Background Bone microarchitecture parameters have been focused on as an index of bone quality, which describes the bone structure and strength. However, normative values of bone microarchitecture parameters for older adults have been limited, and further accumulation of data is needed for clinical application. Therefore, we aimed to indicate normative values of the bone microarchitecture parameters of the lumbar spine (LS) and total hip (TH) in older Japanese men and women. Method This study was conducted using data from the "Bunkyo Health Study," a cohort study for 65-84 years older adults. We included in the analysis 1053 older adults (500 men and 553 women) for the LS and 1372 older adults (662 men and 710 women) for the TH. Trabecular bone score (TBS) at LS was evaluated using the textural analysis of the pixel gray-level in the LS DXA image. Trabecular volumetric BMD (vBMD), cortical vBMD, integral vBMD, cortical thickness, and cortical surface BMD at TH were assessed using DXA-based-3-dimensional modeling. The mean values and standard deviations were calculated for each parameter of LS and TH in every five-year-old group (age 65-69,70-74,75-79,80-84), and the median values were compared among the four groups using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The post-hoc test was performed the Bonferroni correction. Results TBS was significantly lower in the 65-69 and 70-74 age groups than in the 80-84 age group only in women, but not in men. In men, only total mean cortical thickness was significantly lower in 80-84 than in 65-69 and 70-74. In women, cortical vBMD cortical surface BMD, total mean cortical thickness were significantly lower in 80-84 than in 65-69 and 70-74. Trabecular vBMD and integral vBMD were significantly lower in 80-84 than other three groups. Conclusion Bone microarchitectures show different age-related changes from BMD by sex and site in elderly Japanese.