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Ōchi (相知町, Ōchi-chō) was a town located in the Higashimatsuura District of Saga Prefecture, Japan. As such it had its own town hall. Ōchi was founded as Ōchi-mura (Ōchi-village) by the amalgamation of 16 smaller villages in 1889. It became Ōchi-town (Ōchi-chō) in 1935.
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Map of Ochicho Ochi, Karatsu, Saga Prefecture 849-3201, Japan
As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 8,890 and a density of 136.60 persons per km². The total area was 65.08 km².
On January 1, 2005, Ōchi, along with the towns of Chinzei, Hamatama, Hizen, Kyūragi and Yobuko, and the village of Kitahata (all from Higashimatsuura District), was merged into the expanded city of Karatsu. The old town hall became the Ōchi branch office of Karatsu City Hall.
The main train station, Ōchi Station (相知駅), is on the Karatsu Line of Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) running from Nishi-Karatsu Station in Karatsu to Kubota Station in Saga. A smaller line, part of the Chikuhi Line, runs from Yamamoto Station of Karatsu City, through Nishi-Ōchi Station (West-Ōchi) to Imari Station in Imari City, a notable pottery centre in Saga Prefecture, along with Karatsu and Arita. The next station south from Nishi-Ōchi is Sari Station.
Ōchi contains the Memorial Hall of Hideo Murata who was a famous Japanese rōkyoku and enka singer. A major attraction are the Udonoiwaya Buddhist rock carvings. The scores of images of Buddha date from as early as the 7th century. Also popular is the nearby Mikarinotaki (Looking Back Waterfall).
A major event is the harvest festival, the Ōchi-kunchi. This is a smaller version of the famous Karatsu Kunchi, which takes place in Ōchi. Beginning on the 3rd Friday of October each year the town has a weekend in which there are a series of parades, day and night, where children and adults pull two large floats and dress in period costumes with much music and lively chanting.
Ōchi was coal mining town before World War II. These days the mine site has been transformed into Ōchi park, a golf course and sports complex. Ōchi has become something of a bedroom community, with considerable new developments on the north side of the Matsuura river.