Hokkaido Places

Town Tokachi Subprefecture

Makubetsu 幕別町

まくべつちょう

Makubetsu is a farming town of about 25,000 people on the south bank of the Tokachi River, just east of Obihiro. Park golf was invented here in 1983, and in 1969 a nearly complete Naumann elephant skeleton was dug up in its southern Chūrui district. The town calls itself "the town of park golf and the Naumann elephant" (パークゴルフとナウマン象のまち).1

Population (2020 Census)
25,766
Area
477.64 km²
District
Nakagawa District (中川郡)
Official website
www.town.makubetsu.lg.jp

Known for

  • Birthplace of park golf (パークゴルフ). The sport was devised in Makubetsu in June 1983 on a 7-hole course. By 2025 Japan had about 1,330 courses and 1.3 million players111213.
  • The Chūrui Naumann elephant (忠類ナウマン象). In July 1969 fossil bones turned up by chance at a farm-road construction site in Chūrui Bansei. Three digs recovered 46 bones, which make up almost a whole skeleton. A museum shaped like an elephant opened nearby in 1988143.
  • Nagaimo and yurine. The town's area and output of nagaimo (長いも, Chinese yam) rank among the highest in Japan. Chūrui grows yurine (ゆり根, lily bulbs)15.
  • Olympians. Speed skaters Miho and Nana Takagi (髙木美帆・髙木菜那), sprinter Chisato Fukushima (福島千里) and mountain biker Kōhei Yamamoto (山本幸平) all come from the town316.
  • Moor hot springs. Makubetsu Onsen was designated a National Health Resort Hot Spring (国民保養温泉地) in 1977. Its hotels and Satsunai's day bath use "moor" water (モール温泉), which is rich in plant matter317.
  • Tokachi Hills (十勝ヒルズ). This 5-hectare hillside garden is one of the nine gardens on the Hokkaido Garden Path (北海道ガーデン街道)1819.
  • Ainu heritage. The Ezo Bunka Kōkokan (蝦夷文化考古館) was founded by Ainu leader Yoshida Kikutarō in 1959. A new Ainu culture center, Chirot (チロット), opens on 1 October 20262021.
  • Hometown of Hiromu Arakawa (荒川弘). The creator of Fullmetal Alchemist was born in Makubetsu and grew up on a dairy farm22.

Sights & activities

Nature & scenery

  • Tokachi Hills (十勝ヒルズ, Nisshin 13-5). A 5-hectare garden with a rose garden of about 800 plants of 35 varieties, a kitchen garden (potager) and themed borders18. It also has the NIWAKARA garden café, Hills Kitchen and a shop40. The garden is open from late April to mid-October17. It is one of nine gardens on the 250 km Hokkaido Garden Path19.
  • Maruyama Observation Deck in Chūrui looks out over the Hidaka Mountains and the Pacific17.
  • Salmon and fish watching. Salmon swimming up the Sarubetsu River can be watched at a salmon trap in Akeno from mid-August to late November. By the Tokachi River at Aikawa 127, the Totoroad (ととろーど) viewing room lets visitors watch fish in a fish ladder through glass17. It is part of the Tokachi Ecology Park (十勝エコロジーパーク), which opened fully in April 20083.

Onsen

  • Moor hot springs. Two hotels at Yoda use moor water: the Grandvrio Hotel (十勝幕別温泉グランヴィリオホテル, Yoda 384-1) and the Park Hotel (幕別温泉パークホテル悠湯館, Yoda 126). So does Satsunai Garden Onsen (札内ガーデン温泉, Satsunai Kita-machi 55), which takes day bathers only17.
  • Tokachi Naumann Onsen Hotel Arco (十勝ナウマン温泉ホテルアルコ) at Michi-no-Eki Chūrui has an alkaline simple spring17. Its Arco 236 bath uses 100% spring water and has a sauna and an outdoor bath30.

Museums & heritage

  • Chūrui Naumann Elephant Museum (忠類ナウマン象記念館, Hakugin-chō 383-1). From the air the building looks like an elephant, with a 100 m "Road of Time" as its trunk. It won the first Hokkaido Architecture Award. Inside are a full skeleton replica and displays on the dig. It is open 9:00–17:00 and closed on Tuesdays (except in Golden Week and the summer holidays) and 29 December–3 January. Adults pay ¥3001417.
  • Pioneer monuments. At Tobetsu is the monument to the birthplace of paddy farming, and at Yoda the monument honoring Yoda Benzō and the Bokusui poem monument17.

Outdoor & seasonal activities

  • Park golf. The Tsutsuji Course (Nishiki-chō 135-1) is where the sport began, and its clubhouse is Kumagera House17. The town runs 11 park golf courses, including two at Chūrui's Naumann Park. The season usually opens in late April41.
  • Naumann Park (Chūrui) has park golf, a water-play channel, a campground and large play equipment17. A water slide opened in 20173.
  • Skiing.
    • Akenogaoka Park (明野ケ丘公園) has a ski hill and a mountain-bike course laid out with advice from Olympian Kōhei Yamamoto (opened 2015)173.
    • Hakugindai Ski Area (白銀台スキー場) in Chūrui is the only ski area in southern Tokachi17. Five rental lodges next to it each sleep up to 10 people and are open all year (adults ¥3,300 per night, plus ¥100 Hokkaido lodging tax from April 2026)42.
  • Golf. Satsunai River Golf Course has 18 holes and Obihiro International Country Club has 2717.

Food experiences

  • Furusato Mikaku Kōbō (ふるさと味覚工房, Shinwa). A food-processing workshop where visitors make tofu, miso, sausages, bread, ice cream and sweets, with an instructor on hand. Users normally bring their own ingredients. Open 9:00–17:00, closed Tuesdays, holidays and 28 December–4 January43.
  • Scenic Café Chūrui (シーニックカフェちゅうるい) opens on summer weekends (July–September) on the Kyōei ranch17.
  • Tsuki-ichi-na restaurant menus. From May to November, local restaurants serve dishes made with the vegetable of the month35.

Roadside stations (Michi-no-Eki)

Michi-no-Eki Chūrui (道の駅忠類)

  • Location. Chūrui Hakugin-chō 384-12, on National Route 236 by Chūrui IC on the Obihiro–Hiroo Expressway30. The Naumann Elephant Museum and Naumann Park are next door17. The town writes the name 道の駅・忠類.
  • Hours (as of September 2026, check before visiting):30
    • April–November 9:00–18:00
    • December–March 9:00–17:00
    • closed 31 December–3 January and on some maintenance days in November
  • Shops & products. Local specialties built around Chūrui yurine, such as yurine cream puffs (純白ゆり根のシュークリーム) and yurine daifuku (純白ゆり根大福)30. The Pan Kōbō PaoPao (パン工房パオパオ) bakery sells yurine anpan and cream puffs, and wasabi soft-serve is also sold14. JA Chūrui opened a farm stand (菜の舘ベジタ) in the old Chūrui products center in 20073. It was still supplying local vegetables to town restaurants in 202635.
  • Food. The restaurant in the hot-spring building (レストラン郷里ちゅうるい) serves a fried-yurine rice bowl, a cheese-and-pork rice bowl and wasabi ice cream30.
  • Facilities.30
    • Parking: 269 cars and 12 large vehicles, plus a covered space for pregnant women
    • Toilets with warm-water bidet seats, an accessible toilet and an ostomate facility
    • EV charging and Wi-Fi
    • Tourist information, a nursing room and a baby-changing area
    • Credit cards and other cashless payments accepted
    • The Naumann Onsen Arco 236 bath
    • A campground in Naumann Park, a playground and the museum
  • Notes. The station was registered on 22 April 199330. The current building opened on 1 April 2007 and drew about 3,800 people in its first five days. It passed 5 million visitors in July 20233. The stamp can be collected during opening hours30.

Getting there & around

  • Rail. Satsunai (札内) and Makubetsu (幕別) stations are on the JR Nemuro Main Line2. Makubetsu Station opened in 1905 as Yamuwakka and was renamed in 1963. Inashibetsu Station closed in March 20173. By train, Makubetsu is about 2 h 20 min from Sapporo, about 2 h from New Chitose Airport and about 1 h 30 min from Kushiro44.
  • Chūrui. Chūrui has had no railway since the JNR Hiroo Line closed in February 1987. Replacement buses began running the same month3.
  • By car.
    • Sapporo to Makubetsu takes about 3 hours. Take the Dōō and Dōtō expressways to Ikeda IC, or go by way of Obihiro JCT to Obihiro-Kawanishi IC44.
    • Sapporo to Chūrui takes about 3 hours 30 minutes by way of the Obihiro–Hiroo Expressway to Chūrui IC44. Chūrui IC opened in March 20153.
    • National Routes 38, 236, 242 and 336 pass through the town2.
  • Air. Flights from Tokyo Haneda to Tokachi-Obihiro Airport take about 1 hour 30 minutes. From the airport it is about 30 minutes by car to either Makubetsu or Chūrui44.
  • Local transport. Town community buses run on the Makubetsu and Satsunai lines (regular service since October 2013). Book-ahead shared taxis serve rural Komahata and Furumai3.

Practical tips

  • When to go.
    • Late April to mid-October is the season for Tokachi Hills and park golf1741.
    • The October harvest festivals are good for local beef, vegetables and yurine31.
    • Salmon run from mid-August to late November17.
    • In winter there is skiing at Hakugindai and the sled race in February17.
  • Closed days. The Naumann museum, the Chirot exhibition hall and the Mikaku Kōbō close on Tuesdays142143. The Nitta no Mori Memorial Hall is closed from late October to April17.
  • Winter. Chūrui is much colder than Satsunai. The Taiki station used for Chūrui drops below −25 °C in most winters, and in some years snow lies more than a meter deep3. Drive with care, and watch for deer on rural roads at dusk.
  • Tourist information. Michi-no-Eki Chūrui has a tourist information corner30.

More about Makubetsu

At a glance
Field Details
Type Town (町)
Subprefecture Tokachi (十勝総合振興局)
District Nakagawa District (中川郡), Tokachi. Chūrui was in Hiroo District (広尾郡) until the 2006 merger2
Population 25,766 at the 2020 Census (11,029 households)3. 24,863 on the resident register at the end of August 2026, including 400 foreign residents (Hokkaido Government's Juki-net reference count)4. The town's own count for the end of July 2026 was 24,876 (12,739 households, including 395 foreign residents)5. By area (July 2026): Satsunai 18,643, Makubetsu 4,935 and Chūrui 1,2985
Area 477.64 km² (GSI, 1 April 2026)63. The town is 20 km east–west and 47 km north–south, and its elevation runs from 10 m to 331.2 m3. The figure was revised in 2011, when the boundary with Sarabetsu was fixed, and again in 20143
Density About 52 people/km² (latest) and 54/km² (2020 Census), calculated from the figures above
Municipal history Founded (開基) on 1 September 1897, when a joint village office opened at Sarubetsu. Makubetsu Village was formed in April 1906 and became a town on 15 September 1946. Chūrui Village split from Taiki on 20 August 1949. The two merged into the present town on 6 February 20063
Neighboring municipalities Obihiro, Otofuke, Ikeda, Toyokoro, Sarabetsu and Taiki7
Symbols Tree: Daimyo oak (かしわ). Flower: moss phlox (しばざくら). Bird: whooper swan (おおはくちょう). All three were chosen on 6 February 2016, along with a new symbol mark that combines an "M" for Makubetsu and a "C" for Chūrui with a Naumann elephant and park golf83
Mascot Pao-kun (パオくん) and Kumagera-kun (クマゲラくん, named after the black woodpecker)9. On the town's mascot page, one Pao-kun design is labeled "park golf"10. A redesigned second-generation Pao-kun first appeared at the Makubetsu Industrial Festival on 5 October 20143
Official website https://www.town.makubetsu.lg.jp/

Name origin
  • Makubetsu (幕別) comes from the Ainu Mak-un-pet (マクンペッ): mak "behind, the hinterland", un "to be at" and pet "river", so "the river in the back". It was first read Makunbetsu, and the kanji later shifted the reading to Makubetsu23. Nobody now knows which river first had the name. The name probably first belonged to the area around present-day Sarubetsu, and it moved to Yamuwakka when the village office moved there7.
  • Other Ainu place names in the town, as the town explains them:23
    • Yamuwakka (止若, the old name of central Makubetsu) comes from Yam-wakka-pira, "cold-water cliff", on the east bank of the lower Sarubetsu River.
    • Satsunai (札内) comes from Sat-nai, "dry river", a stream that runs low in the dry season.
    • Sarubetsu (猿別) comes from Sar-pet, "reed-marsh river".
    • Tobetsu (途別) comes from To-pet, "swamp river". Another reading is Tu-pet, "two rivers".
    • Nukanai (糠内) is "river of fine gravel".
    • Senju (千住), formerly written 白人 and read Chirotto, comes from Chir-ot-to, "marsh where many birds gather".
    • Chūrui (忠類) comes from Chiw-ruy (Tōpuy), "fast-flowing (tributary of the Tōberi River)".
    • Maruyama (丸山) in Chūrui was Chihoma-iwa, "the fearsome sacred mountain".

History
  • Ancient times. The town had 130 known archaeological sites as of August 200624. Digs at the Satsunai K site in 2007 found about 1,000 Paleolithic artifacts, mostly of obsidian and shale, dated to roughly 12,500 years ago, and about 20,000 Jōmon-period artifacts24. Naumann elephants reached Hokkaido from Honshu across the Tsugaru Strait, probably by swimming. The original Chūrui skeleton is held by the Hokkaido Museum (北海道博物館)25.
  • 1858–1869. The explorer Matsuura Takeshirō (松浦武四郎) traveled up the Tōberi River (当縁川) in 1858. In 1869 the government set up five villages here, including Yamuwakka and Makunbetsu, under the Shizuoka domain. Only a few Ainu lived here then3.
  • 1882–1892. Hosoya Jūdayū (細谷十太夫) of Sendai is recorded as the first Wajin (ethnic Japanese) settler, in 1882. In 1885 land was set aside for the Ainu to farm. The first group settlers came in 1892: 13 households from Kagawa and 14 households of Tokushima's Nankaisha (南海社)3.
  • 1894–1897, Chūrui. Okada Shinsaburō (岡田新三郎) of Gunma settled alone at the foot of Maruyama in 1894. He built Maruyama Shrine there to calm local fears about the mountain323. Seven households from Niigata followed in 18973.
  • 1900. Yoda Benzō's Banseisha (晩成社) opened rice paddies at Tobetsu317.
  • 1905–1919. The railway and Yamuwakka Station opened in October 1905. Makubetsu Village was formed in April 1906, and its office moved to Yamuwakka. Satsunai Station opened in 1910. The Nitta group set up a tannin works in 1913 and a veneer mill in 1918. The population was 11,250 in 19193.
  • 1926–1949. Wakayama Bokusui (若山牧水) stayed at Kuroda Onsen near Satsunai in 1926. The JNR Hiroo Line reached Chūrui in 1930. Yamuwakka and Satsunai were bombed in 1945, and Makubetsu became a town in 1946. Chūrui Village split from Taiki in 19493.
  • 1952–1977. The magnitude 8.1 Tokachi-oki earthquake hit in 1952. Chūrui began growing yurine in 1962, and Yamuwakka Station became Makubetsu Station in 1963. The town-run Makubetsu Onsen lodge opened in 1968. Naumann elephant bones were found in July 1969. By 1977 Satsunai had more people than the Makubetsu area3.
  • 1983–1988. Park golf was invented in 1983, and the International Park Golf Association was founded in 1987. The Hiroo Line closed in February 1987, and buses replaced it. The Naumann Elephant Museum opened in August 1988. The cable-stayed Tokachi Chūō Ōhashi bridge (十勝中央大橋) opened in November 1988, then the largest of its kind in Hokkaido3.
  • 1993–2006. The Naumann museum area was registered as a Michi-no-Eki in 1993, and the Arco 236 hot spring opened in 1994. Makubetsu, Sarabetsu and Chūrui began merger talks in 2003. Sarabetsu dropped out, and Makubetsu and Chūrui merged on 6 February 20063.
  • 2007. The new Michi-no-Eki Chūrui building opened on 1 April. The Chiyoda New Waterway (千代田新水路) on the Tokachi River opened the same day, after 12 years of work costing ¥32 billion3.
  • 2016–2018. Typhoon No. 10 flooded 75 homes in August 2016, and about 950 people went to shelters. JR Inashibetsu Station closed in March 2017. At the 2018 Olympics the Takagi sisters won gold3.
  • 2019–2026. Digs in 2019 found Naumann elephant footprints, the first Naumann footprint fossils found in Hokkaido314. Research also showed that one molar dug up in 1970 came from a mammoth14. New fossils were found in June 2024, the first in 54 years. The renovated Naumann museum reopened in March 2024. The Ezo Bunka Kōkokan closed in 2023 for restoration. It becomes part of the Chirot Ainu culture center, which opens on 1 October 202632021.

Geography & climate
  • Setting. Makubetsu lies a little south of the center of Tokachi and borders Obihiro on the west. The Tokachi River forms its northern and northeastern edge, and the Sarubetsu and Tobetsu rivers flow through the middle72. The town gives its position as 42°54′20″N, 143°21′35″E3.
  • Two areas. The northern area (Makubetsu, Satsunai and the southern Makubetsu farm belt) is flat to rolling farmland of field crops and vegetables. The southern Chūrui area is hillier and mainly given to dairy farming15. The land register lists about 17,600 ha of upland fields in the Makubetsu area but only 165 ha of rice paddy (2025)3.
  • Hills and viewpoints. The highest point is 331.2 m3. The Maruyama Observation Deck (丸山展望台) in Chūrui looks out over the Hidaka Mountains and the Pacific17. A cave on Maruyama holds luminous moss (ヒカリゴケ). It was found in 2009 and later designated a town cultural property. The site is kept secret because the moss is fragile and rocks fall there26.
  • Climate. The town has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) and is an officially designated heavy-snow area2. The town uses Obihiro Weather Station data for the Makubetsu area. For 2010–2025 these show:3
    • an annual mean temperature of 7.2–9.2 °C
    • yearly highs up to 38.8 °C (2019 and 2025)
    • yearly lows between −17.8 °C and −24.5 °C
    • a deepest snow of 33–129 cm
    • 671–1,275 mm of precipitation
    • about 1,880–2,180 hours of sunshine a year
  • Colder Chūrui. The town uses data from the Taiki station for Chūrui. They show a colder climate, with a low of −29.8 °C in 2019 and snow 142 cm deep in 20203. English Wikipedia gives records of −31.8 °C and 38.4 °C for the Nukanai weather station in the town (records since 1978)2.

Economy & industry
  • Farm output. MAFF estimates the town's agricultural output at ¥26.69 billion in 2024. It breaks down as follows:27
    • crops ¥16.60 billion, including vegetables ¥8.28 billion, potatoes ¥3.02 billion, industrial crops ¥2.19 billion, beans ¥1.56 billion and wheat ¥1.42 billion
    • livestock ¥10.09 billion, including dairy cattle ¥8.63 billion (raw milk ¥7.68 billion) and beef cattle ¥1.41 billion
  • Bigger farms. In 2020 the town had 514 farm businesses farming 21,208 ha, an average of 41.3 ha each. In 2000 it had 752 averaging 25.0 ha17. The town's nagaimo area and output rank near the top in Japan. Chūrui is mainly dairy country, and the town also has farms that breed Japanese Black (Wagyu) cattle15. The town ranch spreads over 959 ha in four pastures, where local farmers send their cattle for the summer28.
  • Industry and trade. In 2020 there were 30 factories with 1,014 workers, shipping ¥16.7 billion of goods. Retail and wholesale sales were ¥46.24 billion in 20163. The Nitta group opened a tannin works in 1913 and a veneer mill in 1918, and the Hokuren Tokachi food plant opened in 19853.
  • Jobs. In 2020, 14.9% of workers were in farming and other primary industry, 16.7% in manufacturing and construction, and 64.3% in services3.
  • Population. From 2010 to 2020 the population fell 2.94% while households rose 6.47%. The share aged 65 and over rose from 25.9% to 33.6%, and children under 15 fell to 12.3%3. Satsunai is a suburb that runs into Obihiro and now holds about three-quarters of residents, calculated from the town's figures5.
  • Tourism. Michi-no-Eki Chūrui welcomed its 5 millionth visitor on 29 July 20233. No town-wide visitor count was found.
  • Revitalization.
    • Furusato nozei began in 20083. Donors can choose to fund park golf, the Naumann museum or future Olympians29.
    • The town launched a digital local currency, Maku Pay (まくPay), in December 20223.
    • The Tokachi 400 (トカプチ400) cycling loop from Obihiro through northern and southern Tokachi became Hokkaido's first National Cycle Route in 20213.

Local specialties
Specialty Category Details & where to get it
Nagaimo (長いも) Vegetable The town's flagship crop. Area and output rank among Japan's highest15
Wanejo (和捻じょ) Nagaimo variety A nagaimo with no root hairs or pits, found at the town's sorting plant in 1998. It is sweeter than ordinary nagaimo7
Overwintered leeks (越冬長ねぎ) Vegetable Sown in mid-May and dug the next late April after a winter under snow, which makes them soft and fragrant7
Yurine (ゆり根) Vegetable (Chūrui) Grown in Chūrui since 19627. Sold at Michi-no-Eki Chūrui as yurine cream puffs and yurine daifuku, and sold direct at the October Dontokoi-mura Festival3031
Taishō Kintoki beans (大正金時) Beans A red kidney bean first found by a farmer in Tobetsu, Makubetsu. It was then grown in quantity in neighboring Taishō Village (now part of Obihiro), which gave it its name, and became a named brand in 19557
Inca-no-Mezame potatoes and shochu Potatoes / spirits The yellow Inca-no-Mezame (インカのめざめ) potato is offered as a furusato nozei gift, both raw and as frozen fries and sweets32. A shochu made from local Inca-no-Mezame went on sale in 2008. An earlier soybean-flour shochu, Mame Shizuku (豆しずく), came out in 1991 (current availability unverified)3
Makubetsu and Chūrui Wagyu, Tokachi beef Meat Sold at the October festivals31. Tokachi beef hamburger steaks and cut-offs are popular furusato gifts33
Tokachi Royal Mangalitsa pork and free-range pork Meat The town's furusato listing highlights Tokachi Royal Mangalitsa pork (十勝ロイヤルマンガリッツア豚) and low-stress, pasture-raised pork (遊豚, どろぶた)34
NEEDS cheese (チーズ工房NEEDS) Dairy A cheese workshop in Shinwa that uses fresh milk from the Nitta Farm17
Carmelite monastery sweets Sweets / crafts The shop at the Tokachi Carmelite Monastery in Nisshin sells handmade sweets and crafts17
Park golf goods Sports goods Park golf items are offered as furusato nozei gifts29

Culture & festivals
Event When Highlights
Chūrui Naumann All-Hokkaido Sled Race (忠類ナウマン全道そり大会) February Homemade sleds race downhill. It began in March 1984 as a sled-building contest173
Makubetsu Summer Festa (まくべつ夏フェスタ) and Chūrui Furusato Bon Dance July Summer events in both areas17
Makubetsu Summer Festival Bon Dance (まくべつ夏まつり盆踊り大会) August Town bon-odori17
Park Golf Day 9 August Set in April 2006 by the International Park Golf Association, and marked with events at courses across Japan12
Makubetsu Industrial Festival (まくべつ産業まつり) Early October (49th: 4 October 2026) Held outside the Centennial Memorial Hall. JA Makubetsu vegetable stalls, Makubetsu Wagyu sales, taiko, a junior jazz school and a school brass band, and a candy toss for children. Shuttle buses need booking31
Chūrui Dontokoi-mura Festival (忠類どんとこいむら祭り) Mid-October (31st: 18 October 2026) Held at the Naumann museum grounds. Yurine and Chūrui Wagyu sales, shamisen and comedy acts, and a raffle31. First held in 19963
Makubetsu Yasai Tsuki-ichi-na (幕別やさい月イチ菜) May–November Each month local restaurants cook with a featured vegetable: asparagus in May, lettuce in June, cabbage in July, corn in August and onions in September35
  • Performing arts. The Nukanai lion dance (糠内獅子舞) was designated a town cultural property in February 2002. The folk song Dosanko Jinku (どさんこ甚句) became a town intangible cultural property in 2012263.
  • Poetry and music. Makubetsu has the only poem monument to Wakayama Bokusui in Hokkaido, at Yoda. Its ties to the poet led to the 1974 friendship with Tōgō, Miyazaki173. The composer Manjōme Tadashi (万城目正), who wrote the postwar hit "Ringo no Uta" (リンゴの唄), was born in Makubetsu Village in 190536. A monument to his birthplace stands at the Centennial Memorial Hall, and a song monument was unveiled in 2015173.
  • Museums.
    • The Makubetsu Furusato-kan (幕別町ふるさと館, Yoda 384-3) covers the town's history.
    • The Nitta no Mori Memorial Hall (新田の森記念館) shows treasures of the Nitta group, a company that did much for the town. It is closed from late October to the end of April.
    • The Chūrui Naumann Elephant Museum covers the fossil find.1714
  • Religious sites. The Tokachi Carmelite Monastery (十勝カルメル会修道院) opened in Nisshin in 1990317.

Ainu heritage

  • Before settlement. When the government mapped the area's five villages in 1869, only a few Ainu lived here. In 1885 land was set aside so the Ainu could take up farming3. Many of the town's place names are Ainu (see Name origin)23.

  • Chirotto kotan. The Ainu settlement of Chirotto (白人, now Senju) was home to Yoshida Kikutarō (吉田菊太郎, 1896–1965). He edited the Hokkaido Ainu Association's journal Ezo no Hikari from 1931, sat on the village council from 1932, and founded the Tokachi Ainu Association in 194637.

  • Ezo Bunka Kōkokan. Yoshida founded the Ezo Bunka Kōkokan (蝦夷文化考古館) in 1959, and his family gave it to the town in 19662038. Its holdings included 231 books and printed items, 605 documents and 626 photographs. Its displays included inau prayer sticks, attus bark-fiber robes, embroidered clothing and dugout canoes20. The collection became a town cultural property in 200226. The museum closed on 31 March 2023 for restoration20.

  • Chirot (チロット) culture center. The Makubetsu Ainu Culture Exchange Center (幕別町アイヌ文化交流センター), nicknamed Chirot, opens on 1 October 2026 at Senju 113-4, on National Route 382138. The name means "marsh where many birds gather", after the swans that came to the Senju marshes where many Ainu lived38. The center has:

    • Neusar (ネウサㇽ), a hall with a hearth, a kitchen and a craft room
    • Uchaskuma (ウチャㇱクマ), an exhibition hall
    • the restored Kōkokan

    The exhibition hall is open 9:00–17:00 and closed on Tuesdays and over New Year. Entry is ¥300, and free for high-school students and younger. A ¥500 combined ticket also covers the Furusato-kan and the Naumann Elephant Museum21.

  • Umeko Ando. The singer and mukkuri (mouth harp) player Umeko Ando (安東ウメ子, 1932–2004) was born in Obihiro and died in Makubetsu. Japanese critics named her 2001 album Ihunke the best world-music album of the year. She married into a Makubetsu family397.

Sister & friendship cities
  • Tōgō (東郷町), Miyazaki (former). A friendship pact was signed in February 1974 because of Wakayama Bokusui's poem monument. It was dissolved in November 2005 because Tōgō was merging into another city3.
  • Ageo (上尾市), Saitama. Children's exchanges with the former Chūrui Village began in 1975 and continue today. A disaster mutual-aid pact followed in 2013453.
  • Kaisei (開成町), Kanagawa, and Nakatosa (中土佐町), Kōchi. Both towns signed disaster mutual-aid pacts in 2013 and have pupil exchanges453.
  • Canberra, Australia. Middle- and high-school students take part in an overseas study program there. No formal sister-city agreement was found45.

Notable people
  • Hiromu Arakawa (荒川弘, born 1973). Manga artist behind Fullmetal Alchemist and Silver Spoon, born in Makubetsu22.
  • Miho Takagi (髙木美帆, born 1994). Speed skater born in Makubetsu. She has won 10 Olympic medals (2 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze) from 2018 to 2026, the most of any Japanese woman16. She announced her retirement in March 2026, and in July 2026 the government chose her for the People's Honour Award (国民栄誉賞)16.
  • Nana Takagi (髙木菜那). Speed skater and Miho's sister. She won two golds at Pyeongchang 2018, in the team pursuit and the mass start3.
  • Chisato Fukushima (福島千里). Sprinter from Makubetsu. She tied the Japanese women's 100 m record (11.36) in 2008 and ran at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics3.
  • Kōhei Yamamoto (山本幸平). Mountain biker from Makubetsu who rode in four straight Olympics (2008–2021)3.
  • Manjōme Tadashi (万城目正, 1905–1968). Composer of "Ringo no Uta", born in Makubetsu Village36.
  • Yoshida Kikutarō (吉田菊太郎, 1896–1965). Ainu activist and founder of the Ezo Bunka Kōkokan37.
  • Umeko Ando (安東ウメ子, 1932–2004). Ainu singer and mukkuri player who lived in Makubetsu39.

Sources

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

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