or that it is not published.Guessing at a name would be the greater discourtesy, so nothing is recorded. 🔴 To municipalities and local organisations — tell us the URL of the introduction page and we will put it here with a source and the date it was checked.Get in touch here →

How much of the council can you see?A list of members, live or recorded broadcasts of full sessions, and searchable minutes — where these three are published, you can read a town's debates for yourself before you ever move there.
🔴 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.

🔴 We could not find a master planFollowing the official site, we could not find a page for a master plan or basic vision (checked 2026-08-22).That does not mean there is none.🔴 To municipalities and local organisations — tell us the URL and we will put it here.Get in touch here →

🔴 What I will not do in this chapter1. I will not guess gender or age from a name. Only what is published appears here. 2. I will not write that anything is good or bad. Only what is being put forward, and where it comes from. 3. I will not compare election candidates.
🔴 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.

Source: allofficial site (Nasushiobara City／Nasu Town ), followed on 2026-08-22. What this site counted wasonly whether something is published or not ; the content has not been judged / verified 2026-08-22

Who is running the local authorities in this area?

This page brings together two municipalities. As of 22 August 2026, all of them were looked at on the same six measures, and the name of the head of the municipality could be confirmed for 1 of them. (Nasushiobara City = Watanabe Michitaro.) What this site looks at is six things: the introduction of the head of the municipality, the policy statement, the list of council members, council broadcasts, the search of council minutes, and the comprehensive plan. 🔴 No judgement of good or bad is made. Only whether it is published or not.

CHAPTER 17Where to go on a day off

What does not show up in the numbers you use to find a house, but bears directly on how satisfied you are once you live there, is days off. This chapter counts, on the same measure for every area, the places you can go on a day off in Nasu (Kuroiso) and the places family and friends can stay when they visit. This is a town with Nikko National Park. In this area there are at present 30 hot springs and day baths, 23 amusement parks, zoos or aquariums, and 5 roadside stations. 🔴 All the counts are the numbers registered in the map data (OpenStreetMap) — in reality there may be more.

What	Number counted, and names
⛰ National and quasi-national parks	Nikko National Park (Nasushiobara City and Nasu Town)
♨ Hot springs and day baths	Nasushiobara City Health and Longevity Centre • Kaikou-no-Yu • Tera-no-Yu • Naka-no-Yu • Shiobara Motoyu • Mikaeri Onsen Saika-no-Yu • Hana-no-Yu • Pyramid Genki Onsen and 30 in all
🏯 Castles and castle sites	The Nasu Imperial Villa
🎡 Amusement parks, zoos and aquariums	Horai Sembommatsu Farm • archery • trout catching • fishing ponds • pick-your-own orchards • go-karts, buggies • a circuit • Nasu No Megumi Mekke and 23 in all
🖼 Museums, galleries and memorial halls	Nasunogahara Museum Kuroiso Local History Hall • Nasunogahara Museum • the Émile Gallé Museum • the Nasu Music Box Museum • the Nasu History Museum • the Nasu Stained Glass Museum • the Nasu Teddy Bear Museum • the 3D Märchen Aquarium and 28 in all
⛩ Shrines and temples	34 shrines and 25 temples. Those with a Wikipedia entry are Onsen Shrine • Nogi Shrine • Kumadazaka Onsen Shrine • Chonenji • Unshoji • Kuroiso Shrine • Tokakuin • Shokanji
🚗 Roadside stations	Meiji-no-Mori Kuroiso • Tosando Iono • Yu-no-Ka Shiobara • Nasunogahara Museum • Nasu Kogen Yuai-no-Mori (5 stations)
🐕 Dog runs	Dog Run • Dog Salon Jaime • Nadias Nasu • Nasu Wanwan World and 9 in all
🛣 Expressway service and parking areas	Nasu Kogen service area (northbound) (⛽ petrol station) / Nasu Kogen service area (southbound) (⛽ petrol station) / Kuroiso parking area (northbound) / Kuroiso parking area (southbound)

Somewhere to stay — for family and friends, and for your own travels

What	Number counted
🏨 Hotels and ryokan	153
🏠 Guesthouses and hostels	163
⛺ Campsites and auto-campsites	Torinome Riverside Park Auto Campsite • Shiobara Green Village • Nasu Tampopo-mura Campsite • Ponpoko-no-Mori Family Camp • Nasu Queen's Mountain • Nasu Kashi Youth Nature House Nasu Lodge • Holiday Camp • Nasu Kogen Auto Campsite and 22 in all
🏕 Glamping	Not found among the campsite or hotel names
🚐 RV parks (overnight in your vehicle)	RV Park Bivouac + Nasu Kogen (Nasu Town) • RV Park Hotel Floration Nasu (Nasu Town) • RV Park Nasu Iyu Auto (Nasu Town) • RV Park 555 Sachi-no-Yu (Nasushiobara City) • Nasushiobara Niwatoko RV Park (Nasushiobara City) • RV Park Nasushiobara Ezurin (Nasushiobara City)

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) / national parks judged from the boundary data of the Ministry of the Environment Biodiversity Center overlaid on National Land Numerical Information (administrative boundaries); for quasi-national parks the municipalities concerned were confirmed at the link behind the park name / verified 2026-08-20

Are there places to go on a day off, and places to stay?

This is a town with Nikko National Park. Counting from the map data (OpenStreetMap) and the lists from the RV Association and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, there are 30 hot springs and day baths, 23 amusement parks, zoos or aquariums, 5 roadside stations and 153 hotels and inns. Facilities not on the map are not counted, so in reality there may be more (details in §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 Nasu Town, and the total was 51 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	5 / 20	There is a relocation and settlement page; a contact point (department, telephone, opening hours); support schemes state amounts and conditions
Housing	14 / 15	Has an akiya bank, listings carry photo, price, year built and floor area, sold listings are cleared away, and 1 more
The money side of living here	5 / 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	20 / 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	3 / 10	Hometown tax results are published year by year; there are support schemes for businesses and industry
Transport	2 / 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

3 / 3　There is a relocation and settlement page
Migration and settlement　Go and see → 0 / 3　There is a dedicated relocation site
Only pages within the official site 1 / 3　A contact point (department, telephone, opening hours)
1 of the department in charge, the telephone number and the opening hours was given　Go and see → 1 / 5　Support schemes state amounts and conditions
A guide to the scheme only　Go and see → 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
Akiya bank　Go and see → 3 / 4　Listings carry photographs, price, year built and floor area
16 of the 18 listings (89%) have all 4 items　Go and see → 4 / 4　Completed deals are organised
No completed deals appear in the list　Go and see → 3 / 3　The conditions of use are stated
　Go and see → 1 / 5　Water and sewerage charges are readable from a rate table
There is a water and sewerage page　Go and see → 3 / 5　Child-raising support is specific about amounts and scope
Grants are described　Go and see → 1 / 3　There are explanations of national health insurance tax and fixed asset tax
There is a tax page　Go and see → 0 / 2　Tie-ups with banks for mortgages and the like
Not found 5 / 5　Hazard maps are published by district
77 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
Reiwa 5 (2023), 5/26updated　Go and see → 4 / 4　Is it machine-readable (a map system or a text PDF)?
Viewable in a map system　Go and see → 3 / 3　Disasters are announced through more than one channel
Disaster email / disaster app / social media / municipal loudspeakers　Go and see → 0 / 5　A list of local speciality products is on the official site
Not found 1 / 3　Hometown tax results are published year by year
1 fiscal year is recorded　Go and see → 2 / 2　There are support schemes for businesses and industry
Commerce and industry　Go and see → 2 / 4　There is a community bus timetable
There is a page　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
We could not find a search form　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 2026-08-20

Compare with other areas

Every page has the same 17 chapters in the same order. Move between them and you can compare the same line.

Areas in the Kanto region

Annaka (the Usui Pass)Annaka City, Gunmalistings51 listings / ¥800,000–Tsukuba (45 min to Akihabara at fastest on the TX; a science city and Mt. Tsukuba)Tsukuba City, Ibarakilistings220 listings / ¥1,600,000–KasamaKasama City, Ibaraki Prefecturelistings77 listings / ¥480,000–Utsunomiya (53 min from Tokyo by shinkansen, a town with a brand-new LRT line)Utsunomiya City, Tochigilistings618 listings / ¥1,980,000–

Places you could look at for a similar price

Hokuto (the southern foot of the Yatsugatake range)Hokuto City, Yamanashilistings36 listings / ¥1,200,000–Otsu (10 min to Kyoto by special rapid; the city of Lake Biwa and Mount Hiei)Otsu City, Shigalistings576 listings / ¥1,200,000–Sapporo (a designated city of 10 wards; 0.1 days a year above 35°C and 0.1 tropical nights)Hokkaido, Sapporo Citylistings1,786 listings / ¥1,200,000–Aomori (3 hours 5 minutes to Tokyo by Shinkansen; the town of Nebuta and Hakkoda)Aomori City, Aomori Prefecturelistings269 listings / ¥1,300,000–

Compare areas by budget and region →

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