Personal Notes on Yato
I have been traveling around by bicycle for about ten years to look at various yato (valley bottoms).
I have had some thoughts and observations that interest me, so I would like to leave them here as notes.
Survey Subject: Yato place names and yato-related place names, primarily in the Kanto region, and their corresponding topography.
Survey Locations: 4,041 (as of 2026/07/26)
*The number of survey locations has exceeded 4,000.
*The count has been slightly corrected due to past counting errors.
*The count has been corrected due to a counting omission in the 2016/7/23 survey.
*The count has been corrected due to a counting omission in the 2026/9/30 survey.
Yato Study
1. Yato Study
What exactly is a yato? | Myah Nyah
1-1. Definition of Yato
Modern Yato: Five Types of Yato Endings | Myah Nyah
Structure of Yato: Yato-type and Yachi-type | Myah Nyah
What are Yato-related place names? | Myah Nyah
On the settlement nature of Yato place names | Myah Nyah
On the density of Yato place names: Kawayato and Okayato | Myah Nyah
On the chain nature of Yato place names | Myah Nyah
1-2. On frequently occurring Yato place names
Frequently occurring Yato place names Part 1: Kanegayato | Myah Nyah
Frequently occurring Yato place names Part 2: Miyagayato and Teragayato | Myah Nyah
Frequently occurring Yato place names Part 3: Mitsuya and Yotsuya | Myah Nyah
Frequently occurring Yato place names Part 4: Maeya and Atodani | Myah Nyah
Frequently occurring Yato place names Part 5: Kamitani, Nakatani, and Shimotani | Myah Nyah
Frequently occurring Yato place names Part 6: Higashitani, Nishitani, Minamitani, and Kitatani | Myah Nyah | Myah Nyah
Frequently occurring Yato place names Part 7: Yato, Yatsu, and Tani | Myah Nyah
Frequently occurring Yato place names Part 8: Otani and Kotani | Myah Nyah
1-3. Other miscellaneous thoughts
On compound place names Part 1: Which place name is stronger? | Myah Nyah
Yato-related place names Part 1: Iri | Myah Nyah
Convergent evolution of Yato: Yatsunuma and Sekiya | Myah Nyah
Chiba Prefecture, Sekiya Part 2: Sekiya and Sekiya | Myah Nyah
Yato place name extinction process | Myah Nyah
2. Yato Column
On the Place Name "Yagajo" in Tsukuba | Myah Nyah
Recommendations for Yato Exploration: The Basics - Tips for Yato Surveys | Myah Nyah
Recommendations for Yato Exploration (1): How to Walk Through Urban Yato | Myah Nyah
Recommendations for Yato Exploration (2): Let's Find Topographical Constraints | Myah Nyah
On the Place Names "Kamiyatsu" and "Kitayatsu" in Chiba Prefecture: Overly Wide Dissected Valleys and Tokyo Disneyland | Myah Nyah
Land Use of Former Yato Sites: On Yato Elementary School | Myah Nyah
Misconceptions About Yato (1): Misunderstandings on Disaster and Housing Sites | Myah Nyah
Misconceptions About Yato (2): Misunderstandings About the Sayama Hills | Myah Nyah
Thinking About the "Dara-san" of the Reiwa Era Through Yato Place Names | Myah Nyah
3. Individual Surveys
July 2026 | Myah Nyah ←New!
June 2026 | Myah Nyah
May 2026 | Myah Nyah
April 2026 | Myah Nyah
March 2026 | Myah Nyah
February 2026 | Myah Nyah
January 2026 | Myah Nyah
December 2025 | Myah Nyah
November 2025 | Myah Nyah
October 2025 | Myah Nyah
September 2025 | Myah Nyah
August 2025 | Myah Nyah
July 2025 | Myah Nyah
June 2025 | Myah Nyah
May 2025 | Myah Nyah
April 2025 | Myah Nyah
March 2025 | Myah Nyah
February 2025 | Myah Nyah
January 2025 | Myah Nyah
December 2024 | Myah Nyah ←New!
November 2024 | Myah Nyah ←New!
October 2024 | Myah Nyah ←New!
September 2024 | Myah Nyah ←New!