was a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in

Kagoshima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Kagoshima Prefecture has a population of 1,527,019 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 9,187 Square kilometre, km2 (3,547 Square m ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. It is now part of the city of Isa. The city was founded on April 1, 1954. As of 2008, the city had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 21,643 and the

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 78.02 persons per km². The total area was 291.88 km². On November 1, 2008, Ōkuchi was merged with the town of Hishikari (from Isa District) to create the city of Isa. Isa District was dissolved as a result of this merger. Ōkuchi was the northernmost city on the mainland part of

. Only the Nagashima island of Nagashima city extends further north. Ōkuchi is a mountainous area that borders on

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...

and

Miyazaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,028,215 as of 1 January 2025 and has a geographic area of 7,735 Square kilometre, km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefectur ...

. Part of the southern border of the city is the Sendai River and the artificial lake formed from the Tsuruta dam. It is the only city in

that is not bordered by the sea. At one time, Ōkuchi was a prosperous city but has declined for several reasons in recent years. First, there has been a decline in forestry and agriculture in the area, but the aging Japanese population and the flight to larger cities have also been significant factors. For these reasons two

Japanese National Railways The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

railway lines that served Ōkuchi were discontinued in the 1987 and 1988. They were the Yamano line that went from

Minamata is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It is on the west coast of Kyūshū and faces Amakusa islands. Minamata was established as a village in 1889, re-designated as a town in 1912 and grew into a city in 1949. As of March 2017, the ci ...

to Kurino and the Miyajo line that went from

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

to Ōkuchi.

Neighboring municipalities

Cities: Izumi, Hitoyoshi (Kumamoto), Minamata (Kumamoto), Ebino (Miyazaki) Districts: Satsuma District, Isa District, Kuma District (Kumamoto).

Transportation

Railways

Shin-Minamata Station is a junction passenger railway station located in the city of Minamata, Kumamoto, Japan. It is operated by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) and by the third-sector railway company Hisatsu Orange Railway. Lines The station is served by the K ...

on the

Kyushu Shinkansen The is a Japanese Shinkansen high-speed railway network. It is an extension of the San'yō Shinkansen from Honshu connecting the city of Fukuoka (Hakata Station) in the north of Japan's Kyushu Island to the city of Kagoshima (Kagoshima-Chuo Sta ...

is 35 km northwest (operated by

Kyushu Railway Company The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle (JR Kyushu), Beetle hydrofoil service across th ...

)

Highways

* National Highway 267 * National Highway 268 * National Highway 447 * Kyushu Expressway Hitoyoshi Interchange is 30 km northeast and Kurino Interchange is 20 km southeast of Ōkuchi

Bus

*Nangoku Kotsu Bus

Airport

Kagoshima Airport is an international airport located in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, northeast of Kagoshima-Chūō StationAIS Japan

in Kirishima (35 km SSE of Ōkuchi)

Sister cities

Ōkuchi has two

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

: * Nishinoomote,

* Namhae,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

References

External links

Isa official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okuchi, Kagoshima Dissolved municipalities of Kagoshima Prefecture