Shiribeshi 後志総合振興局

Municipalities are listed in the official code order. Population figures are from the 2020 Census as given in each municipal entry; they match the Hokkaido Government's census table⁸.

Shiribeshi lies in southwestern Hokkaido. The Sea of Japan borders it to the north and west. Ishikari lies to the east, and Iburi, Oshima and Hiyama to the south⁷.

• Coast. The coastline runs about 305 km. Otaru has the longest stretch (68.6 km), followed by Shakotan (50.5 km) and Shimamaki (47.9 km); Kyowa has just 3.4 km³³. The Shakotan Peninsula's coast is lined with sea stacks and sheer cliffs³⁴.
• Mountains. Mount Yōtei, the "Ezo Fuji", is a 1,898 m stratovolcano and the highest peak in southwestern Hokkaido³⁵. Yōtei, the Niseko range and the Shakotan Peninsula were all shaped by volcanic activity³⁴. Yōtei's alpine flora, which spans Kutchan, Kyogoku, Kimobetsu, Makkari and Niseko, has been a national Natural Monument since 3 March 1921³⁶.
• Rivers. The Shiribetsu River, the longest in Shiribeshi, flows from the Yōtei foothills to the Sea of Japan. The Shubuto and Yoichi rivers are known for ayu (sweetfish)³⁴.
• Northern limit of beech. Native beech (buna) reaches its northern limit around the Kuromatsunai lowland in southern Shiribeshi, including the Utasai forest in Kuromatsunai³⁴. The Utasai stand has been a national Natural Monument since 22 October 1928¹⁸.
• Forests. Forest covers about 333,000 ha, 6% of Hokkaido's forest. National forest makes up 49% of it. Most is natural forest; plantations, mainly larch and Sakhalin fir, are about 20%³⁷.
• Natural parks. Three parks overlap the subprefecture³¹:

Climate. The subprefecture describes three zones⁷:

• North Shiribeshi, including Otaru, is fairly mild with relatively little snow.
• The Yōtei foothills around Kutchan get Hokkaido's earliest first snows and some of its deepest snow.
• The coast south of the Shakotan Peninsula faces the winter monsoon head-on, with strong winds and blowing snow.

JMA normals show the contrast:

Suttsu is also the windiest of the three full stations, with a mean wind speed of 4.2 m/s against 2.7 m/s at Otaru and 3.1 m/s at Kutchan⁴¹³⁹⁴⁰. Kutchan's records include −35.7 °C (27 January 1945), 312 cm of lying snow (25 March 1970) and 2,019 cm of snowfall in the winter of 1969–70⁴³.

• Ancient legend. The Nihon Shoki says that in 659 Abe no Hirafu campaigned against the Emishi and set up a district governor at "Shiribeshi" (後方羊蹄)⁴⁴. Where that was is unknown; one theory places it in Yoichi¹¹.
• Prehistory. The Temiya Cave carvings in Otaru were found in 1866 and became a National Historic Site in 1921⁴⁵. Fugoppe Cave in Yoichi has more than 800 carvings from the Epi-Jōmon period, about 2,000–1,500 years ago⁴⁶.
• Ainu country and the Matsumae trading posts.
  • Koshamain's War of 1457 spread to the coast west of Yoichi¹¹.
  • In the Edo period the Matsumae domain divided the coast into trading posts (basho) where its retainers and contract merchants traded with the Ainu. Shimakomaki, Suttsu, Otasutsu, Isoya, Iwanai, Furuu, Shakotan, Bikuni, Furubira, Yoichi, Oshoro, Takashima and Otarunai later gave their names to districts¹¹.
  • After Shakushain's War of 1669, the Matsumae domain confirmed the submission of the Yoichi Ainu¹¹.
  • Matsumae barred Japanese women from going beyond Cape Kamui from 1691 (1688 in some accounts) until 1855⁴⁷¹¹.
  • Kitamae trading ships called at Suttsu, Yoichi and Otaru¹¹. The Former Shimo-Yoichi Unjōya, built in 1853 by the Yoichi post's contract merchant, is the only trading-post house still standing⁴⁸.
  • The shogunate took direct control in 1807, handed the coast back to Matsumae in 1821 and took it again in 1855, with the Tsugaru and Shōnai domains on guard¹¹.
• A province and its districts (1869–1882).
  • On 20 September 1869 (15 August by the old calendar) Shiribeshi Province was created with 17 districts. The name recalls the Nihon Shoki's 後方羊蹄 and the Ainu name of the Shiribetsu River, sir-pet ("mountain river"); Matsuura Takeshirō proposed it¹¹.
  • The 1872 household count found 19,098 people, second in Hokkaido only to Oshima Province¹¹.
  • District offices opened at Otaru, Furubira, Iwanai and Suttsu in 1879. The railway from Otaru (Temiya) to Sapporo opened in 1880⁴⁴.
  • When the Kaitakushi was abolished in 1882, the Suttsu district office went to Hakodate Prefecture and the others to Sapporo Prefecture. The Hokkaido Government Office replaced the three prefectures in 1886⁴⁴.
• Three subprefectures become one (1897–1910).
  • Subprefectures were set up at Suttsu, Iwanai and Otaru in 1897⁴⁴.
  • In 1899 Kutchan Village, then in Abuta District, was moved from Muroran Subprefecture to Iwanai Subprefecture⁴⁵. The Hokkaido Railway between Otaru and Hakodate opened in 1904⁴⁴.
  • On 1 March 1910 the Suttsu, Iwanai and Otaru subprefectures were abolished. Shiribeshi Subprefecture opened in Kutchan and took in the villages of Abuta District except Abuta and Benbe⁴. These included the Makkari Village of that time, which covered today's Rusutsu, Makkari and Kimobetsu, and Kaributo, today's Niseko⁴⁴⁵.
• Herring, coal and power.
  • Herring fishing built the coast's towns. Soran-bushi, now sung all over Japan, began as the work song fishermen sang while hauling in nets full of herring²⁹. The subprefecture's fisheries office still describes the region's fishing as having grown up around herring³³.
  • Shiribeshi had Hokkaido's oldest coal mine (Kayanuma, in Tomari, closed 1964) and its first hydroelectric plant (Iwanai)¹⁷.
  • The Tomari nuclear power station, Hokkaido's only one, started Unit 1 in June 1989, Unit 2 in April 1991 and Unit 3 in December 2009¹⁷.
• Parks and resorts. Shikotsu-Tōya National Park was designated in 1949, Niseko-Shakotan-Otaru Kaigan Quasi-National Park in 1963 and Kariba-Motta Prefectural Natural Park in 1972³⁸³⁴.
• The 2010 reorganization.
  • In June 2008 the Hokkaido Assembly passed an ordinance to regroup the 14 subprefectures into 9 general subprefectural bureaus with 5 branch bureaus. Local opposition and a delayed revision of the election law stopped it from taking effect in 2009. On 31 March 2009 the ordinance was amended so that both kinds of bureau remained subprefectures of equal standing⁴⁹.
  • On 1 April 2010 Shiribeshi Subprefecture became the Shiribeshi General Subprefectural Bureau (後志総合振興局)⁵⁴⁴. Its name and area did not change, and unlike some general bureaus it was given no wide-area duties for a neighboring bureau⁵.
• Recent years.
  • The Shiribeshi Expressway opened from Otaru JCT to Yoichi IC (23.4 km) in December 2018 and on to Niki (3.3 km) in March 2025²⁴.
  • Suttsu applied for a first-stage "literature survey" for a high-level nuclear-waste repository on 9 October 2020. That same day, Kamoenai's mayor accepted the national government's request for one. Both surveys began on 17 November 2020, and NUMO delivered its reports on 22 November 2024⁵⁰²⁷. The public-comment period ended in April 2025⁵⁰.
  • On 27 March 2022 Hokkaido and the towns along the line agreed to close the JR Hakodate Main Line between Oshamambe and Otaru and replace it with buses when the Hokkaido Shinkansen reaches Sapporo⁵¹.
  • On 30 July 2025 the Nuclear Regulation Authority granted Tomari Unit 3 its reactor installation-change permission⁵². Hokkaido Electric expects its new seawall to be finished in August 2027⁵³.
  • The preliminary 2025 Census showed a 7.9% fall in five years¹.

• Agriculture. Farm output was ¥44.0 billion in 2022⁵¹:

  • crops ¥34.6 billion, led by vegetables (¥16.8 billion), fruit (¥4.6 billion), rice (¥4.5 billion) and potatoes (¥4.0 billion);
  • livestock ¥9.4 billion.

  The leading municipalities were Kyowa (¥5.98 billion), Yoichi (¥5.81 billion), Niki (¥4.77 billion) and Makkari (¥4.72 billion)⁵⁴. There were 34,200 ha of farmland in 2024, including 8,500 ha of paddy⁵⁴. Farms average only about half the Hokkaido size, so growers favor high-value vegetables and fruit alongside rice and field crops⁵⁵. Among Hokkaido's subprefectures, Shiribeshi has the largest planted area of mini tomatoes, edible lily bulbs, apples, grapes and cherries; the second largest of table potatoes, daikon and watermelon; and the third largest of melons⁵⁵. Four farm co-ops cover the region: JA Yoichi, JA Kyowa, JA Shin-Otaru and JA Yōtei⁵⁵.

• Wine. In FY2022 Yoichi's 157 ha of wine-grape vineyards produced 866.2 t: 31.4% of Hokkaido's wine-grape acreage and 50.6% of its harvest. The town became Hokkaido's first wine special zone in November 2011, and its wineries grew from 2 in 2010 to 19 in 2024³². Wineries in Yoichi, Niki and Niseko are among the nine Shiribeshi businesses certified under the national sixth-industry program as of April 2023⁵⁶.

• Fisheries. In 2024 the coast landed 40,279 t (3.8% of Hokkaido, 7th of 14 subprefectures) worth ¥11.31 billion (4.0%, 6th)³³.

  • By weight: hokke (Atka mackerel) 29.0%, walleye pollock 19.2%, Pacific cod 15.4%, flatfish 7.8% and herring 5.7%.
  • By value: hokke ¥1,451 million, cod ¥1,335 million, Kita-murasaki sea urchin ¥1,141 million, sea cucumber ¥884 million and octopus ¥782 million.
  • Landings of around 100,000 t a year until about 2008 fell to about 20,000 t in 2015 and have partly recovered. In 2024 poor salmon catches were offset by good herring and pollock years³³.
  • The seven coastal co-ops had 844 members, 5.9% of Hokkaido's³³. To stabilize catches, they release salmon, herring and flatfish fry and are trying trout-salmon and sea-urchin farming⁵⁷.

• Forestry. Larch from the Yōtei area is branded "Yōtei karamatsu". A local council led by Kyogoku and the Yōtei forestry co-op gained forest certification on 1 October 2012³⁷.

• Manufacturing and commerce.

  • The 2023 Economic Structure Survey counted 396 manufacturing establishments (6.2% of Hokkaido) with 9,711 employees (5.9%) and shipments of about ¥274.6 billion (4.1%). Otaru accounts for 65% of the establishments and 79% of the shipments⁵⁶.
  • Food, drink and feed made up more than half of shipments in 2020. The three industrial areas are the Ishikari Bay New Port area, Zenibako and Iwanai⁵⁶.
  • Wholesale and retail had 2,132 establishments with ¥385.9 billion in sales in 2021. That is 1,300 fewer establishments and ¥52.2 billion less in sales than in 2007⁵⁸.

• Energy.

  • The Tomari nuclear power station has three reactors, of 579 MW, 579 MW and 912 MW. All three are shut down and have been under review against the post-Fukushima safety rules¹⁷; Unit 3 received its permission in July 2025 (see History)⁵².
  • Kyōgoku Power Station is Hokkaido's first pure pumped-storage plant. Units 1 and 2 (200 MW each) started in October 2014 and November 2015. Hokkaido Electric plans Unit 3 for FY2031²³; the subprefecture's 2025 overview gives "FY2033 or later"¹⁷.
  • Suttsu built the first wind-power plant run by any Japanese municipality¹⁷.
  • On 12 May 2023 the sea off Iwau and South Shiribeshi and off Shimamaki was named a "promising area" for bottom-fixed offshore wind. On 3 October 2023 the same waters were listed as having reached "a certain stage of preparation" for floating wind¹⁷.

• Tourism. In FY2025 Shiribeshi recorded 23.64 million tourist visits, 15.2% of Hokkaido's 155.27 million and 0.3% fewer than the year before. Of these, 7.04 million came from outside Hokkaido. Overnight stays rose 5.8% to 3.71 million guest-nights²²¹.

  • Foreign visitors spent 1,651,116 guest-nights (+22.3%), 15.9% of Hokkaido's total²²¹.
  • The largest markets were Australia (226,199 guest-nights, about 46% of all Australian guest-nights in Hokkaido), the United States (198,384), Taiwan (195,276) and Hong Kong (184,342)²²¹.

• Regional specialties. The subprefecture's municipal profiles list¹¹:

  • North Shiribeshi: sushi, kamaboko and Otaru ankake yakisoba; Yoichi whisky, wine, apples, grapes and cherries; Niki fruit, mini tomatoes and wine; Furubira tarako; Shakotan sea urchin and "Shihō" yellowtail; Akaigawa's Yamanaka milk.
  • Iwau: Iwanai tarako, dried herring and tachikama; Kyowa's "Raiden" watermelons, melons, corn and rice; Tomari's amazuke sea urchin and "Kabuto Salmon"; Kamoenai sea urchin, scallops and hokke.
  • Yōtei foothills: potatoes across the basin; Kimobetsu ageimo and asparagus; Kyogoku spring water; Makkari lily bulbs; Rusutsu miso manjū and vegetables; Niseko potatoes, cheese, craft gin and sake; Rankoshi rice.
  • South Shiribeshi: Suttsu hokke izushi, Kotobuki oysters and honey; Kuromatsunai ham, cheese and bread; Shimamaki salted sea urchin and sweet shrimp.

• Signature products with a story.

  • Nikka's Yoichi Distillery was founded by Masataka Taketsuru in 1934. It still fires its pot stills directly with coal³¹.
  • Ageimo, the fried potatoes of Nakayama Pass, were recognized as a "100-Year Food" by the Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2025⁵⁹.
  • The Fukidashi spring in Kyogoku releases about 80,000 t of Yōtei water a day at about 6.5 °C. It was named one of Japan's 100 Famous Waters in 1985 and a Hokkaido Heritage in 2001²².

Festival calendar. The subprefecture's list of main events for FY2025 runs through the year¹³. Where a 2026 date has been confirmed, it is given in brackets:

Performing arts and traditions.

• Matsumae Kagura (松前神楽) grew up in the Matsumae domain's castle rites in the 17th century and spread north with fishermen chasing herring. It became a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property on 8 March 2018, and one of its four preservation groups is in Otaru⁶⁴. The municipal entries also record performances in Suttsu, Tomari and Kamoenai.
• Soran-bushi is one of four herring-fishing work songs, together called the Seichō Nishinba Ondo (正調鰊場音頭). Shakotan calls itself the song's home²⁹; Yoichi also claims to be its birthplace³².
• Tengu fire-walking. At Furubira's Kotohira and Ebisu shrine festivals, a tengu-masked Sarutahiko leads the procession through bonfires about 3 m high, followed by the lion dancers and the mikoshi³⁰.

Heritage designations.

• Japan Heritage. "The town called Hokkaido's 'heart'" became Otaru's first Japan Heritage story of its own on 4 February 2025¹⁴.
• Hokkaido Heritage. Examples include the Fukidashi spring (2001)²² and "Shakotan Peninsula and Cape Kamui". The latter covers the herring-era bunkhouses, landing sites, fukuroma harbors, tunnels and old roads as well as the coastal scenery²⁸.
• National designations. The Former Shimo-Yoichi Unjōya⁴⁸, the Temiya Cave carvings⁴⁵, the Utasai beech forest¹⁸ and the Yōtei alpine flora³⁶.

Ainu heritage.

• Place names. About 80% of Hokkaido's municipality names come from Ainu⁶⁵. In Shiribeshi the subprefecture's own profiles trace 17 of the 20 names to Ainu words. For example, Otaru is from ota-or-nay ("river in the sandy beach"), Yoichi from yu-oci ("place with hot springs") or i-oci ("place with many snakes"), Shakotan from sak-kotan ("summer village") and Kamoenai from kamuy-nay ("beautiful stream of the gods"). The exceptions are Kyogoku and Niki, named after pioneers, and Kyowa, a name chosen at a merger¹³. The province's own name comes from sir-pet, the Shiribetsu River¹¹.
• Trade and conflict. The Edo-period trading posts were the sites of trade with the Ainu. At the Unjōya in Yoichi the post merchants ran that trade for the Matsumae domain⁴⁸. Koshamain's War (1457) and the aftermath of Shakushain's War (1669) both reached this coast¹¹.
• Sacred places and legends. Cape Kamui takes its name from kamuy ("god"). In a legend, the rock off its tip is Charenka, the daughter of an Ainu chief from Hidaka, who loved Minamoto no Yoshitsune and threw herself into the sea when he left⁴⁷. The ruins of the Charanke Chashi, an Ainu fortified site, are listed among Shimamaki's heritage sites⁶⁶.
• Iboshi Hokuto (違星北斗, 1902–1929), born in Yoichi, was an Ainu tanka poet who worked to restore the standing of the Ainu people. In 1927, drawing on interviews with elders, he disputed the claim that newly found carvings at Fugoppe were Ainu work. A monument with one of his haiku stands in front of the Yoichi Fisheries Museum⁶⁷.
• Where to learn. The Yoichi Fisheries Museum's third floor covers the Amauchiyama site and Ainu culture; it is open from April to mid-December⁶⁸. None of the 20 municipal entries lists a dedicated Ainu cultural center in Shiribeshi. The national center, Upopoy (National Ainu Museum and Park), is in Shiraoi⁶⁹.

Two Shiribeshi municipalities are among Hokkaido's biggest draws. In FY2025 Otaru had the second-most tourist visits in Hokkaido (8.35 million, after Sapporo) and Kimobetsu, home of Nakayama Pass, the seventh-most (4.10 million). In guest-nights, Otaru ranked 4th (1.23 million), Kutchan 7th (1.13 million), Niseko 13th (0.51 million) and Rusutsu 20th (0.35 million)²¹.

• Powder snow. The ski areas around Niseko Annupuri, Kiroro in Akaigawa and Rusutsu Resort are the region's winter magnets, drawing skiers from Australia, Hong Kong and many other places⁷⁰.
• Summer outdoors. Rafting and canoeing, cycling, hiking and footpaths, camping and skydiving, plus farm experiences and cherry and grape picking⁷⁰.
• Historic Otaru. The canal, stone warehouses and bank buildings of the old commercial capital¹⁴¹³.
• Whisky, wine and fruit. The Nikka distillery³¹ and the vineyards of Yoichi and Niki⁷⁰³².
• The Shakotan coast. Cape Kamui, Shimamui Coast and the "Shakotan Blue" sea²⁸¹³.
• Water and hot springs. The Fukidashi spring in Kyogoku²², and onsen from Asarigawa (Otaru) to Niseko, Rankoshi and Suttsu¹³ and the Iwanai hot springs²⁶.
• Ancient sites. Fugoppe Cave in Yoichi⁴⁶ and Temiya Cave in Otaru⁴⁵.

Suggested routes

1. Otaru to the tip of Shakotan (1–2 days, by car).
   • Start with the canal district in Otaru¹⁴. Take the Shiribeshi Expressway or Route 5 to Yoichi for the Nikka distillery³¹, the Space Apple Yoichi roadside station⁷¹ and Fugoppe Cave⁴⁶.
   • Follow Route 229 around the peninsula. Stop at the Furubira Tarako Museum roadside station in Furubira⁷², then go on to Cape Kamui in Shakotan. From 5 October 2026 to early April 2027 the path from the "No Women Allowed Gate" to the tip is closed for fence repairs, but the viewing area by the car park stays open⁷³.
   • Continue down the west coast to Osukoi! Kamoenai⁷⁴ in Kamoenai, past Tomari to the Iwanai roadside station and hot springs in Iwanai²⁶. Return via Kyowa and Niki.
2. Around Mount Yōtei (1–2 days).
   • From Sapporo, cross Nakayama Pass on Route 230 and stop at Bōyō Nakayama for ageimo and a view of Yōtei⁷⁵⁵⁹.
   • Descend through Kimobetsu to the Fukidashi spring and the Meisui no Sato Kyōgoku roadside station in Kyogoku²²⁷⁶. Kyōgoku Onsen next door is closed for renovation, with reopening planned for early December 2026⁷⁷.
   • Carry on through Kutchan to Niseko View Plaza in Niseko⁷⁸, then the Makkari Flower Center in Makkari⁷⁹. Finish at 230 Rusutsu in Rusutsu⁸⁰ and return over the pass.
   • Hikers can climb Yōtei, whose alpine flora is a Natural Monument³⁶.
3. Southern Shiribeshi: beech, oysters and waterfalls (1–2 days).
   • From Niseko, drive Route 5 to Rankoshi Furusato no Oka in Rankoshi⁸¹. Then head to the coast at Shell Plaza Minato, next to the town's shell museum²⁰.
   • Follow Route 229 around Suttsu Bay, past the wind turbines of Suttsu, to Minatomare Suttsu⁸²¹⁷. Continue to Yotteke! Shimamaki in Shimamaki⁸³. The walking path to Garo Falls has been closed since June 2018 because of falling rocks¹³.
   • Cross inland to Kuromatsunai for the Utasai beech forest¹⁸ and the bakery at Michi-no-Eki Kuromatsunai⁸⁴. Join the Dō-ō Expressway at Kuromatsunai²⁴.

The official list of Hokkaido's roadside stations runs to No. 131. Three registrations have been cancelled, most recently Maruseppu on 19 December 2025⁸⁵. Shiribeshi has 15 stations, listed below in order of registration number. Otaru, Kutchan, Kyowa, Tomari, Shakotan and Niki have none⁸⁵. Kyowa's first station, named Kakashi no Sato Kyōwa (かかしの郷 きょうわ) in October 2025, is due to open in fiscal 2027⁸⁶, and Yoichi plans a new station near Yoichi IC⁸⁷. Hours are as of September 2026; check before visiting.

• By air. New Chitose Airport is the gateway. Rapid Airport trains reach Otaru in 75 minutes at fastest, and Sapporo–Otaru takes from 32 minutes⁸⁹.
• Rail.
  • The JR Hakodate Main Line runs through Otaru and Yoichi, then inland through Niki, Kyowa, Kutchan, Niseko, Rankoshi and Kuromatsunai toward Oshamambe²⁴⁵¹.
  • Trains on this "Yama-sen" section are sparse. By JR, Otaru–Niseko takes about 120 minutes⁹⁰.
  • The Oshamambe–Otaru section is to close and be replaced by buses when the Shinkansen reaches Sapporo. In October 2023 the bus operators said that driver shortages would make the proposed bus timetable hard to run⁵¹.
  • The Hokkaido Shinkansen extension from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto to Sapporo is now expected to open in FY2038, with stations planned in Kutchan and Otaru²⁴.
• Bus. Chūō Bus and Niseko Bus link Sapporo with Niseko via Otaru (about 170 minutes). Dōnan Bus runs from Tomakomai via Rusutsu to Niseko (about 200 minutes)⁹⁰. The coast and the Shakotan Peninsula are best reached by car; the municipal entries give local bus options.
• Roads.
  • Seven national routes, led by Routes 5 and 230, cross the region²⁴.
  • The Sasson Expressway has interchanges at Zenibako, Asari and Otaru. From Otaru JCT the Shiribeshi Expressway runs to Yoichi and, since March 2025, to Niki. The sections on to Kyowa and Kutchan are under construction²⁴.
  • In the south, the 5.1 km Kuromatsunai Shindō (opened November 2009) links Kuromatsunai to the Dō-ō Expressway²⁴.
  • Typical drives: Sapporo–Niseko about 120 minutes via Nakayama Pass, and Otaru–Niseko about 90 minutes on Route 5⁹⁰. Sapporo–Otaru takes about 1 hour 20 minutes on Route 5⁸⁹.
• Sea. Shin Nihonkai Ferry sails to Otaru from Niigata (about 18 hours) and Maizuru (about 20 hours)⁸⁹. Otaru is an important port (重要港湾) with ferry and container routes²⁴.
• Seasonal cautions.
  • Snow. The inland basins are among Hokkaido's snowiest places, with 921 cm of snowfall in an average winter at Kutchan and 966 cm at Akaigawa⁴⁰⁴². The coast south of Shakotan gets strong winds and blowing snow⁷.
  • Getting lost. Picking wild plants, especially bamboo shoots, leads to search operations every year. In FY2024 there were 8 incidents involving 10 people, and one person was still missing⁹¹.
  • Brown bears. Bears are active across the region; the municipal entries list local sighting pages and precautions.
  • Nuclear safety. Hokkaido's only nuclear power station is at Tomari, and the subprefecture holds nuclear disaster drills⁹¹.
  • Closures. The Cape Kamui path is closed from 5 October 2026 to early April 2027⁷³. The Garo Falls path has been closed since 2018¹³. Kyōgoku Onsen is closed for renovation, with reopening planned for early December 2026⁷⁷.