Uzurano Airfield Remains (Himeji Naval Air Group)
鶉野飛行場跡（姫路海軍航空隊）
A former naval training airfield in Kasai with a surviving concrete runway, shelters and gun positions. Its wartime role also included test flights for Kawanishi aircraft assembled nearby.
History
Uzurano links flying training with aircraft production. The Himeji Naval Air Group opened here in October 1943 and trained with Type 97 carrier attack aircraft. A Kawanishi assembly plant southwest of the airfield produced Shiden and Shiden-kai fighters, which used the runway for test flights. In 1945 the air group formed the Shirasagi special attack unit; crews departed via bases in Kyushu for operations around Okinawa.
The concrete runway survives, while shelters and gun positions are scattered across a wider area. These remains should be understood as parts of a former working airfield rather than a single preserved building. Kasai City now manages the runway and interprets the surrounding remains through the Uzurano Field Museum.
Sora Kasai, opened in 2022, provides a starting point beside the former runway. Its full-size Shiden-kai and Type 97 aircraft are replicas, distinct from the original structures outdoors. Visitors can combine the exhibitions with a walk among the remains; the large shelter theatre has its own operating schedule. This map point represents the visitor facility and runway vicinity, not the complete wartime boundary or the assembly plant footprint.
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Sources
- 鶉野飛行場跡滑走路Government加西市{"batch":"20261003","sourceNotes":"2025-03-03 official account: March 1943 construction, October 1943 air group opening; Type 97 training, Kawanishi plant, Shirasagi routing via Usa and Kushira; current city ownership of runway. Use this recent source over older tourism text that still says Defense Agency ownership.","verification":{"coordinateSourceUrl":"https://www.sorakasai.jp/","coordinateEvidence":"Official facility access-map iframe observed 2026-10-03: https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d1636.256052638562!2d134.869398!3d34.893596!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x35552f787c1e72b3:0xfae33a27c0120e0c!2zU29yYeOBi-OBleOBhA!5e0!3m2!1sja!2sjp!4v1652939354423!5m2!1sja!2sjp . Coordinates are map center, conservatively approximate for the museum/runway vicinity; not claimed as a survey of a remnant or historic boundary.","accessCheckedAt":"2026-10-03","duplicateCheck":"Inventory has no 鶉野, uzurano, or 姫路海軍航空隊 entry. Existing himeji-10th-division-hq and himeji-castle-air-raid-miracle concern Himeji city, not this Kasai airfield. Existing kawanishi-aircraft-takarazuka-factory is a different plant.","uncertainties":["Site-wide point is approximate; the surviving runway, shelters and former assembly plant occupy different positions.","Some regional tourism history is outdated; contemporary visitor arrangements follow the operator and Kasai City."]}}
- soraかさい：施設・鶉野フィールドミュージアム・アクセスMuseumsoraかさい指定管理者 神姫バスグループ共同事業体{"batch":"20261003","sourceNotes":"Read 2026-10-03. Confirms replica aircraft, surrounding runway/shelters, separate shelter-theatre schedule and facility address. Access iframe contains center 34.893596,134.869398; used only as approximate visitor-area representative point.","verification":{"coordinateSourceUrl":"https://www.sorakasai.jp/","coordinateEvidence":"Official facility access-map iframe observed 2026-10-03: https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d1636.256052638562!2d134.869398!3d34.893596!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x35552f787c1e72b3:0xfae33a27c0120e0c!2zU29yYeOBi-OBleOBhA!5e0!3m2!1sja!2sjp!4v1652939354423!5m2!1sja!2sjp . Coordinates are map center, conservatively approximate for the museum/runway vicinity; not claimed as a survey of a remnant or historic boundary.","accessCheckedAt":"2026-10-03","duplicateCheck":"Inventory has no 鶉野, uzurano, or 姫路海軍航空隊 entry. Existing himeji-10th-division-hq and himeji-castle-air-raid-miracle concern Himeji city, not this Kasai airfield. Existing kawanishi-aircraft-takarazuka-factory is a different plant.","uncertainties":["Site-wide point is approximate; the surviving runway, shelters and former assembly plant occupy different positions.","Some regional tourism history is outdated; contemporary visitor arrangements follow the operator and Kasai City."]}}
- 鶉野飛行場跡・soraかさいWebsite北播磨広域観光協議会{"batch":"20261003","sourceNotes":"Confirms address and combined airfield/Kawanishi-site interpretation. Historical construction-start year and present land manager conflict with newer city page; those statements were not adopted.","verification":{"coordinateSourceUrl":"https://www.sorakasai.jp/","coordinateEvidence":"Official facility access-map iframe observed 2026-10-03: https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m14!1m8!1m3!1d1636.256052638562!2d134.869398!3d34.893596!3m2!1i1024!2i768!4f13.1!3m3!1m2!1s0x35552f787c1e72b3:0xfae33a27c0120e0c!2zU29yYeOBi-OBleOBhA!5e0!3m2!1sja!2sjp!4v1652939354423!5m2!1sja!2sjp . Coordinates are map center, conservatively approximate for the museum/runway vicinity; not claimed as a survey of a remnant or historic boundary.","accessCheckedAt":"2026-10-03","duplicateCheck":"Inventory has no 鶉野, uzurano, or 姫路海軍航空隊 entry. Existing himeji-10th-division-hq and himeji-castle-air-raid-miracle concern Himeji city, not this Kasai airfield. Existing kawanishi-aircraft-takarazuka-factory is a different plant.","uncertainties":["Site-wide point is approximate; the surviving runway, shelters and former assembly plant occupy different positions.","Some regional tourism history is outdated; contemporary visitor arrangements follow the operator and Kasai City."]}}
- 鶉野飛行場 - Wikipedia（日本語）Website