Hokkaido Places

City Sorachi Subprefecture

Mikasa 三笠市

みかさし

Mikasa is where Hokkaido's coal and railway age began. The Horonai mine opened here in 1879, and Hokkaido's first railway was completed in 1882 to carry its coal to the port at Temiya (Otaru).1 The whole city is a Japanese Geopark: 100-million-year-old ammonite beds, mine shafts dug by convicts, and Hokkaido's first registered Michi-no-Eki all lie about an hour's drive from Sapporo, Asahikawa or New Chitose Airport.23

Population (2020 Census)
8,040
Area
302.52 km²
Official website
www.city.mikasa.hokkaido.jp

Known for

  • Birthplace of Hokkaido's coal and railways: The Horonai mine opened in 1879. The Horonai Railway (幌内鉄道) was completed in 1882. It was Hokkaido's first railway, Japan's third, and Japan's first industrial railway.14
  • Ammonites: The City Museum shows about 600 Hokkaido ammonites of about 190 species and calls itself Japan's top ammonite museum.15 The Ezo Mikasa-ryū fossil (エゾミカサリュウ), a large marine reptile found near Lake Katsurazawa, is a national natural monument.1
  • A whole-city geopark: Mikasa Geopark was certified as a Japanese Geopark on 24 September 2013. Its slogan is "a 100-million-year time trip."112
  • Hokkaido's Michi-no-Eki No. 1: Michi-no-Eki Mikasa was registered on 22 April 1993 as Hokkaido registration No. 1.3
  • Hokkai Bon Uta: The Ikushunbetsu district is known as the birthplace of the "Hokkai Bon Uta" (北海盆唄), the song danced to at bon festivals across Hokkaido.16
  • Melons and onions: Mikasa Melon (三笠メロン) was bred here in 1969.17 The city harvested 7,240 t of onions in 2024.18
  • A high school that runs a restaurant: Students of Hokkaido Mikasa High School, Hokkaido's only public high school that teaches nothing but cooking, run the MIKASA COOKING ESSOR restaurant.19
  • Wine: Vineyards cover the slopes of Tappuyama. Yamazaki Winery was the first farm in Japan to get its own wine-making licence.20

Sights & activities

Nature & scenery

  • Lake Katsurazawa and the dams: Fresh green in spring, autumn colour, and ice fishing in winter.313 The 1957 dam was raised by 11.9 m to create the New Katsurazawa Dam.3332
  • Tappuyama Observatory (達布山展望台, about 144 m): A 360° view over the Ishikari Plain, with vineyards on the slopes below.1520 It is a city-designated historic site.4
  • Mikasayama (Kannonyama): A little-known cherry-blossom spot behind the old prison site.15
  • Mikasa Asuka Ume no Mori (三笠あすか梅の杜): About 10,600 plum trees.1
  • Uozome Falls (魚染めの滝): A waterfall made by accident in one night in October 1888, when heavy rain hit a river diversion under construction.24

Onsen

  • Mikasa Tennen Onsen Taiko no Yu (三笠天然温泉 太古の湯): Okayama 1042-20, next to the Michi-no-Eki. Open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00). The indoor bath has hiba pillars from trees 600–1,000 years old.60 There are six kinds of bath, including a hinoki outdoor bath. Stay at the Japanese-style inn Bettei Hatago or the newer Hotel Taiko.6160
  • Yunomoto Onsen Ryokan (湯の元温泉旅館): Katsurazawa 94, a lone inn beside the prefectural natural park. It is a clear, simple sulphur cold spring.61 Day bathing cost ¥600 for adults as of March 2022, the latest price the city lists. Hours are 10:00–20:00, or until 21:00 from June to September. Try the house duck hotpot (合鴨鍋).62

Museums & heritage

  • Mikasa City Museum (三笠市立博物館): Ikushunbetsu Nishiki-chō 1-212-1. It displays about 1,000 fossils, including Japan's largest ammonite, and most can be touched.27 Open 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). Closed Mondays (or the next weekday after a holiday) and 30 December–4 January. Adults ¥450; elementary and junior high students ¥150. During the special exhibition (18 July–12 October in 2026) ¥100 is added to each ticket.63 The new armoured dinosaur, Nipponopelta, is on show in the fossil hall.29 The Outdoor Museum trail behind the building follows the old forest railway through the strata. It has been closed since 17 September 2026 because of a hornet nest.636422
  • Mikasa Railway Village (三笠鉄道村): The Horonai zone holds the Mikasa Railway Memorial Museum (三笠鉄道記念館), Horonai-chō 2-287.65 It opens 9:00–17:00, 16 April–15 October, and is closed Mondays. Adults ¥530. The steam locomotive S-304, built in 1939 for industrial sidings, gives rides (¥300) on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and daily except closing days from late July to mid-August.656667 Anyone 18 or older can learn to drive it through the SL Driver Club.6768 The village also displays a C12, a 9600-class locomotive and many other retired Hokkaido rolling stock.68 A shared ticket for the City Museum, ciel and the Railway Memorial Museum costs ¥750 for adults from 16 April to 15 October (plus ¥100 during the museum's special exhibition).63
  • Crawford Park (クロフォード公園): Hon-chō 971-1, on the site of the old Mikasa Station (Horonai-futo).23 It has a rebuilt station building and a footbridge. A trolley line runs about 2.5 km along the old Horonai Railway to the Railway Village.2314
  • Coal and prison sites: Mine structures still standing include the Nishiki shaft tower (1920) and pit mouth, both JSCE Civil Engineering Heritage.22 Others are the Horonai Otowa pit and substation14 and the giant Honbetsu shaft tower. Honbetsu and the Horonai shaft are on private land, so view them from outside.24 Prison-era sites are Sennin-zuka Historic Park, Nuppa waterworks and the brick chimney of the warden's house, a city cultural property.16

Outdoor & seasonal activities

  • Family Land Mikasa Yūen (ファミリーランドみかさ遊園): Nishi-Katsurazawa 57. It has go-karts (¥320), a free paddling pool, a giant slide, free BBQ sites and tent camping, with about 250 free parking spaces. Open late April–31 October, 9:00–17:00.69 The nearby Katsurazawa National Campground is closed.70
  • Katsurazawa National Ski Area (桂沢国設スキー場): Nishi-Katsurazawa 50. Open 9:00–16:00, daily through the season. One pair lift (811 m), runs of 490–855 m, a vertical drop of 218 m and a steepest pitch of 31°. There is a kids' park at weekends.71 An adult day pass costs ¥2,410, cash only.72
  • Ice fishing for wakasagi (桂沢湖ワカサギ釣り): Usually mid-January to mid-March, on a managed ice area with rental gear. The office is closed for the 2025–26 season because too few eggs were available to stock the lake.73
  • Mikasa-cycle (みかさいくる): Bike rental at the Michi-no-Eki, 22 April–31 October, 9:00–16:30. City bikes cost ¥500 and e-bikes ¥1,000.74
  • Geo tours and SUP: Guided Geopark tours run in season.66 A stand-up paddleboard event was held on Lake Katsurazawa on 19 July 2025 to mark the completion of the new dam.75

Food experiences

  • MIKASA COOKING ESSOR (三笠高校生レストラン): Wakakusa-chō 396-1. High school students cook set meals at Magokoro Kitchen and make cakes at Cherie. ESSOR Store sells student-developed goods.19
  • Winery visits: Takizawa Winery's shop overlooks its vineyards and offers paid tastings.46 It is open 10:00–15:00 (16:00 in summer). In summer it closes Tuesdays and Wednesdays; the rest of the year, Saturdays and Sundays.47

Roadside stations (Michi-no-Eki)

Michi-no-Eki Mikasa (道の駅三笠)

  • Location: Okayama 1056-1, Mikasa (〒068-2165), on National Route 12. It is the city's western gateway. Tel. 01267-2-5775.3 The Mikasa Tourism Association counter (tel. 01267-3-2828) is inside the Shoku no Kura building.1535 Taiko no Yu hot spring is next door, and Aeon Supercenter Mikasa is nearby at Okayama 1059-1.6134 Map code 180 276 299.3
  • Hours: As of September 2026 — check before visiting.
    • Farm Center (the station building): 8:30–17:00. Closed Mondays (Tuesday if Monday is a holiday) and 30 December–4 January.340
    • Tourism association: 9:00–17:00 since May 2023. Before that it stayed open until 18:00 from April to September.76 Some Geopark pages still list 9:00–18:00 in summer.35
    • Shops in Shoku no Kura open roughly 8:00–17:00, depending on the shop. Ramen Darumaya is open 11:00–23:00 and closes on irregular days.40
  • Shops & products: Shoku no Kura (食の蔵), renovated in April 2017, holds eight local businesses:1540
    • Nōka no Mise: Mikasa rice and vegetables, and Natsu no Megami watermelon in season38
    • Minoru Seika: fruit and vegetables
    • Shirakawa Tofu: inari-zushi, fried natto, soy-milk latte
    • MAMO: station-only bento and katsu sandwiches
    • Akatsuki: pork rice bowls and yakitori packs
    • C's Pizza
    • Kiiroi Kuruma (see Food below)
    • The tourism association: umeboshi, Miwa no Sato apple juice, Geopark goods and ammonite fossils on display3
    • Separately listed at the station: Kuishinbō yakitori (Maruyasu Foods), closed Mondays.40 The tourism site says the station's yakitori draws queues.27
    • Also sold here: Mikasa Melon chocolate,51 habanero salt, a potato and wild-leek snack, and Kitakaze no Tabibito.40
    • Note: eight-row heirloom corn (八列とうきび) has not been sold here since FY2025, after the tenant, Oikawa Farm, withdrew. Buy it at Oikawa Farm's own stand (tel. 01267-3-1770), which began its 2026 sales on 5 August.77
  • Food:
    • Kiiroi Kuruma: "Mikasa Soft" (三笠そふと) soft-serve, black sekitan zangi and "Mikasa long choux" cream puffs40
    • Soft-serve and fried potatoes (あげいも) made on site3
    • Ramen Darumaya Mikasa: rich "doro" ramen and marinated fried chicken. The zangi set is its signature.344
  • Facilities:
    • 202 car and 13 large-vehicle spaces3
    • The official listing shows: toilets with warm-water seats, accessible toilet, ostomate facilities, covered parking, Wi-Fi, tourist information, nursing room, diaper-changing table, shop, restaurant, café, farm stand, onsen and lodging nearby3
    • The listing does not state 24-hour toilet access or EV charging (unverified)
    • Nō no Yakata (農の館) farm museum, marked by a 10 m waterwheel, shows about 100 old farm tools and is free. It was closed for equipment inspection as of September 2026.40
    • A park golf course and hot-spring baths are attached3
    • Rental bikes from the tourism association74
    • Meeting and food-processing rooms for hire40
  • Notes:
    • Registered 22 April 1993 as Hokkaido registration No. 13
    • The stamp can be pressed during Farm Center hours, and also whenever Ramen Darumaya is open403
    • The station hosts MIKASA WINE DAYS in July.55 Part of the car park was restricted from the evening of 24 July to 25 July 2026 for the event.78
    • It is the busiest tourist site in Mikasa, with 620,981 visits in FY202418

Getting there & around

  • Car: Mikasa IC on the Dō-Ō Expressway opened in 1987.4 From Sapporo it is 42 km (about 30 minutes) by expressway, or 55 km on National Route 12. From Asahikawa it is 84 km (about 60 minutes) by expressway.79 National Route 452 runs past Lake Katsurazawa toward Furano, and Prefectural Route 116 links Route 12 with the lakeside.480 By ordinary roads the city gives Furano as 62 km (about 1 h 10 min) and Tomakomai as 85 km.80
  • Rail: No railway has run in Mikasa since the Horonai Line closed in 1987. The nearest stations are JR Iwamizawa (Hakodate Main Line, where limited expresses stop) and Minenobu.4 Iwamizawa is 12 km from Mikasa.6
  • Bus: Hokkaido Chūō Bus runs the Mikasa Line from Iwamizawa Bus Terminal, about 25 minutes to central Mikasa.7919 Take a bus bound for Ikushunbetsu and get off at "Mikasa Kōkō-mae" for the high school restaurant.19 The city also runs Mikasa City Bus services.4
  • Air: New Chitose Airport is the usual gateway. It is about 30 minutes by expressway to Sapporo IC, then on to Mikasa IC.81 The city puts Chitose at 77 km (about 60 minutes) by expressway.6 Asahikawa Airport is the other option.81
  • Getting around: Sights are spread out: Okayama/Michi-no-Eki in the west, the centre, Horonai, Ikushunbetsu and Katsurazawa in the east. A car is easiest. In summer, rental bikes (including e-bikes) from the Michi-no-Eki are a good way to see the western sites.74

Practical tips

  • Best seasons:
    • May: plum and cherry blossom
    • July–August: melons, the wine festival and bon dancing
    • Mid-April to mid-October: the Railway Village is open
    • Early October: autumn colour around Lake Katsurazawa and the Wine & Sanma festival
    • January–March: skiing and, in normal years, ice fishing536557
  • Check what is open: The Railway Memorial Museum closes from 16 October to 15 April.65 Wakasagi fishing is suspended for 2025–26.73 The Outdoor Museum trail has been closed since 17 September 2026.64 The national campground is closed.70 Most facilities close on Mondays.
  • Visitor information: Go to the Hokkaido Mikasa Tourism Association in the Michi-no-Eki (tel. 01267-3-2828) or the city's Commerce & Tourism Section (tel. 01267-2-3997).1531
  • Private and hazardous sites: Several mine ruins are on private land and cannot be entered. On Lake Katsurazawa, stay inside the managed fishing area; outside it the ice can be thin in places.2473
  • Wildlife and winter: About 85% of the city is forest.2 As elsewhere in Hokkaido, brown bears and deer live in these forests, so check local bear notices before walking trails or fishing at Katsurazawa, and drive carefully on mountain roads at dusk. Winter snow is heavy (489–911 cm a year recently), so use winter tyres and allow extra time.6
  • Payment: The ski area takes cash only.72 The MIKASA WINE DAYS booths also took cash only in 2026.55

More about Mikasa

At a glance
Field Details
Type City (市)
Subprefecture Sorachi (空知総合振興局)
District None (cities belong to no district). As a village and town it was in Sorachi District (空知郡).4
Population 8,040 in 3,816 households at the 2020 Census (令和2年国勢調査), down from 9,076 in 2015.56 The resident register showed 6,898 (3,199 men, 3,699 women) in 4,248 households on 1 September 2026.7
Area 302.52 km² (GSI, 1 April 2026).8 English Wikipedia gives an older 302.64 km².9 The city measures 29.7 km east–west and 24.0 km north–south, and about 85% of it is forest.2
Density About 22.8 people/km² (6,898 ÷ 302.52, calculated). It was 26.6/km² at the 2020 Census.
Municipal history Ichikishiri Village (市来知村) was founded in June 1882, which the city counts as its birth. Ichikishiri, Horonai (幌内) and Ikushunbetsu (幾春別) merged as Mikasayama Village (三笠山村) in 1906. It became Mikasa Town in 1942 and Mikasa City in 1957, the 22nd city in Hokkaido.1 The exact dates were 1 April 1906, 1 September 1942 and 1 April 1957.4 There have been no later mergers.
Neighboring municipalities Iwamizawa (west), Bibai (north), Ashibetsu and Yubari (east and south).6
Symbols Tree: Japanese rowan (ナナカマド). Flower: chrysanthemum (菊). Both were adopted in 1977. Bird: white wagtail (ハクセキレイ), adopted in 2001.10 The emblem, adopted on 8 March 1957, is the character 三 drawn as three widening rings. They stand for miners, merchants and farmers working together.11 A newer symbol mark (adopted 18 June 2000) shows red and green buds in the shape of an ammonite.1211
Mascot Ryū-chan (りゅうちゃん), a yellow dinosaur said to be about 84 million years old.139
Official website https://www.city.mikasa.hokkaido.jp/ (tourism site: https://www.mikasa-kanko.jp/)

Name origin
  • Mikasa (三笠): The name comes from Mikasayama (三笠山), a hill behind the Sorachi Shūchikan prison (空知集治監). When the prison opened in 1882, people said the hill looked like Mikasayama in Nara (now called Wakakusayama).2 The city says the prisoners named it out of homesickness.1 When three villages merged in 1906, the new village took the name Mikasayama. Japanese Wikipedia, citing place-name scholar Yamada Hidezō, adds that the character 三 ("three") also fitted the merger of three villages.4 The hill (120 m) is now also called Kannonyama (観音山). The name comes from a Kannon image placed on it in 1915, after a severe crop failure in 1913.164
  • Ichikishiri (市来知), the old name of the city centre: The name is Ainu. The Geopark gives it as i-char-us-i (イ・チャル・ウシ), "the place where its (the bear's) footprints are many."16 Japanese Wikipedia, citing Yamada, gives i-cikir-us-i (イチキルシ) with the same meaning.4
  • Other Ainu names: Tappu (達布) comes from tap-kop, "a hill with a round top."20 Ikushunbetsu (幾春別) comes from i-kus-un-pet, "the river on the other side." Ainu at Poromoi (Horomui), downstream, probably used it to mean "the river over there."21 Honbetsu (奔別) is said to come from pon-pet, "small river."4

History
  • About 100 million years ago: Most of the area lay under a shallow Cretaceous sea. Its sandstones, now called the Mikasa Formation (三笠層), hold ammonites, giant Inoceramus clams nearly 1 m across, pterosaur bones and shark teeth. The coal seams of the Ikushunbetsu Formation (幾春別層) are about 50 million years old. Both were pushed up almost vertical when the Hidaka Mountains began to rise, about 13 million years ago.22
  • Ainu era: Little archaeology is recorded for the city in the sources consulted. Ainu place names such as Ichikishiri, Tappu and Ikushunbetsu show that Ainu hunted and travelled here.162021
  • Edo period: The Katsurazawa forests were known for good Ezo and Todo spruce and fir. Timber was being cut there from the 1700s.22
  • 1868–1879: A seam of "burning stone" was found at Horonai in 1868.1 In 1879 the Hokkaido Development Commission (開拓使) opened the Otowa pit (音羽坑), Mikasa's first mine entrance.14
  • 1881–1882: Watanabe Koreaki surveyed the Tappu hill in 1881 while choosing a prison site. Leading Meiji figures such as Enomoto Takeaki and Yamagata Aritomo visited later and are said to have planned the Horonai Railway from its summit.20 In June 1882 Ichikishiri Village was founded and the Sorachi Shūchikan prison opened. In November the railway from Horonai to Temiya (Otaru) was completed.1 It was built under the American engineer Joseph U. Crawford.23
  • Convict labour (1883–1894): 800 to 1,200 prisoners worked in the Horonai mine every day. It was the only coal mine in Hokkaido worked by convicts, and many of them died.14 The prison held up to about 3,000 inmates. More than 1,000 died while it operated (1882–1901), and 1,158 are buried together at Sennin-zuka (千人塚).16
  • Mining boom: The Ikushunbetsu mine opened in 1886.1 Around 1887 workers came from all over Japan. A group from Kumamoto settled at Ikushunbetsu in row houses called "Kumamoto nagaya."24 In 1888 Hokkaido's first piped water supply was run from Nuppa (抜羽) to the prison.164 The Nara mine opened in 1900 and became the Sumitomo Honbetsu mine (住友奔別炭鉱) in 1930.24
  • 1906–1942: Mikasayama Village was formed in 1906 and became Mikasa Town in 1942.4 The Nishiki shaft tower (錦立坑櫓), completed in 1920, is the oldest surviving shaft tower in Hokkaido.22
  • Peak years: A great fire burned Ikushunbetsu in May 1947.4 The Census population peaked at 57,519 in 1955. The resident register peaked at 63,360 on 30 April 1960.6 In 1957 Mikasa became a city and Katsurazawa Dam, Hokkaido's first multipurpose dam, was finished.125 In 1960 about 15,000 people lived in the Ikushunbetsu and Honbetsu districts alone.24
  • Mine closures: Ikushunbetsu closed in 1957 after producing about 6.5 million t. Honbetsu's 51 m vertical shaft, 735 m deep, was called "the best in the Orient" when it opened in 1960. The mine still closed in 1971, after 26.5 million t.24 The JR Horonai Line closed in 1987, and the Horonai mine followed in 1989.14 The Mikasa Railway Village opened in 1987 on the site of Horonai Station.14
  • Rebuilding: The City Museum opened in 1979, three years after the Ezo Mikasa-ryū fossil was found.4 That fossil was first named Yezosaurus mikasaensis in 1977 and is now treated as a mosasaur, a Cretaceous sea lizard.26 Michi-no-Eki Mikasa opened in 1993.3 The population fell below 10,000 in October 2012. The same year the city took over Hokkaido Mikasa High School from the prefecture.4 The Geopark was certified in 2013,11 and the high school restaurant opened in 2018.27
  • Recent: The raised New Katsurazawa Dam (新桂沢ダム) was completed on 31 March 2024. Concrete placement for the new Mikasa Ponbetsu Dam began in April 2025.25 The Hokkaido Mikasa Tourism Association became a registered DMO (destination management organisation) on 25 March 2025.28 In September 2026 a nodosaurid armoured dinosaur held by the City Museum was named as a new genus and species, Nipponopelta yezoensis (ニッポノペルタ・エゾエンシス), "the shield of Japan found in Hokkaido". It was found in the mountains of Yubari in 1995.2930

Geography & climate
  • Setting: Mikasa lies in southern Sorachi, near the middle of Hokkaido.1 Mountains surround it on three sides; only the west side is open.94 The highest peaks are Ikushunbetsu-dake (幾春別岳, 1,068 m), Sakaiyama (境山, 849 m) on the Ashibetsu border, Horomui-dake (幌向岳, 836 m) and Honbetsu-dake (823 m). The main rivers are the Ikushunbetsu, Honbetsu, Horonai and Ichikishiri.4
  • Lake Katsurazawa (桂沢湖): This reservoir is about 62 km around.31 It was added to the Furano-Ashibetsu Prefectural Natural Park (富良野芦別道立自然公園) in 1962.25 The first Katsurazawa Dam (1957) was a 63.6 m-high concrete gravity dam. Its concrete used aggregate cut from 100-million-year-old sandstone nearby.32 The New Katsurazawa Dam raised it by 11.9 m to 75.5 m. The crest is now 397 m long, the lake covers 6.66 km², and it holds 147.3 million m³.33
  • Geology: The strata stand almost vertical. At the "Hitomatagi 50 million years" (ひとまたぎ5千万年) spot on the Outdoor Museum trail, you can step across 50 million years of missing rock in one stride.22 From Tappuyama you can see landforms made by the active Ishikari-teichi Tōen fault zone (石狩低地東縁断層帯).20
  • Climate: The city fire department recorded these figures for 2025: annual mean 9.6 °C, high 35.4 °C (July), low −14.1 °C (January), rainfall 639.5 mm and total snowfall 489 cm. Snowfall was 911 cm in 2021.6 Records from the Iwamizawa weather station, listed in the city's statistics, run from 36.3 °C (25 August 2023) to −24.3 °C (8 January 1957).6

Economy & industry
  • After coal: Coal once supported a town of over 60,000 people.6 At the 2020 Census Mikasa had 3,147 workers: 7.4% in farming and forestry, 20.9% in industry (construction 11.0%, manufacturing 9.9%) and 71.1% in services. Medical and welfare work was the largest single field at 19.2%. Mining employed only two people.6 The city has two industrial estates.4
  • Farming (2024): Onions 150 ha / 7,240 t, rice 199 ha / 1,110 t, wheat 187 ha / 978 t, soybeans 110 ha / 224 t.18 Melons have been grown here since about 1919. In 2014 Aeon Agri Create set up an Aeon farm in the Karamatsu and Kiyosumi areas, which ships Mikasa Melon.1734
  • Tourism: Tourist facilities counted 779,629 visits in FY2024. Sun Farm Mikasa, the Michi-no-Eki, took 620,981, about 80% of the total. Other counts: Railway Village 50,074, high school restaurant 38,100, City Museum 31,351, Mikasa Yuen 26,598, ski area 12,525.18
  • Population: The Census population fell 11.4% from 2015 to 2020.6 At the end of 2025, 3,224 of the 6,989 registered residents (46.1%) were 65 or older, and only 526 were under 15.6
  • Revitalisation: Efforts include the tourism DMO,28 Geopark-certified products (numbered up to No. 48),35 and the "food town" project built around the high school.27 A 2021 rental market hall, MIKASA Pocket Marché COCOCHI, sits beside the restaurant.36 The city also offers disused dam tunnels at New Katsurazawa Dam for businesses to age food and drink.37

Local specialties
Specialty Category Details & where to get it
Mikasa Melon (三笠メロン) Fruit A red-fleshed melon of the I.K type, bred through city-commissioned trials in 1969 and branded from 1974.17 Geopark product No. 2. Sold at Aeon Supercenter Mikasa (Okayama 1059-1).34 Furusato nozei gifts also include Rupia Red, Mashū Red and the autumn melon Okurihime.17
Natsu no Megami (夏の女神) Fruit A black-skinned, almost seedless, very sweet watermelon from the Tomita Hiroyuki farm in Ōsato. It is sold only in Mikasa, for example at Nōka no Mise in the Michi-no-Eki.38
Kuro-sango cucumber (黒さんご胡瓜) Vegetable An old Mikasa variety, now grown by only a few farms. It is dark green, warty and very crisp (Geopark product No. 9).39
Mikasa onions (三笠たまねぎ) Vegetable The city's largest crop by weight: 7,240 t in 2024.18
Sekitan zangi (石炭ざんぎ) Local dish "Coal" fried chicken, made jet-black with squid ink.40 It is seasoned with Mikasa chicken sauce, apple juice, onion, garlic and wild leek (Geopark product No. 4).41 Served at Kiiroi Kuruma in the Michi-no-Eki.40
Nanko (なんこ) Local dish Horse intestines stewed in miso, a coal-town dish. It began with pit ponies that had finished hauling coal underground (Geopark product No. 22). Made by Nakamura Sengyoten, Saiwai-chō 7-5.42 The tourism site calls it Mikasa's "soul food."43
Horumon nabe and other diner dishes Local dish The city's own restaurant list includes: horumon (offal) hotpot set meal at Manpuku Shokudō; "doro" ramen with zangi at Darumaya in the Michi-no-Eki; aigamo (duck) hotpot at Yunomoto Onsen; Taiko set meal at Taiko no Yu; jumbo zangi set at Takashimaya; zaru soba at Sarashina Shokudō, in a Taishō-era building.4424
Ammonite Wine (アンモナイトワイン) Wine Mikasa wine in red, white and rosé. Each label shows a different local ammonite, explained on the back label (Geopark product No. 11; formerly "Mikasa Wine").45
Yamazaki Winery / Takizawa Winery Wine Estate wineries on the slopes of Tappuyama.2046 Takizawa began clearing land on a south-facing slope in the Tappu district in 2004 and grows Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay.46 Its shop is at Kawauchi 841-24.47
MIKASA SAISON Craft beer The tourism association's own saison-style beer, with citrus and white-grape hop aromas.48
Miwa no Sato apple juice (みわの里) Juice Made only from apples grown in the Miwa district, by the Itō orchard. Also sold as jam (Geopark product No. 7). Available at the Michi-no-Eki and ESSOR Store.49
Umeboshi and plum products Preserves Pickled plums sold at the tourism association counter in the Michi-no-Eki.3 Japanese Wikipedia lists an umeboshi and a plum wine made from the plums of the Mikasa Asuka Ume no Mori grove,4 which has about 10,600 trees.1
Railway Village Cream Sandwich (三笠鉄道村クリームサンド) Sweets Milk-cream wafers printed with steam locomotives. Sold at the Railway Memorial Museum and the Michi-no-Eki.50
Kitakaze no Tabibito (北風の旅人) Sweets A confection that won a Monde Selection gold award. Sold at the Michi-no-Eki.40
Geopark goods Various Other certified products include Mikasa no Megumi vegetable seasonings (tomato, miso, habanero), soy-milk soft-serve, ammonite melon bread, "Gorogoro coal" cookies, coal candy, strata pound cake, Mikasa rice and Ezo deer curry.35 Wild-leek salt and habanero salt are sold at the tourism association and ESSOR Store.51
Furusato nozei gifts (ふるさと納税) Gifts More than 200 items, including melons, watermelons, rice and products developed by Mikasa High School students.52

Culture & festivals
Event When Highlights
Mikasa Ume Matsuri (みかさ梅まつり) Mid-May Plum blossom at Mikasa Asuka Ume no Mori (三笠あすか梅の杜).53
Tanzan Matsuri (炭山祭り) May Festival of Ikushunbetsu Shrine, founded to pray for safety in the mines.24
Spring / summer / autumn Railway Village festivals (三笠鉄道村まつり) Seasonal (autumn 2026: 3–4 Oct) Stage shows, bingo, S-304 cab rides (¥3,000, 12 groups), whistle-blowing in the engine shed, stamp rally.54
MIKASA WINE DAYS Late July (2026: 25 July) Eight Hokkaido wineries pour at the Michi-no-Eki. There are shuttle buses to Yamazaki and Takizawa wineries, cork-pulling and watermelon-eating contests. Entry is free.55
Mikasa Hokkai Bon Odori (三笠北海盆おどり) 13–15 August (25th edition in 2026) Bon dancing in Mikasa Chūō Park around a reconstructed 8 m yagura tower, as big as those of the mining days.481653 Japanese Wikipedia also lists fireworks and a national Hokkai Bon Uta singing contest in July.4
OUTDOOR WORLD Early September (2026: 5–6 Sept) Outdoor gear market, hands-on activities, food and live music at Mikasa Yuen.56
Mikasa Festival (三笠祭り) September Ichikishiri Shrine festival.4
Mikasa Wine, Sanma & Gourmet Festival (三笠ワインとサンマ＆グルメの祭典) Early October (2026: 3 Oct) Replaces the old Katsurazawa autumn-leaf festival and moves it to Chūō Park. Sorachi wine, grilled Pacific saury, a jumbo ring toss, a two-person lumberjack saw race and a vegetable-stuffing sale.57
Mikasa Chibikko Yuki Matsuri (みかさちびっこ雪まつり) February Children's snow festival.4
  • Hokkai Bon Uta: Mines closed for Obon in mid-August, so bon dancing was a big event. The song the miners sang, "Beccho-bushi" (べっちょ節), became the "Hokkai Bon Uta" now heard at bon dances across Hokkaido.16 Hokkaido Heritage (北海道遺産) lists Sorachi's mine buildings, company housing and bon dancing together as "Sorachi coal-mine facilities and way of life."58
  • Mining customs: Miners had a "tomoko" (友子) system of sworn bosses and apprentices. The bosses' graves, put up by their apprentices, can still be seen.24
  • Shrines: Ichikishiri Shrine (市来知神社) began as a small shrine in 1882. Its grounds hold a monument to the prison's first warden.16 Ikushunbetsu Shrine (幾春別神社) was moved to its present site in 1898, with the president of the Hokkaido Colliery and Railway Company (北海道炭礦鉄道, Hokutan) among its donors.24 Only the site of Horonai Shrine (from 1880) remains. Prisoners were given the day off for its May mine festival.14
  • Arts: The city arts centre "ciel" opened in 2020.4 Installation artist Tadashi Kawamata was born in Mikasa.59

Ainu heritage

Little Ainu history is recorded for Mikasa itself, and the sources consulted mention no Ainu cultural facility in the city. Ainu culture survives mainly in place names: Ichikishiri (bear footprints), Tappu (round-topped hill) and Ikushunbetsu ("the river over there").162021 The name Ikushunbetsu reflects the view of Ainu living downstream at Poromoi (Horomui), which suggests the river valleys were travel and hunting grounds rather than a large settlement.21 Visitors wanting to learn more about Ainu culture usually go to Upopoy in Shiraoi.

Sister & friendship cities
  • Zigong (自貢市), Sichuan Province, China: A partnership (提携) formed in 1990, after the two cities worked together on the "Chinese Dinosaurs and Mikasa Ammonites" exhibition at the City Museum. This comes from Japanese Wikipedia and was not confirmed on the city's website.4
  • No domestic sister city was found.

Notable people
  • Fumiyo Kohinata (小日向文世): Actor, born in Mikasa.82
  • Tadashi Kawamata (川俣正): Installation artist, born in Mikasa.59
  • Bin Konno (今野敏): Crime novelist, born in Mikasa.83
  • Mikasayama Mamoru (三笠山護): Former sumo wrestler.4

Sources

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

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