Hokkaido Places

Town Tokachi Subprefecture

Hiroo 広尾町

ひろおちょう

Hiroo is a port town at the southern tip of Tokachi. The Pacific lies to the east and the Hidaka Mountains to the west, and its written history goes back further than anywhere else in the region.12 Since 1984 it has also been Japan's only officially recognized "Santa Land". Oslo, Norway, certified it as the first Santa Land outside Norway.3

Population (2020 Census)
6,387
Area
596.48 km²
District
Hiroo District (広尾郡)
Official website
www.town.hiroo.lg.jp

Known for

  • Santa Land (サンタランド). Oslo certified Hiroo in 1984. The town calls itself the first Santa Land outside Norway and the only one in Japan.3
    • The Santa Card (サンタカード) is a Christmas card sent from Hiroo. It was called Santa Mail until 2021, and more than 2 million had been sent by 2012.10 The town's 2025 crowdfunding page puts the total at more than 2.2 million cards.13
    • Each October the town lights its Christmas illuminations, which it bills as Japan's earliest tree-lighting.14
  • Shishamo (ししゃも). Real shishamo live only off Hokkaido's Pacific coast. The town promotes itself as Japan's No. 1 port for shishamo landings. Fresh fish are landed in October and November.152
  • Hairy crab and seafood. Other key catches include hairy crab (毛がに), autumn salmon, sea urchin and "Hiroo kelp" (広尾昆布). The Hiroo Crab Festival is held every December.1617
  • Tokachi Port (十勝港). It is the only seaport serving the Tokachi farming region and the shortest sea route to the Tokyo area.18
  • The Golden Road (黄金道路). This 33.5 km stretch of National Route 336 runs along the cliffs to Erimo. It got its name because building it cost so much that the road might as well have been paved with gold.19
  • Flowers. About 12,000 Ezo-yama azaleas bloom in Ōmaruyama Forest Park. The town also has what it describes as Japan's largest colony of great white trillium (オオバナノエンレイソウ).19
  • Hometown of Yokozuna Hokutoumi. The 61st yokozuna, now stablemaster Hakkaku, has a display corner at the town's Maritime Museum.20

Sights & activities

  • Nature & scenery
    • Funbe Falls (フンベの滝). Spring water falls straight down beside National Route 336. It turns into icicles in winter. It is about 5 minutes by car from Hiroo Bridge toward Erimo.19
    • The Golden Road. A 33.5 km coastal drive to Shoya in Erimo. In summer you can watch the kelp harvest along it.19
    • The Tenma Kaidō (天馬街道). Route 236 crosses the Hidaka Mountains to Urakawa through the 4,232 m Nozuka Tunnel. Autumn leaves are the draw.19
    • Great white trillium colony. It covers about 28 ha of protected forest at Nozuka, on both sides of the Seaside Park entrance. It blooms in early to mid May.194544
    • Salmon run. In autumn you can watch salmon run up the Hiroo River from Hiroo Bridge. A weir near the river mouth catches fish for the hatchery.30
  • Santa Land and Ōmaruyama Forest Park (大丸山森林公園) (Hiroo 689)
    • Santa's House (サンタの家) sells Christmas goods all year. Upstairs there is a rest area with drinks and light meals.319
    • Hours: 10:00–16:00 from January to late April, 10:00–17:00 until the day before the tree lighting, and 10:00–20:00 from the tree lighting through December.3
    • It is closed from 26 December to early January: to 8 January according to the town, to 10 January according to the tourism association.346
    • Also in the park: a "Santa's Room" you can look into, a Santa Bell and a Lock of Love monument. The park was certified a "Lovers' Sanctuary" in 2011.193
    • The Santa no Oka flower garden has about 20 kinds of flowers from June to September. Illuminations are lit from 16:00 to 22:00 through 31 March.3
    • The Hidaka Mountains Observation Deck (日高山脈展望台) at the top of the park was completed in 2025.10
  • Onsen and sauna. The tourism association's bath listings for Hiroo are saunas, not hot springs.47
    • The nearest hot-spring baths are at Bansei Onsen in Taiki, on the Pacific, and Naumann Onsen Aruko 236 at the Chūrui roadside station.4849
  • Museums & heritage
    • Maritime Museum and Folk Culture Preservation Hall, Nozuka 989. Open 9:00–16:00, closed at New Year (as of September 2026, check before visiting).20
    • Tokachi Shrine (Moyori 1-13), Zenrin-ji (Nishi 2-jō 9-chōme) and the Sendai garrison site (Nishi 4-jō 9-chōme).3926
    • Nakagawa Ichirō Memorial Hall (Monbetsu 19-sen 51).5
  • Outdoor & seasonal activities
    • Surfing. The Golden Road coast from the Hiroo River mouth to Biboro has some of Hokkaido's best surf breaks.44
    • Fishing. You can fish from the rocks for greenling and sculpin. From August, anglers line the beaches for autumn salmon. Catching yamame trout is banned in all rivers in May and June.44
    • Seaside Park Hiroo. Park golf (4 courses, 36 holes) and three all-weather tennis courts. Its campground has closed.5044
    • Cherry blossoms. In early May the cherries at Tokachi Shrine and Ōmaruyama are in bloom.19
  • Food experiences
    • Seafood restaurants include Umisachi, which serves seasonal shishamo tempura bowls and hairy-crab kakiage. For sushi there are Sushi no Miyoi and Edomae-zushi Tsubasa.38
    • For take-home seafood, try the fisheries cooperative's shop and the processors' shops. The A-Coop Santa-mura store also sells vegetables from nearby farms, venison and Kuroge wagyu products.37

Roadside stations (Michi-no-Eki)

No Michi-no-Eki is located in Hiroo. The official list of Hokkaido roadside stations has none in Hiroo, or in neighboring Erimo, Samani or Urakawa.4 The nearest ones are:

  • Cosmall Taiki (道の駅コスモール大樹), Taiki
    • Location: Nishi-hondōri 98, on National Route 236, the next town north.
    • Shops and food: Handa Farm cheese, the station-only Taiki Monogatari camembert, Cowbell ice cream, space-themed goods, and a supermarket.
    • Facilities: EV chargers and free Wi-Fi.
    • Hours: the specialty corner is open 9:00–17:30 and closed 31 December–3 January (as of September 2026, check before visiting).48
  • Chūrui (道の駅忠類), Makubetsu
    • Location: beside Chūrui IC on Route 236.
    • Nearby: the Naumann Elephant Memorial Hall and Naumann Onsen Aruko 236.
    • Food: lily-bulb cream puffs.
    • Hours: 9:00–18:00 from April to November, 9:00–17:00 from December to March (as of September 2026, check before visiting).49
  • Mitsuishi (道の駅みついし), Shinhidaka
    • Location: on National Route 235, the nearest station on the Hidaka side. Reach it via the Tenma Kaidō and Urakawa.
    • Facilities: a seaside auto campground, a specialty shop and a restaurant inside the Mitsuishi Konbu Onsen Kurasan (蔵三) hot-spring facility.
    • Hours: 8:45–22:00 from April to September, 8:45–17:30 from October to March, closed 31 December–5 January (as of September 2026, check before visiting).51

Getting there & around

  • Rail. Hiroo has had no railway since the JNR Hiroo Line closed in 1987.28
    • The line's stations in town were Toyoni, Nozuka, Shinsei and Hiroo.11
    • The Hiroo Station building was used as a railway memorial and demolished in 2018. A bus waiting room now stands on the site.10
    • The town names JR Obihiro Station as the rail gateway. It is about 2.5–3 hours from Sapporo on the Sekishō Line and about 1.5 hours from Kushiro.52
  • Bus.
    • Tokachi Bus runs from Obihiro Station bus terminal to Hiroo in about 2 hours 40 minutes.52
    • JR Hokkaido Bus runs from Samani via Erimo in about 2 hours.52
    • The direct Sapporo–Hiroo express bus, the Kōsoku Hiroo Santa-gō, is suspended.52
  • Car.
    • Obihiro–Hiroo is about 80 km (1 hour 30 minutes).52
    • Sapporo–Hiroo via the Tenma Kaidō is about 250 km (4 hours 15 minutes).52
    • Urakawa–Hiroo via the Tenma Kaidō is about 80 km (1 hour 30 minutes).52
    • The Obihiro–Hiroo Expressway currently ends at Chūrui-Taiki IC. An extension to a Toyoni IC and a Hiroo IC (provisional names, both in town) is in progress. Work on the section to Toyoni began in fiscal 2018, and the Toyoni–Hiroo section was approved in fiscal 2022. No opening date has been set.53
  • Air. JAL and AIRDO fly from Tokyo Haneda to Tokachi–Obihiro Airport (about 1 hour 30 minutes). From the airport, Hiroo is about 1 hour by rental car.52
  • Sea. From 1996 to 1999 a Tokyo–Kushiro–Tokachi ferry called at the port. There is no passenger service now.27

Practical tips

  • When to go.
    • Early to mid May: trillium and cherry blossoms.
    • Late May to early June: azaleas.
    • Early August (1 August in 2026): the port fireworks.
    • October to November: fresh shishamo.
    • Late October to March: Santa Land illuminations, busiest around Christmas.
    • December: the crab festival.19217
  • Weather. Summer sea fog keeps Hiroo cool, and winters are mild by Tokachi standards. Heavy snowfalls still happen, so check road conditions before driving.133
  • Roads. From Hidaka you can come either along the coast on Route 336 (the Golden Road) or over the mountains on Route 236 (the Tenma Kaidō).52 The Chūrui roadside station posts traffic information for the Tenma Kaidō.49
  • Visitor information. The Hiroo Tourism Association is inside the town office (Nishi 4-jō 7-chōme, tel. 01558-2-0177).252
    • Accommodation is small-scale: hotels such as Hotel Tōyōkan and Hotel Taihō, plus several family-run inns. One inn, Minatokan, says it is popular with surfers.5455
  • Safety.
    • Never swim or dive inside Tokachi Port. Since October 2017 the town's port-facilities ordinance has banned it, and violators can be fined.56
    • In the mountains and forests, check Hokkaido's brown bear advisories (ヒグマ注意報) before hiking.57
  • Santa Card. The town's Santa Land page explains how to order a card. Part of the proceeds pays for presents for children in care homes.3

More about Hiroo

At a glance
Field Details
Type Town (町)
Subprefecture Tokachi (十勝総合振興局)
District Hiroo District (広尾郡), which it shares with Taiki14
Population 6,387 at the 2020 National Census (3,096 men, 3,291 women, 2,997 households). That was 9.15% fewer than in 2015.5 The preliminary 2025 Census count is 5,506, down 13.8%, while Tokachi as a whole fell 5.2%.6 Resident register: 5,622 on 31 August 2026, including 138 foreign residents (Hokkaido Government reference figure).7 The town's own count was 5,629 people in 3,104 households at the end of July 2026.8 The population peaked at 13,598 in 1965.1
Area 596.48 km² (GSI, 1 April 2026).9 Town sources give slightly different figures: 596.16 km² on the overview page and 596.54 km² in the 2026 statistical handbook.15
Density About 9.4 people/km² (August 2026 register ÷ GSI area). About 10.7/km² at the 2020 Census.
Municipal history 1869: Hiroo District is created when Ezo is renamed Hokkaido. The town counts this as its founding year.10 1906: Moyori Village (茂寄村) is formed under Hokkaido's second-class village system and takes in parts of Tōbui District (当縁郡).511 1926: renamed Hiroo Village. 1928: Taiki Village splits off. 20 September 1946: becomes a town.5 A voluntary merger council with Taiki existed from 2003 to 2006 and was dissolved.5
Neighboring municipalities Taiki to the north and Erimo to the south. Across the Hidaka Mountains to the west are Samani and Urakawa in Hidaka Subprefecture.5
Symbols Town tree: onko (オンコ, Japanese yew). Town flower: Hiroo azalea (広尾つつじ). Town bird: gull (かもめ). The gull stands for the busy port.1 The emblem, adopted in 1950, shapes the character 広 from Tateiwa rock, Futami rock and the breakwater, inside a triangle that stands for fish scales.5
Mascot Sa-ta-chan (さーたちゃん), Santa Claus's granddaughter, who is "training to become a Santa" in Hiroo. She was created in 2013 from a design by a first-grader, chosen from 133 entries.12 Since 2019 she has appeared on the town's boundary signs.5
Official website https://www.town.hiroo.lg.jp/ (Japanese). Tourism association: https://hiroo-kanko.jp/2

Name origin
  • Official explanation. The town traces its name to the Ainu word piruy: pi means "rolling stones" and ruy "a place where whetstones are found." Before 1869 the place was called "Piro" or "Birō".1 The tourism association sums it up as "rolling whetstone", with the note that there are several theories.2
  • Competing theories. The Obihiro Centennial City Museum's Ainu culture center lists four.21 Japanese Wikipedia, drawing on Yamada Shūzō's Hokkaidō no Chimei and the national railway's station-name guide, adds who proposed each one:11
    • Pir-or (ピロㇿ), "shaded place". Proposed by the Edo-period interpreter Uehara Kumajirō.
    • Pi-or (ピオㇿ), "stony place". Proposed by Matsuura Takeshirō.
    • Piruy-pet (ピルイペッ), "whetstone river". Proposed by Nagata Hōsei. It may refer to a bluish rock cliff on the north bank near the Hiroo River mouth.
    • Pira-or (ピラオㇿ), "cliff place". Favored by the national railway's guide, which notes that the coast is sandy beach to the north of Hiroo and cliffs to the south.
  • From "Birō" to "Hiroo". The name first belonged to a cape below the cliffs near the Tokachi trading post. People originally said "Birō", but it was changed to "Hiroo" because "birō" sounds like 尾籠, "indecent".11

History
  • Prehistory and Ainu era
    • Jōmon-period ornaments and stone tools have been found here.11
    • Hiroo began as an Ainu settlement along the Hiroo River.11
  • Matsumae domain (1600s–1700s)
    • In the Kanbun era (1661–1673), Tokachi was the fief of Kakizaki Kurando, a senior Matsumae retainer, and his base was at Hiroo.22
    • In 1666 he gave Tokachi Myōjin shrine (now Tokachi Shrine) a Kannon statue carved by the monk Enkū. It is now a Hokkaido cultural property.23
  • Trading post and the first road in Ezo
    • From around the Kansei era (1789–1801) all of Tokachi was run as one trading district, with its trading post (会所) at Hiroo.11 The port district is still called Kaishomae (会所前), "in front of the trading post".24
    • In 1798 the shogunate explorer Kondō Jūzō paid for a mountain road of about three ri (roughly 12 km) between Rubeshibetsu and Bitatanunke. It is said to be the first road built in Ezo.23
    • Relics from the period include a stone water basin given by the trading-post staff in 1836, and stone lanterns given in 1866 by a kitamaebune captain from Itoigawa in Echigo.25
  • Sendai domain garrison (1859)
    • The shogunate assigned Tokachi to the Sendai domain, which built a small garrison (陣屋) at the foot of Maruyama.25
    • Parts of its earthworks survive on the grounds of the former Hiroo Elementary School.26
  • Meiji to prewar Shōwa
    • A district office (戸長役場) opened in Moyori in 1880.5
    • Zenrin-ji (禅林寺), Tokachi's oldest Buddhist temple, was founded in 1883.26
    • The village had 8,122 people at the first national census in 1920.5
    • Harbor construction began in 1929.27
    • The JNR Hiroo Line reached town from Obihiro on 5 November 1932.28
    • The Golden Road opened in 1934 after eight years of work, at a cost of more than ¥950,000.510
  • Postwar
    • The port was renamed Tokachi Port in 1964 or 1965 (town sources differ) and became a national Important Port in 1970.1027
    • The population peaked at 13,598 in 1965.1
    • Oslo recognized Hiroo as Santa Land in 1984.10
    • The Hiroo Line closed on 2 February 1987 and was replaced by Tokachi Bus services.28 Town timelines give the year as 1986.10
    • The Tenma Kaidō over the Hidaka Mountains opened in 1997, 27 years after work began.10
  • Recent decades
    • The 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake brought seismic intensity 5+ and a tsunami of about 2.7 m at the port.10
    • The 2011 tsunami topped 2.8 m at the port and caused more than ¥1 billion in damage.10
    • In 2021 an unprecedented red tide caused heavy losses to fisheries.105
    • In 2024 the mountains and coast became part of a new national park.10
    • In 2025 a government crowdfunding campaign, the "Nobi-nobi Project", raised money for a new multi-generational park in the town center, for making Hiroo High School more attractive and for turning a closed school into a community hub. Against a goal of ¥50 million it raised ¥76.01 million by the town's count (¥75.71 million on the Furusato Choice project page).1029

Geography & climate
  • Landforms. Hiroo covers the southernmost part of Tokachi, between the Pacific and the Hidaka Mountains. Four rivers flow from those mountains to the sea.1 These are the Toyoni, Nozuka, Rakko and Hiroo rivers.11
  • Mountains. Peaks on the western border include:11
    • Mt. Rakko (楽古岳, 1,472 m)
    • Toyoni-dake (トヨニ岳, 1,493 m)
    • Mt. Nozuka (野塚岳, 1,353 m)
    • Mt. Hiroo (広尾岳, 1,231 m)
  • The Hiroo River (広尾川).
    • It forms where the East Hiroo (18.0 km) and West Hiroo (16.4 km) rivers meet.30
    • In the government's fiscal 2002 water-quality survey, the upper Hiroo River tied for Japan's cleanest river.30
    • The town's tap water comes from water that has filtered naturally through the upper West Hiroo riverbed.30
  • National park.
    • On 25 June 2024 the coast along the Golden Road and the mountains from Mt. Hiroo north toward Shimizu became part of Hidakasanmyaku-Erimo-Tokachi National Park (日高山脈襟裳十勝国立公園).3119
    • The park covers 245,668 ha of land, and JNTO calls it Japan's largest national park by land area.3132
    • The coast has marine terraces, sea cliffs and reefs.19
    • Wildlife includes Ezo deer, red foxes, yamame trout and black woodpeckers.19
  • Climate.
    • It has a maritime climate. Summers are cool and foggy, and the town calls it the warmest place in Tokachi, with a small daily temperature range.1
    • 1991–2020 normals: annual mean temperature 7.2 °C (−4.2 °C in January, 18.6 °C in August), precipitation 1,709.2 mm, total snowfall 297 cm and maximum snow depth 98 cm.1
    • Recorded extremes: 35.8 °C on 26 May 2019 and −22.1 °C on 12 February 1977.33
    • Snow records: 196 cm deep on 17 March 1970, and 96 cm fell in a single day on 10 January 1986.33
    • The heaviest daily rainfall was 346.0 mm on 16 September 1998.33
    • The town is prone to earthquakes.11

Economy & industry
  • Fishing. Hiroo's fleets work from Tokachi Port and Otoshibe fishing port (音調津漁港).34
    • In 2025 the Hiroo fisheries cooperative landed 56,161 t worth ¥4.36 billion.34
    • Sardines made up the bulk of it: 50,551 t, worth ¥2.07 billion.34
    • The next-largest catches by value were cod (¥677 million), salmon (348 t, ¥453 million), hairy crab (19 t, ¥181 million), kelp (78 t, ¥161 million) and walleye pollock (1,479 t, ¥89 million). Shishamo brought in 38 t worth ¥78 million.34
    • The town has long been shifting from "catching" fish to "raising and releasing" them. It has a private salmon hatchery (1980), a sea-urchin seed facility (1989) and a facility that raises barfin flounder (マツカワ) for release (1991).34
  • Agriculture. Dairy dominates.5
    • In 2025 the town's farms produced 69,544 t of raw milk worth ¥8.24 billion, out of total farm output of ¥10.47 billion (JA Hiroo figures).5
    • At the end of 2025 the town had 12,082 dairy cattle and 1,169 beef cattle, more than two head of cattle for every resident.5
    • Sugar beet is the main field crop, grown on about 208 ha.5
  • Tokachi Port.
    • It ships wheat and potatoes to the Tokyo area and brings in fertilizer, feed, cement and coal.18
    • In 2025 it handled about 440,000 t of international cargo and 990,000 t of domestic cargo.18
    • A feed complex on the No. 4 wharf opened in 2010–2011 and cost about ¥14 billion. Marubeni and four other companies set it up. Its mill, run by Tokachi Shiryō, has a capacity of about 400,000 t a year, and output first passed 500,000 t in fiscal 2018.18
    • Since 17 May 2024 a weekly container ship has run Tokachi–Keihin–Kushiro.24
    • In 2025 it became the first port in Hokkaido designated a sanchoku port (産直港湾), formally an export-promotion port for farm, fishery and food products.1011
  • Workforce. In 2020, 718 of 3,340 working residents (21%) were in primary industries: 356 in farming and 321 in fishing.5
  • Aging. About 39% of residents were 65 or older at the 2020 Census (calculated from the census age table).5
  • Tourism. Hokkaido counted 276,100 visits in fiscal 2025, down 4.9% from the year before. August (54,100) and July (49,000) were the busiest months. Only 102 foreign overnight guests were recorded.35

Local specialties
Specialty Category Details & where to get it
Shishamo (本ししゃも) Seafood The October–November season fish are caught before they enter the rivers, which keeps them fatty with a platinum sheen.36 You can buy them overnight-dried (一夜干し) from local processors such as Kaburagi Suisan (鏑木水産) and Okajima Suisan (岡嶋水産).37 In season, look for shishamo sushi and shishamo tempura bowls (ししゃも天丼) at Umisachi (食事処 海幸).238
Hairy crab (毛がに) Seafood The season peaks from December to early January.36 Buy crab at the Hiroo Fisheries Cooperative's food shop (広尾漁業協同組合 食品部) or at Nakamura's fish shop (鮮魚中村商店), which keeps hairy crab alive in tanks.37
Salmon, ikura and tokishirazu Seafood Salmon, ikura and cod roe are sold by local shops.3716 Fatty tokishirazu salmon, landed from May, is also offered as a furusato nozei gift.36
Hiroo kelp (広尾昆布) Seafood It is prized for making dashi and sold throughout Japan. In summer, kelp spread out to dry on the beaches is a familiar sight.16 Yamahata Shōten (山畑商店) makes noodles with kelp in them.37
Dried fish Seafood Hokke, kinki (thornyhead) and other dried fish are made in town.16
Milk and dairy Dairy Yamamoto Farm's kitchen car Yume Milk (夢みるく) sells soft-serve made with the farm's own milk.39 Furusato Choice lists 39 milk and dairy-drink gifts from Hiroo.36
Hiroo Shio Cider (広尾しおサイダー) Drink A soda made with sea salt refined from water off Hiroo. It is sold at Ishiyama Shōten and at the Santa's House. Its sister drink, TOKACHI SAUNA SODA 37, is sold only at Ishiyama Shōten.40
Jingisukan Meat Sakai Meat Shop (さかい精肉店) is the town's only butcher and has sold the same jingisukan (grilled lamb) since 1970.37
Sweets Confectionery Old family confectioners include Patisserie Ueda (founded 1898), Kōkadō (光香堂, 1934), which calls itself "the sweet shop in Santa's town", and Imamura (いまむら), in business for over 80 years.41
Furusato nozei gifts Gifts Popular gifts include shishamo, boiled hairy crab with guaranteed meat content, ōzuwai snow crab in the shell, tokishirazu salmon and cod roe.36

Culture & festivals
Event When Highlights
Hiroo Tsutsuji Festival (広尾つつじまつり) Mid/late May (24 May in 2026) Held in Ōmaruyama Forest Park among about 12,000 blooming Ezo-yama azaleas. There are stage shows and a bingo game, and you can buy seafood and grill it on site. The women's groups sell "Hakkaku Oyakata's hometown chanko nabe".17
Tokachi Port Festival and Marine Fireworks (十勝港まつり・海上花火大会) Early August (1 August in 2026, the 70th festival) The only fireworks show held at a port in Tokachi. It includes underwater fireworks, a harbor bazaar, YOSAKOI dancing, Jinya taiko drumming and trips on the patrol ship Tokachi.17 The Umikaze Sauna Fest runs alongside it on the wharf, with sauna sessions during a 7,000-shell fireworks show.42
Furusato Summer Festival and costume bon-odori (ふるさと夏まつり) 14 August Held in front of the town hall. There are food stalls and a costume bon-odori dance for people home for Obon.17
Santa Land Tree Lighting (サンタランドツリー点灯式) Fourth Saturday of October (24 October in 2026) Held in Ōmaruyama Forest Park. There is a Christmas market and a sound festival. At the countdown about 150,000 bulbs and 10,000 wooden lanterns light up, and the evening ends with fireworks.1714
Hiroo Crab Festival (広尾毛がにまつり) Second Sunday of December (13 December in 2026) Held at Seaside Park Hiroo. Hairy crab boiled in a 2 m cauldron is sold cheaply, and crab soup is made in a 1 m pot. Stalls sell shishamo, octopus and aramaki salmon, and there is a crab-eating race.43172
  • Shrines and temples.
    • Tokachi Shrine (十勝神社) is the oldest shrine in Tokachi, thought to date from the 1600s. Its seal stamps read "Ichinomiya of Tokachi Province". The present hall dates from 1942, and Ezo-yama cherries were planted to mark the rebuilding. Each spring the cherries are lit up at night in the park in front of the shrine.3919
    • Zenrin-ji holds the Enkū Kannon statue, and the shrine keeps Kondō Jūzō's road board. Both can be seen only by prior arrangement, and viewing is not always possible.26
  • Museums. The Maritime Museum (海洋博物館) at Seaside Park Hiroo has:2026
    • displays on local fish and fishing methods
    • a Hokutoumi corner with his championship flags and ceremonial aprons
    • a room for the mountain painter Sakamoto Naoyuki, known for Rokkatei's wrapping-paper designs
    • the attached Folk Culture Preservation Hall, covering archaeology, pioneer life and the Hiroo Line
  • Sport.
    • Park golf is the town's most popular sport. There are five free courses.44
    • Hiroo High School reached the summer Kōshien baseball tournament in 1984.5

Ainu heritage
  • Little is documented about Ainu heritage in Hiroo today. Neither the town nor the tourism association lists an Ainu cultural facility or event.
  • Place names. Many local names come from Ainu:2119
    • Rakko (楽古), from rakko-pet, "sea-otter river"
    • Nozuka (野塚), from nupka-pet, "river of the plain"
    • Funbe (フンベ), "beach where whales are taken", because whales used to wash ashore there
  • Early contact. The Obihiro museum's Tokachi Ainu timeline records:22
    • Dutch explorers meeting Tokachi Ainu in 1643.
    • Tokachi becoming a Matsumae retainer's fief with its base at Hiroo in the Kanbun era.
    • Tokachi Ainu joining Shakushain's War in 1669.
  • Trading-post period. An 1850 count listed 17 settlements in Tokachi, with 190 households and 1,162 people. Birō accounted for 40 households and 221 people. The same record lists Japanese (wajin) residents of Ezo separately.5
  • Collections. Hiroo's Folk Culture Preservation Hall shows archaeology and ethnography.26 For Tokachi Ainu culture in depth, the Obihiro Centennial City Museum in Obihiro runs the Ainu culture information center Riwka.22

Sister & friendship cities
  • Saikai, Nagasaki (長崎県西海市).
    • Hiroo became a sister town of Ōshima (大島町) in 1986.
    • After Ōshima merged into Saikai in 2005, a new sister-city agreement was signed with Saikai in July 2006.58
  • Memuro, Hokkaido. The "sea town" and the "mountain town" signed a friendship declaration on 26 July 1987. Their exchange program marked its 40th year in 2025–2026.58
  • Frogn, Norway. The Norwegian Santa Land's base moved from Oslo to Frogn in 1989, and a friendship agreement was signed in Hiroo in October 1996.58

Notable people
  • Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi (北勝海信芳). The 61st yokozuna, born in Hiroo. He is now stablemaster Hakkaku and chairman of the Japan Sumo Association.1120
  • Nakagawa Ichirō (中川一郎). A House of Representatives member and former Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, from Hiroo.11
  • Sakamoto Naoyuki (坂本直行). A mountain painter who lived in Hiroo. He painted the artwork on Rokkatei's wrapping paper and was the eighth head of the Sakamoto family into which Sakamoto Ryōma was born.1120

Sources

Numbers in the text link to these sources. Figures as of 23 September 2026

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  5. 2026町勢要覧資料編（全体版） — Hiroo Town (広尾町) JA accessed 2026-09-23
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  7. 住基ネットにおける人口【参考値】令和8年（2026年8月31日現在） — Hokkaido Government (北海道) JA accessed 2026-09-23
  8. 広尾町（トップページ：人口 2026年7月末現在） — Hiroo Town (広尾町) JA accessed 2026-09-23
  9. 令和8年全国都道府県市区町村別面積調（4月1日時点） — Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (国土地理院) JA accessed 2026-09-23
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  15. シシャモ水揚げ量日本一 — Hiroo Town (広尾町) JA accessed 2026-09-23
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  38. 和食・寿司・弁当 — Hiroo Tourism Association (広尾町観光協会) JA accessed 2026-09-23
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  41. お菓子 — Hiroo Tourism Association (広尾町観光協会) JA accessed 2026-09-23
  42. 花火と海風でととのう「海風サウナフェス」第3回 開催！ — Hiroo Tourism Association (広尾町観光協会) JA accessed 2026-09-23
  43. 広尾毛がにまつり — Hiroo Tourism Association (広尾町観光協会) JA accessed 2026-09-23
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  55. 民宿・旅館 — Hiroo Tourism Association (広尾町観光協会) JA accessed 2026-09-23
  56. 十勝港港湾施設管理条例の一部改正【港湾内での遊泳及び潜水行為の禁止】 — Hiroo Town (広尾町) JA accessed 2026-09-23
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