Ozora 大空町

• Memanbetsu Airport (女満別空港): the main air gateway to eastern Okhotsk and Shiretoko. It is 5 minutes by car from the town center⁹ and handled 845,019 passengers in FY2025 (preliminary figure)¹⁰.
• Higashimokoto Shibazakura Park (ひがしもこと芝桜公園): about 100,000 m² of moss phlox on a steep hill. It is one of the largest plantings in Japan and blooms from mid- to late May¹¹¹². A local farmer, Nakabachi Sueyoshi (中鉢末吉), planted most of it by hand, starting in 1977¹³.
• Lake Abashiri, Memanbetsu lakeside (網走湖女満別湖畔): on the Hokkaido Scenic 100 list. People come for shijimi-clam picking and fireworks over the water in summer, and for ice fishing for smelt in winter¹⁴.
• Märchen Hill (メルヘンの丘): a ridge of farmland with seven larch trees, and a favorite with photographers⁹¹². Akira Kurosawa filmed part of Dreams (夢) here¹⁵.
• Higashimokoto cheese: made in the village since 1980, and sold since 1996 at the Higashimokoto Nyurakukan (ひがしもこと乳酪館) dairy hall¹⁶.
• Big upland farms: wheat, potatoes, sugar beet (174,989 t in FY2025) and beans¹⁰, plus what the town calls Japan's easternmost rice⁶.
• Memanbetsu wetland plant community (女満別湿生植物群落): a National Natural Monument, where skunk cabbage carpets a swamp forest in spring¹⁷¹⁸.

Nature & scenery

• Märchen Hill (メルヘンの丘), Memanbetsu Shōwa: seven larches on a ridge beside Route 39. The fields around them change with the season, from green to white potato flowers to golden wheat. There is a Viewpoint Parking area, and sunset is the classic photo¹²⁴⁰⁵⁷.
• Asahigaoka Park (朝日ヶ丘公園), Memanbetsu Asahi 44-2: a 360° view over Lake Abashiri to Mt. Shari and the Shiretoko range. The observatory is open 1 May–31 October, and on clear nights you can see the Milky Way. The "Hill of Auvers", a Dreams location, is about 3 minutes away by car⁵⁸. The park also has a 36-hole park-golf course and the stable of Kurosawa's horse "Yume" (夢号)⁴⁰.
• Ozora Eight Views (大空八景): eight viewpoints listed by the tourism association. They include planes flying over the sunflower field by the airport (in bloom for only about 2 weeks), the Sumiyoshi heights and the Mt. Mokoto trailhead¹².
• Memanbetsu lakeside: skunk cabbage in spring. In summer there are grey herons and kingfishers, and canoes, yachts and SUP boards on the water. Swans stop over in late autumn¹⁴⁹.
• Higashimokoto Shibazakura Park (東藻琴末広393): about 8 km from central Higashimokoto. It has an 820 m go-kart track, a trout fishing pond and a sightseeing car to the upper viewpoint¹¹. The town's page says pets are not allowed¹¹, but in 2026 the park tried letting them in during the bloom, on conditions. From 2026 the park is open 9:00–17:00 during the bloom⁵⁹.

Onsen

• Yumoto Hotel Sansui "Bihada no Yu" (湯元ホテル山水 美肌の湯): an alkaline spring piped straight from the source, with outdoor baths and a sauna. Open 11:00–22:00 every day, a 5-minute walk from JR Memanbetsu⁶⁰.
• Himawari Onsen (ひまわり温泉): a 51 °C spring. It reopened on 2 May 2026 with a new sauna and cold plunge. Open 11:00–22:00, closed the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays; adults ¥500⁶¹.
• Fureai Center Phlox (ふれあいセンターフロックス), Higashimokoto: a sodium chloride spring with a sauna. Open 11:00–22:00, closed Thursdays; adults ¥500⁶².
• Shibazakura no Yu (芝桜の湯): a 59.8 °C spring in the park, with a free foot bath⁶³. From 2026 only the foot bath opens during the bloom⁵⁹. The town lists summer bathing hours of 1 July–30 September, 16:00–20:00, so check before going⁶³. Marumo Onsen (マルモ温泉) is also in Higashimokoto⁹.

Museums & heritage

• Higashimokoto Nyurakukan (ひがしもこと乳酪館), Higashimokoto 409-1: a viewing corridor over the cheese room, plus a cheese-history room and a tasting and sales corner. Entry is free. Open 9:00–17:30. Closed Mondays from May to October, and Mondays and Tuesdays from November to April⁶⁴. About 40 cowbells imported from Switzerland are on display³⁸.

Outdoor & seasonal activities

• Mt. Mokoto: drive to the 6th-station trailhead off Prefectural Road 102. From there it is about 2 km, or roughly 1 hour, to a summit above Lake Kussharo, past the Ginreisui spring (銀嶺水)²⁸. The 2026 town guidebook instead says you can drive as far as the 8th station, where the spring is, so check locally⁹. The 25 km Kussharo Caldera Trail follows the caldera rim through Tsubetsu, Bihoro and Ozora. It is part of the 410 km Hokkaido East Trail⁹.
• Camping: the Memanbetsu Lakeside Park Campground is open July–August. It costs ¥300 per adult, has room for 300 tents and takes no bookings⁶⁵. The Shibazakura Park campground runs July–September and has 7–8-person bungalows¹¹.
• Winter: ice fishing for wakasagi on Lake Abashiri, with rod sets for rent at ¥600⁵². Some winters there has been a free sledding hill at Märchen no Oka⁶⁶.
• Food experiences: butter- and ice-cream-making at the Nyurakukan (book a week ahead)³⁸. Try the buta-shabu nagaimo-don at more than one restaurant, because each makes its own sauce³⁹.

Märchen no Oka Memanbetsu (道の駅メルヘンの丘めまんべつ)

• Location: Memanbetsu Shōwa 96-1, beside National Route 39 between Kitami and Abashiri. It is in the Märchen Hill area, with views of Lake Abashiri⁴⁰, and about 10 minutes by car from Memanbetsu Airport⁹.
• Hours: 9:00–18:00. Closed 30 December–5 January. The Märchen Pit food hall next door is open 9:00–17:30, and each stall keeps its own hours and days off (as of September 2026 — check before visiting)⁴⁰⁶⁷.
• Shops & products: the antenna shop Honoka (ほのか) sells Manten miso, Onitaiji tomato juice, carrot, shiso and shijimi drinks, canned simmered beans, sekihan kits, Menko-ine sake, milk and cheese, fresh vegetables, and nagaimo dumplings. Its own products include Shiji-bi gohan no moto (¥525) and a meat sauce made with local Sakura pork (¥400)⁴⁰.
• Food: Honoka serves the Sakura-buta-don with shijimi miso soup, which is not sold anywhere else⁴⁰. The Märchen Pit food court (メルヘンぴっと) has shijimi ramen at Winds, mixed-flavor and seasonal soft-serve, takoyaki and imo-mochi at Milky Farm, and hamburg steak, pasta and a three-cheese Ozora pizza with siphon coffee at the café Gogo (午後)⁴¹. A fourth outlet, Ozora@Kitchen (大空@きっちん), opens on irregular days⁶⁷.
• Facilities: parking for 86 cars and 4 large vehicles⁴⁰, plus 10 accessible spaces according to Wikipedia⁶⁸. Bidet (washlet) toilets, accessible toilets and baby-changing tables. Wikipedia says the toilets are open 24 hours⁶⁸. Also Wi-Fi, a tourist information desk, farm-direct sales, credit cards and other cashless payment, a dog run (summer only) and a lawn park⁴⁰. The Märchen Culture Center (opened April 2001) has food-processing training rooms and an indoor plaza⁴⁰. The Okhotsk Ozora Tourism Association is based in Märchen Pit and rents bear spray by reservation⁶⁹. No EV charger is listed on the official page.
• Notes: registered on 8 August 2003 as Hokkaido station No. 79. The stamp is available during opening hours only⁴⁰. Honoka also takes furusato nozei donations paid in person³⁵.

Nonky Land Higashimokoto (道の駅ノンキーランド ひがしもこと)

• Location: Higashimokoto 100, at the junction of National Route 334 and Prefectural Road 102 (Abashiri–Kawayu line). It is on the tourist route to Shiretoko and about 8 km from Shibazakura Park⁴³.
• Hours: station and shop 9:00–18:00. Restaurant 11:00–15:00 (last order 14:00) and 17:00–20:00 (last order 19:00). Closed 31 December–5 January. In summer 2025 the shop opened from 8:00 during school holidays (as of September 2026 — check before visiting)⁴³.
• Shops & products: the shop Aeru (あえ〜る) sells Ozora specialties and souvenirs from eastern Hokkaido⁴³. The town guidebook says cheese, soft-serve and sweets sell especially well⁹. In June 2026 the station announced a large delivery of spring-dug nagaimo⁴³.
• Food: Restaurant Kururink (レストランくるりんく) cooks with local ingredients⁴³. The official site does not yet list a signature menu.
• Facilities: parking for 45 cars and 3 large vehicles. Toilets with washlets, accessible toilets and an ostomate toilet, plus Wi-Fi, information, credit cards and a gas station⁴³. Hotel Higashimokoto (ホテルひがしもこと) is in the same building, with 18 Western-style rooms, 2 Japanese-style rooms and 1 barrier-free room, sleeping up to 66. There is also a multipurpose hall⁴³. Wikipedia says only some of the toilets are open 24 hours²⁵.
• Notes: registered on 21 April 2017 as No. 118⁴³, and opened on 1 September 2017²⁵. The name plays on nonki (のん気, "easygoing") and "non-key", meaning a heart left unlocked⁴³. It also takes furusato nozei donations on the spot³⁵.

• Air: Memanbetsu Airport (MMB) is 5 minutes from central Memanbetsu. Flights take about 45 minutes from Sapporo (New Chitose or Okadama) and 1 hour 40 minutes from Tokyo Haneda. There are also seasonal flights from Chūbu, Kansai and Itami⁹¹⁰. JAL, ANA, AIRDO and Peach fly here⁷⁰.
• Rail: JR Sekihoku Main Line (石北本線), with stations at Memanbetsu (女満別駅) and Nishi-Memanbetsu (西女満別駅)¹⁹. The Limited Express Okhotsk takes about 5 hours 30 minutes from Sapporo, and the Taisetsu about 3 hours 30 minutes from Asahikawa. Each runs about two round trips a day, so check the current JR Hokkaido timetable⁷⁰.
• Bus: the Dreamint Okhotsk highway bus (ドリーミントオホーツク号) runs Sapporo–Kitami–Memanbetsu–Abashiri, taking about 5 hours 30 minutes, with nine round trips a day. The Eagle Liner (イーグルライナー) runs Sapporo–Higashimokoto–Shiretoko once a day each way (reservations required)⁷⁰. Airport buses connect with Abashiri and Kitami¹⁹. A local bus from Abashiri Station reaches Higashimokoto in about 40 minutes. No regular bus goes to Shibazakura Park, so take a taxi for the last 10 minutes or so. During the bloom (9–24 May in 2026) a free shuttle ran from Higashimokoto for passengers of that bus, by reservation the day before⁷¹.
• Road: National Route 39 (Kitami–Abashiri) and the Memanbetsu Airport IC on the Hokkaido Odan Expressway, Abashiri Line (Bihoro Bypass), which opened in 2005. National Route 334 runs through Higashimokoto toward Shiretoko, and Prefectural Road 102 climbs past Mt. Mokoto toward Kawayu¹⁹. By car it is about 5 hours from Sapporo and 3 hours from Asahikawa⁹.
• Nearby (by car from the airport): the Abashiri Prison Museum and the Aurora drift-ice cruise pier in Abashiri take 22–30 minutes. Bihoro Pass in Bihoro takes about 33 minutes, Kaminoko Pond in Kiyosato about 1 hour 10 minutes, and Shiretoko Five Lakes in Shari about 1 hour 50 minutes⁹.

• When to go: skunk cabbage from late April to early May¹⁸. Moss phlox from mid- to late May, when the park charges admission¹¹. The summer festival and fireworks in early August (1 August in 2026)⁴⁹. Nonky Land Festival in late August⁵⁰. Ice fishing from January⁵².
• Tourist information: the Okhotsk Ozora Tourism Association (tel. 0152-74-4323) is in Märchen Pit⁶⁷. A car helps. No regular bus goes to Shibazakura Park, apart from a reservation-only shuttle during the bloom⁷¹.
• Brown bears: Mt. Mokoto, the Kussharo Caldera Trail and the forests around them are bear country. The tourism association rents bear spray by reservation from 8:45 to 17:30⁶⁹.
• Lake rules: picking shijimi outside the official times and places counts as poaching⁴⁸. Ice fishing is called off when a north wind of 5 m/s or more is forecast, or when drifting snow could trap cars⁵². During the summer festival, jet skis and drones are banned at the lakeside and roads close from 17:30⁴⁹.
• Farmland: the famous hill views are working fields, so stay on the roads and in the parking areas.