Mori 森町

• Ikameshi (いかめし): squid stuffed with a mix of glutinous and ordinary rice and simmered in a soy-based broth. The Mori Station bento vendor created it in 1941 to save rice during wartime rationing. It became nationally famous through the Keio Department Store ekiben fair, first held in 1966, where it was the top seller by the fair's second edition.¹⁰ Ikameshi Abe Shoten (いかめし阿部商店) still makes it in town.¹¹
• Scallops (ホタテ): in 2023 the town landed 16,106 t of scallops worth about ¥6.35 billion. That is roughly 71% of the town's total catch value.¹²
• Hokkaido Komagatake (北海道駒ヶ岳): an active volcano with two distinctive peaks. The town surrounds about 270 degrees of it.¹³
• Cherry blossoms: the parks beside the Michi-no-Eki hold about 500 cherry trees of 20 varieties, including local varieties found only in Mori.¹⁴ The Morimachi Sakura Matsuri (もりまち桜まつり) is held in Aobagaoka Park each spring, starting on 3 May.¹⁵¹⁶
• Washinoki Site (鷲ノ木遺跡): the largest Jomon stone circle in Hokkaido, about 4,000 years old. It is a related property of the "Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan" World Heritage listing.¹⁷
• Boshin War landing: in 1868 Enomoto Takeaki's fleet landed at Washinoki. This landing began the Battle of Hakodate.¹⁸
• Birthplace of Japanese frozen food: Japan's first full-scale freezing plant opened in Mori in 1920.¹⁹
• Geothermal power and hot-spring country: the Mori Geothermal Power Station and Nigorikawa Onsen share the Nigorikawa caldera.²⁰²¹

Nature & scenery

• Hokkaido Komagatake: the Akaigawa trailhead has car access to a parking area at the 6th station, about 3 km from JR Akaigawa Station. Climbing is allowed only from 1 June to 31 October, between 9:00 and 15:00, and climbers must file an entry form. Only the Akaigawa trail is open, and only as far as the Uma-no-se (馬ノ背) ridge; the crater area is closed. The season dates on the town page are from 2019, so check the current season before going.¹³ Japanese Wikipedia puts Uma-no-se at about 900 m.²³

• Torisaki Hakkei (鳥崎八景): eight scenic spots in the Torisaki River gorge, set in native forest about 4–12 km upstream from the river mouth. The road runs inland from Route 5. The spots are:⁴⁵

  • Tori-jigoku (鳥地獄), a carbon-dioxide vent where wild birds once suffocated
  • the Byōbu-gake cliffs (屏風崖), about 100 m high and about 2 km long
  • Futami-ga-taki falls (二見ヶ滝)
  • the Shishi-hazama rocks (獅子狭間)
  • Nijikake-iwa (虹懸巌), a rock where rainbows sometimes form
  • Komagatake Dam (駒ケ岳ダム)
  • the Shin-Torisaki Bridge (新鳥崎大橋)
  • the 10 m Kami-ōtaki falls (上大滝)

  The gorge is best known for autumn foliage. It has a multipurpose area for resting and camping. The road near Nijikake-iwa is closed to vehicles because of rockfall, and brown bears are sighted in the gorge every year.⁴⁵

• Oniushi Park (オニウシ公園) and Aobagaoka Park (青葉ヶ丘公園): these adjoining parks are beside Michi-no-Eki YOU・遊・もり. Oniushi Park was begun in 1968 and completed in 1983. The parks hold about 500 cherry trees of 20 varieties, including Somei Yoshino, Chishima-zakura and the local Horii-hizakura and Komami-zakura.¹⁴ Some 130 chestnut trees more than 200 years old grow in Aobagaoka Park.²² A white double-flowered late cherry, provisionally named "Oniushi Suishō", was recently identified here as a new variety.²⁸

• Sunazaki coast (砂崎海岸) and lighthouse (砂崎灯台), Sawara: Japanese Wikipedia lists these, along with a migratory-bird viewing point, among Sawara's sights.⁷

• Sawara Flower Road (さわらフラワーロード): a 4 km planted strip along Route 278. Double-flowered cherries bloom in spring,⁸ followed by marigolds, salvia and lavender from June to October. Visitors may pick the lavender.³⁸

Onsen

• Nigorikawa Onsen (濁川温泉): a small rural hot-spring area in the Nigorikawa caldera with a handful of bathing facilities. The springs are chloride and bicarbonate types, 40–80 °C at the source. The springs were known in the Edo period, and development formally began with a petition to the shogunate in 1807. It is about 20 minutes by taxi from Mori Station, via Route 5 and Hokkaido Route 778.²¹

Museums & heritage

• Washinoki Site (鷲ノ木遺跡), Washinoki-chō: the stone circle measures 36.9 × 33.8 m and is made of 602 stones set in a double ring around an oval center. A pit-grave area lies next to it. It is open only on announced viewing days.¹⁷⁴³
• Enomoto Army Washinoki Landing Site (榎本軍鷲ノ木上陸跡地): the coast where the Battle of Hakodate began.¹⁸
• Herring memorial (鯡供養塔), Nambu Sawara outpost ruins (東蝦夷地南部藩砂原陣屋跡) and the 1920 freezing machinery (冷凍機械).²⁴²⁵¹⁹
• Archaeological Excavation Office: free exhibits, including material from the Washinoki site.⁴⁴

Outdoor & seasonal activities

• Pokémon manhole cover (ポケふた): a Poké Lid showing Alolan Vulpix (アローラロコン) and Inkay (マーイーカ) is outside the Chamber of Commerce in front of Mori Station.⁴⁶
• Oniushi Park walking loop: a 1.87 km path (April–October) that becomes a cross-country ski course in winter.¹⁴

Food experiences

• Ikameshi: buy it from the maker, Ikameshi Abe Shoten, or from the Michi-no-Eki.¹¹¹⁶
• Rakuichi Rakuza market days: fresh local seafood and produce.¹⁵
• Tsudōru Plaza Sawara: blueberry soft-serve and scallop rice. Ingredients bought here can be grilled at the barbecue area in the nearby Yasuragi Plaza. The only charge is ¥300 per smokeless grill, and bringing your own food is free.³⁸⁴⁷

YOU・遊・もり (道の駅YOU・遊・もり)

• Location: 326-18 Aza Kamidai-chō, Mori-machi, Kayabe-gun (茅部郡森町字上台町326-18), on National Route 5.¹⁶ It connects directly to Oniushi Park⁴⁷ and is about 2 km from Mori IC on the Doō Expressway.⁴⁸

• Hours: 9:00–17:30 (21 March–20 October) and 9:00–17:00 (21 October–20 March). Closed from the afternoon of 30 December to 3 January. As of September 2026; check before visiting.¹⁶

• Shops & products: the ground-floor shop sells ikameshi, which originated in Mori, along with delicacies (珍味) and local specialties.⁴⁷ The official listing also mentions Tartary buckwheat tea (韃靼そば茶).¹⁶ Featured souvenirs are "元祖森名物 いかめし", Kuririn Fromage and Sakura Hitohira,¹⁶ plus the pumpkin cookies from Shizuku Bakery.³⁹ There is also a farm-direct produce corner.¹⁶

• Food: the official Hokkaido Michi-no-Eki listing still shows its gourmet section as "in preparation". Treat the station as a shop and viewpoint, not a restaurant stop.¹⁶

• Facilities: parking for 90 cars and 13 large vehicles. Japanese Wikipedia also lists 3 accessible spaces, and says some of the toilets can be used 24 hours a day.⁴⁸ Other facilities:¹⁶

  • toilets with warm-water bidet seats (the bidet seats are not available 24 hours), and an accessible toilet
  • accessibility features
  • Wi-Fi
  • cashless payment (other than credit cards)
  • a rooftop observation lounge
  • an adjoining park

  The lounge looks out over Komagatake, Mt. Yōtei and Uchiura Bay.¹⁶ The official listing does not mention EV charging.

• Notes: registered 3 August 1995, as No. 23 on the Hokkaido list. The stamp is available during opening hours.¹⁶

Tsudōru Plaza Sawara (道の駅つど～る・プラザ・さわら)

• Location: 358-1 Sawara 2-chōme, Mori-machi, Kayabe-gun (茅部郡森町字砂原2丁目358番地1), on National Route 278 in the Sawara district.³⁸ It is roughly at the midpoint of the Sawara Flower Road. The 4th-floor observation room looks across the bay to Muroran and the Hakuchō Bridge, and binoculars give a close view of Komagatake.⁴⁷

• Hours: 9:00–17:00 in April–June and November–December. 9:00–16:00 in July–October, shortened because the building has no air conditioning, and 9:00–16:00 in January–March. Closed from the afternoon of 30 December to 5 January. As of September 2026; check before visiting.³⁸

• Shops & products:³⁸

  • blueberry wine and white-peach (シロモモ) wine
  • jams
  • processed seafood made from local catches
  • squid shiokara
  • a farm-direct corner

• Food:³⁸

  • blueberry soft-serve, sold April–November (the town's page says summer only⁴⁷)
  • Sawara scallop rice (さわらの帆立めし), sold all year and limited to 40 a day
  • mixed kamaboko

  On Sundays from April to October the station also holds a food-stall village (屋台村) every week, and an open-air market (青空市) for fresh fish once a month. Ask the station for the market dates.³⁸

• Facilities: parking for 40 cars and 3 large vehicles. The station also has:³⁸

  • toilets, including an accessible toilet
  • accessibility features
  • a shop
  • an EV charger
  • Wi-Fi
  • credit-card and cashless payment
  • an observation deck

  Barbecue is available in the neighboring Yasuragi Plaza (やすらぎプラザ).⁴⁷

• Notes: registered 27 August 1999, as No. 62 on the Hokkaido list. The stamp is available during opening hours. The official listing describes it as a station that introduces visitors to Sawara's local industries and to ways of cooking the area's seafood and mountain produce.³⁸

• Rail: JR Hakodate Main Line to Mori Station (森駅), which opened in 1903. Limited Express Hokuto trains stop here.²⁷ The town office gives about 60 minutes from Hakodate and about 180 minutes from Sapporo.⁴⁹ Other stations in the town are Akaigawa, Komagatake and Ishikura on the main line, and Oshima-Numajiri, Oshima-Sawara, Kakema, Oshirauchi and Higashi-Mori on the Sawara Branch. The Sawara Branch leaves the main line at Ōnuma and follows the coast back to Mori.¹²⁹
• Road: National Route 5 runs from Hakodate through the town center, and Route 278 follows the Sawara coast.¹ On the Doō Expressway (E5), Mori IC (No. 7) lies between Ōnuma-Kōen IC and Otoshibe IC.³¹ By car, the town office gives about 60 minutes from Hakodate and about 240 minutes from Sapporo.⁴⁹
• Bus: local routes are run by Hakodate Bus (函館バス), which links Mori with Hakodate, Nanae, Yakumo and Oshamambe. The Kōsoku Hakodate (高速はこだて号) express bus runs between Mori and Sapporo, and the town runs its own community bus, Morikkuru (もりっくる).¹ The express bus stops at "Morimachi" (森町), by Michi-no-Eki YOU・遊・もり. Southbound buses only let passengers off there, and northbound buses only pick up.⁴⁸
• Air: the nearest airport is Hakodate Airport. It is about 40 minutes by air from New Chitose, 80 minutes from Tokyo Haneda and 100 minutes from Osaka.⁴⁹

• Timing: May, the cherry-blossom month, is the busiest, with more than 200,000 visitors in FY2023.³⁵ For autumn color, visit the Torisaki gorge.⁴⁵ Komagatake is open for climbing only from June to October.¹³
• Plan ahead for Washinoki: the stone circle is open only on announced viewing days, so check the town website.⁴³ For the rest of the year, the excavation office exhibits are the best substitute.⁴⁴
• Tourist information: the town publishes a digital tourist brochure in Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese. It asks visitors to contact each provider in advance before booking any experience listed in it.⁵⁰
• Summer afternoons in Sawara: Tsudōru Plaza Sawara closes at 16:00 from July to October.³⁸
• Winter: snow has reached 89 cm deep in recent winters, and temperatures fall below −15 °C.⁴ Use winter tires and allow extra time on Routes 5 and 278.
• Wildlife and volcano: brown bears are sighted in the Torisaki gorge every year. The town asks visitors to carry something that makes noise, wear conspicuous clothing and take all rubbish home.⁴⁵ Komagatake is an active volcano, so obey any entry restrictions, and come down at once if you hear a siren.¹³²³