Hokkaido Places

City Sorachi Subprefecture

Yubari 夕張市

ゆうばりし

A former coal capital in the mountains of southern Sorachi. It had more than 116,000 residents in 1960 and has about 5,600 today12. Yubari is known across Japan for the Yubari King melon, for its 2007 fiscal collapse, and for the mine heritage and film culture that outlived both.

Population (2020 Census)
7,334
Area
763.07 km²
Official website
www.city.yubari.lg.jp

Known for

  • Yubari melon (夕張メロン): The orange-fleshed Yubari King (夕張キング) was named in 196111. It became one of the first products registered under Japan's Geographical Indication (GI) system in 201512. The first auction each May at Sapporo's central wholesale market makes national news. A pair sold for ¥5 million in 2019, and a record ¥5.8 million was reported in 202613.
  • Coal-mining heritage: Coal was discovered in 1888, and at its peak the city had 24 mines of all sizes9. The last mine closed in 19909. The Yubari Coal Museum (夕張市石炭博物館) has a mock mine tunnel built in a real former tunnel, which reopened in 2025 after a 2019 fire1415. The Great Coal Outcrop, the former Hokutan Yubari Tenryū mine entrance, the mock tunnel, Yubari Rokumeikan and the old Takinoue and Shimizusawa hydro plants are listed components of the Japan Heritage story "Tantetsukō" (炭鉄港), Hokkaido's coal, steel, port and railway industrial revolution16.
  • Fiscal collapse and regeneration: In 2006 the city revealed a real deficit of about ¥35.3 billion. It is now Japan's only municipality under a fiscal regeneration plan1718.
  • Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (ゆうばり国際ファンタスティック映画祭): A festival of SF, horror and fantasy films, first held in 1990. After the city stopped funding it in 2007, volunteers revived it in 2008919.
  • The Yellow Handkerchief (幸福の黄色いハンカチ, 1977): The final scene of Yamada Yōji's film was shot in Yubari. The location is now a memorial square hung with yellow handkerchiefs20.
  • Shuparo Lake (シューパロ湖): The reservoir behind the 110.6 m Yubari Shuparo Dam covers the former Kashima (大夕張) coal town, which once had up to 20,000 people2122.
  • Mount Yubari (夕張岳, 1,668 m): A mountain known for alpine flowers, with endemic species growing on serpentine rock. Its plant community is a national natural monument23.
  • Melon Kuma (メロン熊): A deliberately scary melon-headed bear character, based on real brown bears eating melons in the fields10.

Sights & activities

Nature & scenery

  • Takinoue Park (滝の上公園, Takinoue 5): A gorge carved by the Yubari River, with strange rock formations, Chidorigataki Falls (千鳥ヶ滝) and the Ryūsenkyō (竜仙峡) rocks. It is one of Hokkaido's top autumn-leaf spots and the first place in the city where cherries bloom. Open late April to early November; free. Some paths are closed after a landslide. 8 minutes from Yubari IC and about 40 minutes by car from New Chitose Airport2467.
  • Shuparo Lake and Kashima Viewpoint Park (鹿島眺望公園): Dead trees stand in the water, and old roads and bridges appear when the level drops, with Mt. Yubari behind. The park beside Route 452 has memorial stones from the drowned Kashima schools. It is not snow-cleared in winter6822.
  • Sangenkyō bridge (三弦橋): A 381.8 m forest-railway bridge with a rare triangular-truss cross-section, built in 1958. It was submerged in March 2015 and is now a "phantom bridge" visible only in drought years21.
  • Teibi Scenic Park (丁未風致公園): A 650 m pass on the city's northern edge. Mt. Yubari and Mt. Ashibetsu are visible, and on clear days the Pacific and the Sea of Japan too. Only partly open69.
  • Mt. Yubari: One of Japan's famous flower mountains, with a season from early to midsummer. Plants are protected by patrols after a large theft of alpine plants in 199723.

Onsen

  • No public day-use hot spring could be confirmed in Yubari, and the city's tourism site lists none among its sights70. Japanese Wikipedia's city article still lists a natural hot-spring bath, Meoto Zenzai (夫婦善哉), for guests of Yubari Hotel Shuparo only3. However, the hotel has been closed since March 2020, and its operator, Yubari Resort, announced bankruptcy in December 202071. The municipal bathhouse Miyamae Yokujō (宮前浴場) closed in August 20259. The city's chronology records that Yubari Onsen Yūshika no Yu (夕張温泉夕鹿の湯) opened in January 2013, but whether it still operates is unverified9. Plan to bathe in neighbouring towns.

Museums & heritage

  • Yubari Coal Museum (夕張市石炭博物館, Takamatsu 7): Opened in 1980. Visitors go underground into the former Hokutan Yubari mock tunnel, a registered national tangible cultural property with real coal seams and mining machines. It reopened in April 2025 after the 2019 fire7215. 2026 season: 18 April – 3 November, 10:00–17:00 (to 16:00 in October–November), closed on Tuesdays. Adults ¥1,200, elementary pupils ¥40014. The Great Coal Outcrop and the Tenryū mine entrance are on the site2515.
  • Yellow Handkerchief Memorial Square (幸福の黄色いハンカチ想い出ひろば, Hiyoshi 5-1): A recreation of the film's final scene, with props and messages left by visitors in a miners' row house. Hamamatsu Café is in the old barber shop that the film crew used. 2026: 18 April – 3 November, 9:30–17:00 (to 16:00 from October). Adults ¥550. A ¥100 discount applies with a Coal Museum ticket, and the same discount works the other way20.
  • Former Hokutan Shimizusawa Thermal Power Plant (旧北炭清水沢火力発電所): Built in 1926, with a peak output of 74,500 kW. Guided tours only, booked two days ahead through the Shimizusawa Project; ¥2,000, late May to early November4072.
  • Takinoue Power Station (滝の上発電所): A red-brick Hokutan hydro plant from 1925, still generating power for Hokkaido Prefecture. Exterior viewing only, from Takinoue Park73.
  • Mitsubishi Ōyubari Railway preserved cars (三菱大夕張鉄道保存車両, Nanbu): Carriages, a snowplough and coal wagons from the line that closed in 1987, kept at the former Minami-Ōyubari station. The site is recognised as heritage of industrial modernisation (近代化産業遺産). Viewing from outside only; late April to early November74.
  • Shimizusawa Zuri-yama (清水沢ズリ山): A mine spoil heap maintained by local volunteers and easy to climb, with a view over Shimizusawa28.
  • Yubari Rokumeikan (夕張鹿鳴館): Hokutan's guest house, built in 1913 as the Shikanotani Club, where Emperor Shōwa and the Empress stayed in 195451. It was registered as a national tangible cultural property in 20119. Japanese Wikipedia lists it as closed (休館中), so check before visiting3.

Outdoor & seasonal activities

  • Mount Racey Ski Area (マウントレースイスキー場, Suehiro 2): 60 km from Sapporo and 55 km from New Chitose Airport. Known for powder snow. 17 courses (another city page says 18), a longest run of 3,200 m and steep expert terrain. The 2025–26 season ran 6 December – 29 March, and the gondola did not run that season754776.
  • Canoeing on Shuparo Lake: Yubari Nature School (ゆうばり自然体験塾) runs guided canoe tours (¥15,000 for 1–2 people, about 2 hours). You can bring your own canoe from late May to November if you apply 3 days ahead22.
  • Yubari BariBari Motor Park: A circuit on a former driving school for drifting and gymkhana. Weekends and holidays77.

Food experiences

  • Melon all-you-can-eat at Natsuzora No. 1 (Numanosawa) and No. 2 (Takinoue), mid-June to early August4243.
  • Yubari Yatai-mura "Barī Yatai" (ゆうばり屋台村, Suehiro 1-81): A food-stall hall with sushi and set meals at Tsurugatei and curry soba at Curry Soba Asahi. Closed Mondays78.

Roadside stations (Michi-no-Eki)

Yubari Melord (道の駅夕張メロード)

  • Location: Momijiyama 526-19, Yubari (夕張市紅葉山526-19), on National Route 274. It is about 1.5 km from Yubari IC on the Dōtō Expressway, next to JR Shin-Yubari Station (about 100 m on foot), and beside the "Shin-Yubari Ekimae" stop for Yutetsu buses. It is the southern gateway to Yubari5127.
  • Hours (city schedule for 2026):
    • 21–30 April: 9:00–18:00
    • 1 May – 31 August: 9:00–18:30, open every day from June to August, with short 9:00–15:00 hours on some Mondays in August–September
    • September: 10:00–18:30
    • October – 30 December: 10:00–18:00
    • 6 January – end of February: 10:00–17:30
    • March – late April: 10:00–18:00
    • Closed on Mondays from 21 September to late April, and on set dates including 31 October, 18 November and 1–5 January
    • The official Michi-no-Eki site lists slightly different hours and closing days2751. As of September 2026 — check before visiting.
  • Shops & products:
    • JA Yubari-shi's own melon corner, piled high with Yubari melons in summer
    • A farm stand with local produce such as long yam in autumn
    • Hanamame amani cans, Yubari-melon sweets and character goods
    • DADACA chocolates
    • The Melord-only Yubari-melon Baumkuchen, limited numbers daily27345253
  • Food:
    • Abe Kashiho (阿部菓子舗) sells "tandora" black dorayaki. On weekends it also sells a Yubari melon bread made to look like a whole melon
    • Café ONO FARM PLUS serves long-yam fries, melon smoothies and black, coal-themed menu items
    • The take-out corner sells Yubari melon doughnuts (6 for ¥400)27345148
  • Facilities:
    • Free parking for about 35 cars (the official site says 34), with no large-vehicle spaces
    • Accessible toilet, ostomate facilities (not 24-hour), baby-changing table, Wi-Fi
    • Credit cards and other cashless payment accepted; AED275152
    • The station's 24-hour toilets have been out of use since the 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake. JR Hokkaido lets the public use the toilets at Shin-Yubari Station instead, and Japanese Wikipedia describes them as open 24 hours. The shop's own toilets can be used during opening hours2779
    • No EV charger, RV park or onsen is listed (unverified).
  • Notes:
    • Registered on 3 March 2011, as Hokkaido's roadside station No. 1115180. Opened in June 20119
    • The stamp can be collected during opening hours, but not on closed days5127
    • Hosts a Winter Festival in February and a summer "Melord Festa"5651
    • Distances from the station: Takinoue Park about 8 km (9–11 minutes); Yellow Handkerchief Square about 13 km (17 minutes); Shuparo Dam about 16.5 km (22 minutes); Coal Museum about 19 km (26 minutes)27

Getting there & around

  • Rail: JR Shin-Yubari Station (新夕張駅, K20) on the Sekishō Line is the only station in the city, since Takinoue Station closed on 16 March 202479:
    • Most "Ōzora" (Sapporo–Kushiro) and "Tokachi" (Sapporo–Obihiro) limited expresses stop, about 9 round trips a day
    • About 1 hour 5 minutes to Sapporo and 1 hour 30 minutes to Obihiro
    • Local trains run only toward Minami-Chitose (change there for New Chitose Airport)
    • No local trains run east of Shin-Yubari toward Shintoku. For trips within that section, passengers may ride limited expresses on a basic fare ticket and take any empty reserved seat, with no limited-express surcharge7981
    • The old Yubari branch line to the city centre closed in 20198
  • Bus: Yutetsu Bus (夕鉄バス, Yubari Tetsudō) runs the city line from Shin-Yubari Station via Resta to the Coal Museum82. Timetables are on the company website.
  • Car: Take the Dōtō Expressway (E38) to Yubari IC, then National Routes 274 and 452813:
    • From central Sapporo (about 70 km): about 80 minutes, or about 90 minutes on Prefectural Route 3
    • From New Chitose Airport (about 40 km): about 60 minutes via Chitose or Chitose-Higashi IC
    • From Furano: about 120 minutes on Route 452 over the mountains past Shuparo Lake81
  • Nearest airport: New Chitose Airport in Chitose81.
  • Getting around: The city stretches for tens of kilometres along its valleys. Melord to the Coal Museum is 19 km27. A car is by far the easiest way to get around. There are two taxi companies (Yubari Daiichi Kōtsū and Maruhoku Hire)81.

Practical tips

  • Best seasons:
    • Late June to July for melons (all-you-can-eat, festival and direct sales)34
    • Early June for the film festival58
    • Late April to early May for cherry blossoms; they open first at Takinoue in the south of the city67
    • October for autumn leaves at Takinoue and Shuparo8364
    • Winter for powder snow at Mount Racey75
  • Seasonal closures: Most attractions, including the Coal Museum, Yellow Handkerchief Square, Takinoue Park and the Ōyubari railway cars, open only from late April to early November. Many tourist facilities close in winter, so check before you go1420247447.
  • Lodging: Accommodation is limited to small places: Business Hotel YUUBARI, Hostel Himawari, B&Bs and guesthouses. Most visitors come as day-trippers8437. Hotel Mount Racey, closed since 2020, was reported in December 2025 to be reopening under Germany's TUI brand, with November 2026 as the target; whether it has opened is unverified85.
  • Tourist information: The city's Commerce and Tourism section (商工観光係, tel. 0123-52-3128) answers visitor questions and gives cherry-blossom and autumn-leaf updates6783.
  • Winter driving: The city warns that snowfall has been heavy in recent years. Winter tyres are essential, and cold-weather gear is advised47. Kashima Viewpoint Park is not snow-cleared68.
  • Wildlife: Deer and squirrels are common on trails such as Reisuizan30. Brown bears live in the surrounding mountains; Melon Kuma was inspired by bears eating melons in the fields10, and bear sightings cancelled the 2025 Sunken Town Walk63. Carry a bell and check local bear warnings before hiking.
  • Shuparo Lake access: Parts of the road around the lake are closed to vehicles. Private canoe use needs an application 3 days ahead, and road-use notices are required in some periods2283.

More about Yubari

At a glance
Field Details
Type City (市)
Subprefecture Sorachi (空知総合振興局)
District None. Cities belong to no district; before 1943 the area was part of Yubari District (夕張郡)3
Population 7,334 in 3,807 households (2020 National Census, 令和2年国勢調査)4; 5,631 in 3,509 households on the resident register as of 31 August 202625. The preliminary 2025 census counted 5,6186
Area 763.07 km²7 (English Wikipedia gives an older 763.20 km²8). The city measures 24.9 km east–west and 34.7 km north–south9
Density ≈7.4 people/km² (5,631 ÷ 763.07 km², calculated); ≈9.6/km² at the 2020 census. Japanese Wikipedia describes this as the lowest density of any city in Japan3
Municipal history Noborikawa Village (登川村) was created in 1890 and became a second-class village in 1906. It was renamed Yubari Town (夕張町) in February 1918, adopted the first-class town system in April 1919, and became Yubari City on 1 April 19439. There have been no mergers. A 1953 plan to split off the Nanbu and Kashima districts won a residents' vote but failed in the city council by one vote3
Neighboring municipalities Sorachi: Ashibetsu, Mikasa, Iwamizawa, Kuriyama, Yuni. Iburi: Atsuma, Mukawa. Kamikawa: Shimukappu, Minamifurano3
Symbols Tree: cherry (サクラ). Flower: azalea (ツツジ). Both were designated in September 19749. No city bird3. The emblem (August 1937) is a hexagon for "black diamonds" (coal) around a stylised 夕9
Mascot No official city mascot. Melon Kuma (メロン熊), a private company's melon-headed bear created in 2009, acts as the city's unofficial face10
Official website https://www.city.yubari.lg.jp/2

Name origin
  • Official explanation: The city says the name is a corruption of the Ainu Yūparo (ユーパロ), "place where mineral springs flow out" (鉱泉の湧き出るところ)9.
  • Matsuura Takeshirō's version: Matsuura, the explorer who named Hokkaido, was an official of the Hokkaido Development Commission. In his 1869 proposal for district names, he gave the origin of Yubari District as Iyūparo (イユウパロ), "mouth of the hot spring" (温泉之口), to be read "Yūhari"3.
  • Shuparo: The dam lake takes its name from Shi-Yūparo (シューパロ), "the true Yūparo". Shi means "true" or "main", so the name means the main stream of the Yubari River22.
  • Takinoue gorge: The city gives the Ainu name of the Takinoue gorge as Pon-sō-kamui-kotan (ポンソウカムイコタン), "place where the gods of the north live"24.

History
  • Ainu era and archaeology: Little is recorded about Ainu settlement in the upper Yubari valley. The Jūsanri (十三哩) and Takinoue No. 4 (滝の上4) archaeological sites lie along today's National Route 4523. In the Ansei era (late 1850s), Matsuura Takeshirō travelled up the Yubari River and described it in his Yūbari Nisshi (夕張日誌)3.
  • 1874 – geological survey: American geologist Benjamin Smith Lyman, employed by the Hokkaido Development Commission, surveyed the upper Yubari River and predicted coal seams there9.
  • 1888 – coal found: Ban Ichitarō (坂市太郎), a Hokkaido Government engineer who had worked on Lyman's team, found a large coal outcrop on the upper Shihorokabetsu River (志幌加別川). This "Great Coal Outcrop" (石炭の大露頭) is treated as Yubari's starting point925.
  • 1889–1892 – mining begins: Hokkaido Colliery and Railway (北海道炭鉱鉄道, forerunner of Hokutan 北炭) was founded in 1889. Work on the Yubari mine began in April 1890, and Noborikawa Village was created that August. Coal extraction started in March 1892, and a railway from Oiwake reached Yubari in November 18929.
  • Farming settlers: Farming began in 1892. More settlers arrived after imperial land (御料地) was released in 1898, growing beans and vegetables to sell to the mining towns26.
  • 1906–1943 – from village to city: Second-class village in 1906, renamed Yubari Town in 1918, and city status on 1 April 19439. The first national census in 1920 counted 51,064 people9. Mitsubishi bought the Ōyubari mine company in 1912, so the city had both Hokutan and Mitsubishi mines9.
  • Mine disasters: Major explosions and gas outbursts killed 93 people in 1908, 423 in 1914, 161 in 1938, 42 in 1960, 62 in 1965, 93 in 1981 (Hokutan Yubari Shinkō) and 62 in 1985 (Mitsubishi Minami-Ōyubari)9.
  • 1960 – peak: The resident register peaked at 116,908 on 30 April 19601. (Japanese Wikipedia gives April 1961 for the same figure3.)
  • 1960s–1990 – closures: Mines closed one after another as Japan switched from coal to oil. Mitsubishi Ōyubari closed in 1973, Hokutan Shimizusawa in 1980, and Hokutan Yubari Shinkō in 1982. Mitsubishi Minami-Ōyubari, the last mine, closed in March 199093.
  • 1979–2003 – "From coal to tourism": Under Mayor Nakata Tetsuji (中田鉄治, in office 1979–2003) the city opened the Coal Museum (1980), the Coal History Village theme park (fully opened 1983) and Hotel Shuparo (1986). It also launched melon brandy (sold from 1984) and the film festival (1990). The city bought the Mount Racey resort facilities in 200291119.
  • 2006–2010 – fiscal collapse: Much of the tourism spending was financed with short-term loans rolled over between accounts to hide deficits. In 2006 the real deficit was found to be about ¥35.3 billion17. The mayor announced in June 2006 that Yubari would apply for fiscal reconstruction status, and the city was designated on 6 March 2007. It moved to fiscal regeneration status on 9 March 201093. Schools were merged, the library and pools closed, and the 2007 film festival was cancelled93.
  • 2011–2019: Suzuki Naomichi (鈴木直道), a Tokyo government official who had been sent to help Yubari, was elected mayor in 2011. He later became Governor of Hokkaido9193. The Yubari Melord roadside station opened in June 2011. The Yubari Shuparo Dam came into use in April 2015, flooding the Kashima district. Yubari melon was GI-registered in December 20159.
  • 2017–2019 – losses: Mount Racey and four other tourist facilities were sold in 20179. The 2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake damaged the roadside station's 24-hour toilets27. JR's Yubari branch line closed in March 2019 after 127 years98. A fire in April 2019 closed the Coal Museum's mock tunnel915.
  • 2020s – compact city: The city is moving residents and services toward the Shimizusawa area28. The multi-purpose centre Resta (りすた) opened in Minami-Shimizusawa in March 2020, with a library inside. It was the first public building built under the regeneration plan, and its name combines "Yubari" and "station"929. The mock tunnel reopened in April 20259. The preliminary 2025 census showed a 23.4% fall since 2020, the steepest decline of Hokkaido's 179 municipalities6.

Geography & climate
  • Setting: Yubari lies near the centre of Hokkaido, in southern Sorachi, among the forested hills of the Yubari Mountains (夕張山地). The Yubari River and its tributaries, flowing from Mt. Yubari, cut through the middle of the city, and the towns developed as long strips along the rivers9. The city is divided into the districts of Honchō (本庁, the old centre), Wakana (若菜), Shimizusawa (清水沢), Nanbu (南部), Kashima (鹿島), Numanosawa (沼ノ沢) and Momijiyama (紅葉山). Kashima now has no residents; most of it lies under Shuparo Lake43. Most people live in the valley along the former Yubari branch line, from Momijiyama up to the old centre3.
  • Mountains: Mt. Yubari (夕張岳, 1,668 m), Kumagamine (熊ヶ峰, 1,531 m), Maedake (前岳, 1,501 m) and Hachimoriyama (鉢盛山)3. Near town, Reisuizan (冷水山, 702 m) is the Mount Racey ski hill in winter and a hiking trail of about 2.5 hours in summer30.
  • Mt. Yubari's geology and flora: The Yubari Mountains have Japan's largest area of serpentine rock. In 1996 the "alpine plant community and serpentine mélange belt of Mt. Yubari" (夕張岳の高山植物群落及び蛇紋岩メランジュ帯) became a national natural monument, and in 2007 it was chosen as one of Japan's 100 geological sites (日本の地質百選)23. Endemic or namesake plants include Yūbarisō (ユウバリソウ) and Yūbari-kozakura (ユウバリコザクラ)23. The massif is in Furano-Ashibetsu Prefectural Natural Park (富良野芦別道立自然公園, 1958)23.
  • Yubari River (夕張川): Length 136 km, basin area 1,463 km². It rises on Hachimoriyama within the city and joins the Ishikari River at Ebetsu31.
  • Shuparo Lake: Formed when the Yubari Shuparo Dam was completed in 2015. The city says it is Japan's second-largest reservoir by flooded area and fourth-largest by storage volume22. The dam is a 110.6 m concrete gravity dam used for flood control, irrigation, water supply and power21.
  • Great Coal Outcrop: A seam about 7.3 m thick from the Paleogene period (about 50 million years ago). It became a Hokkaido natural monument in 197425.
  • Climate: Humid continental (Köppen Dfb)83. The city is in a designated heavy-snow area (豪雪地帯)3. JMA normals (1991–2020) for the Yubari station32:
    • Mean temperature: 6.4 °C a year, −6.6 °C in January, 19.6 °C in August
    • Precipitation: 1,400.1 mm a year
    • Total snowfall: 872 cm a year, with an average deepest snow cover of 139 cm
  • Records: 35.0 °C on 28 July 2021 and −23.6 °C on 4 February 2010. The deepest recorded snow was 196 cm, on 7 March 198733. In 2025 the city recorded a mean of 7.9 °C and a maximum snow depth of 145 cm9.

Economy & industry
  • Agriculture: Farmland is limited to narrow strips along the rivers, on thin volcanic-ash soil26. The main crop is Yubari melon. The Yubari Melon Cooperative was founded in 1960 by 17 farmers and had about 90 member households in 202411. JA Yubari-shi (夕張市農業協同組合) controls the seed and inspects every melon, grading it 特秀, 秀, 優 or 良. The minimum sugar content is 13% for 特秀 and 10% for 良1134. JA holds about 150 trademarks for the brand12. Chinese yam (ながいも) is the second specialty crop35.
  • Manufacturing: Precision machinery and food processing3. Companies based in the city include Citizen Watch Manufacturing's Yubari plant, Yubari Tsumura (夕張ツムラ, founded 2009, part of the Kampo medicine maker Tsumura) and Hanabatake Bokujō's direct-sale shop3936.
  • Tourism: 258,800 visitors in fiscal 2025, down 7.7% from 280,300 the year before. Almost all were day-trippers; only about 4,800 stayed overnight. About 16,500 came from outside Hokkaido, and foreign overnight guests rose to 25037.
  • Public finances: The regeneration plan runs from fiscal 2009 to 2029 (21 years). The deficit itself was scheduled to be cleared over fiscal 2010–202617. Special regeneration bonds (再生振替特例債) of ¥32.199 billion must be repaid by the end of the plan38. The city calls itself "the only municipality in Japan under fiscal regeneration"18. The city council has 8 seats, the joint-smallest of any Japanese city3.
  • Demographics: 53.95% of residents were 65 or over on 1 September 202639. In May 2017 Yubari became the first Japanese city with more than half its population aged 65 or over3. The 2020 census showed a 17.1% fall since 2015, and the 2020 figure was 6.3% of the 1960 peak4.
  • Revitalisation: Under a 2015 compact-city master plan, housing and services are being concentrated in Shimizusawa, which is planned as the future city centre328. Other efforts include a furusato nozei programme, the Shimizusawa Project's tours of industrial heritage, and a volunteer-run film festival184019.

Local specialties
Specialty Category Details & where to get it
Yubari melon (夕張メロン / 夕張キング) Fruit (GI-registered) Harvest peaks from late June to late July, and the season runs about June–August3441. Buy at Yubari Melon Dome (沼ノ沢213-27), the JA Meisan Center (滝ノ上132, on Route 274) or Michi-no-Eki Yubari Melord424327. All-you-can-eat melon (30 min; adults ¥3,500, children ¥1,800) runs mid-June to early August at Restaurant Natsuzora No. 1 (daily) and No. 2 (Fri–Sun)4243
Yubari nagaimo (夕張ながいも) Vegetable Chinese yam with strong stickiness and flavour. Harvests are small and it rarely leaves the area. Shipped from late October to mid-December35. Try the long-yam fries at the Melord café27
Hanamame amani (花豆甘煮缶詰) Canned sweet beans Purple runner beans simmered in syrup to a Taishō-era recipe by Kitazawa Food Factory (北沢食品工場). A classic Yubari souvenir, sold at Melord4427
Panjū (ぱんぢゅう) Local snack Crisp, bun-like cakes filled with bean paste, eaten by miners since before the war. Ogura-ya Panjū (小倉屋ぱんぢゅう店, Wakana 10) has sold them for 70+ years, from ¥130 each4546
Yubari curry soba (夕張カレーそば) Local dish Spicy curry soba from the now-closed noodle shop Fujinoya, eaten by miners after their shifts. Served at Kurishita Shokudō and Maple Town (both in Momijiyama) and Curry Soba Asahi (Suehiro 1-81)47
Tandora (たんどら) Sweets Dorayaki with skins blackened with edible bamboo charcoal to look like coal. Flavours: melon, azuki, pumpkin, chocolate and an-butter, plus sakura-an from February to May. Made by Abe Kashiho (阿部菓子舗) inside Melord48
Kuro-daiya castella (黒ダイヤカステラ) Sweets A castella cake coloured with bamboo charcoal, named after coal's nickname "black diamonds". From Okashi no Fuji (お菓子のふじ), Shimizusawa 3-13049
Cinnamon doughnuts (シナモンドーナツ) Sweets Bean-paste doughnuts in cinnamon sugar, made by three generations at Usagiya Kashiho (うさぎや菓子舗), Shikanotani 1-32, from ¥9550
Melon Baumkuchen and melon doughnuts Sweets Yubari-melon Baumkuchen made in limited numbers each day and sold only at Melord. Melon doughnuts (6 for ¥400) at the Melord take-out corner5152
DADACA / CACAOCAT chocolate Confectionery Smooth chocolates in about 30 flavours, plus "GO! GO! YUBARI!!" melon jelly, from DADACA. Sold at Melord53
Melon Kuma goods (メロン熊グッズ) Character goods More than 200 items at Melon Kuma no Ie (メロン熊の家), Momijiyama 7754
Furusato nozei gifts Return gifts The most popular are melons: one 秀-grade melon for a ¥25,000 donation, or two 優-grade melons for ¥29,000. Also a Melon Kuma plush-and-melon set, long yam, asparagus and 12-can sets of hanamame55
Melon brandy (メロンブランデー) Spirits (historical) Billed as the world's first melon brandy and liqueur, made by the city from 1984. No longer produced or sold11

Culture & festivals
Event When Highlights
Michi-no-Eki Yubari Melord Winter Festival (道の駅夕張メロード ウインターフェスティバル) Early February (7 Feb 2026) Old-style coal stoves, food stalls with wine, a kayō song show and sledding on a snow mountain56
Yubari Kantarō Festival (ゆうばり寒太郎まつり) Mid/late February (22 Feb 2026) Winter fair at the Yubari Tomodori Market (夕張友酉市場, Minami-Shimizusawa). A giant snow slide, snowball shooting, a prize draw and food trucks5747
Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival (ゆうばり国際ファンタスティック映画祭) Early June (4–7 June 2026) Competitions for fantastic, short and anime/AI films, an outdoor idol concert and fireworks. Main venue: A-Rīsada no Mori (あ・りーさだの杜), Numanosawa5859
Yubari Melon Festival (夕張メロンまつり) Late June (21 June 2026) Melon sales, free tastings for the first 2,000 visitors, a mock melon auction and a children's melon-eating race. At Yubari Tomodori Market60
Yubari BariBari Melon Run (夕張バリバリメロンラン) Early July (5th edition, 5 July 2026) 10 km "Yellow Handkerchief" course, 5 km coal-museum view course and 3 km parent-child course. Starts and finishes at Mount Racey. Marché and BBQ61
YUBARI Melord Festa (メロードフェスタ) Summer (announced August 2025) A roadside-station festival; details are announced each year51
Sunken Town Walk (沈んだ街あるき) Late summer, when the lake is low (12 Sep 2026) A walk through the old Kashima town, exposed when the reservoir drops. Once home to 20,000 people. No booking needed62. The 2025 walk was cancelled after a mother bear and cubs were seen at the site63
Shuparo Dam Autumn Leaves Festival (シューパロダム紅葉まつり) Mid-October (latest date listed by the city: 13 Oct 2024) Pork soup and "dam curry", stage shows and a free tour inside the dam (30 places)64
Shimizusawa Town Walk (清水沢まちあるき) 4th Saturday of every month, 14:00–16:00 A local guided walk starting at Okashi no Fuji. Pay what you like65
  • Yubari Shrine (夕張神社): The city's main shrine, founded in 1889 to pray for the mines and railway. It enshrines Ōyamatsumi, the mountain deity who protects mines. Its three city-designated cultural properties include a plaque written by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and a huge Wajima-lacquer cup (62.5 cm across) given by Hokutan66.
  • Film culture: The festival was modelled on France's Avoriaz fantastic film festival. Its mascot "Cinegar" was designed by manga artist Ishinomori Shōtarō19. The film-themed street Yubari Kinema Kaidō (夕張キネマ街道) was created in 19903.
  • Mining culture: Former five-unit miners' row houses, a symbol of the miners' "one mountain, one family" (一山一家) spirit, now house the Yellow Handkerchief exhibits20.
  • Museums: The Yubari City Art Museum collapsed under snow in 2012 after it had closed3. The main museum now is the Coal Museum; see Sights14.

Ainu heritage

Little is documented about Ainu life in the upper Yubari valley. The Ainu past survives mainly in place names: Yūparo / Iyūparo (Yubari), Shi-Yūparo (Shuparo) and Pon-sō-kamui-kotan for the Takinoue gorge932224. Two archaeological sites, Jūsanri (十三哩遺跡) and Takinoue No. 4 (滝の上4遺跡), are recorded along National Route 4523. Matsuura Takeshirō's travel record Yūbari Nisshi (夕張日誌) describes the river in the 1850s3. The city has no Ainu cultural facility. The nearest major one is Upopoy, the National Ainu Museum and Park, in Shiraoi.

Sister & friendship cities
  • Fushun (撫順市), Liaoning Province, China: Friendship city since 19 April 1982986. Both were coal cities, and Fushun is called China's "coal capital". Miners and residents had visited each other before the 1972 normalisation of Japan–China relations. Anniversary delegations have been exchanged since 1992869.
  • Domestic: None found.

Notable people
  • Misawa Mitsuharu (三沢光晴): Professional wrestler, born in Yubari38.
  • Ōhashi Junko (大橋純子): Singer38.
  • Sasaki Jō (佐々木譲): Novelist3.
  • Akimoto Katsuhiro (秋元克広): Mayor of Sapporo3.
  • Takahide Hidenobu (高秀秀信): Former Mayor of Yokohama3.
  • Suzuki Naomichi (鈴木直道): Mayor of Yubari 2011–2019, later Governor of Hokkaido. Not a native3.

Sources

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

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