Hokkaido Places

Town Sorachi Subprefecture

Yuni 由仁町

ゆにちょう

A quiet rice-and-vegetable town at the southern tip of Sorachi, about an hour from Sapporo and 35 minutes from New Chitose Airport. It is known for Yuni Garden, a vast English-style garden whose hill of kochia turns red in autumn, and for a summer "centipede race" in which runners are tied together at the ankles.

Population (2020 Census)
4,822
Area
133.74 km²
District
Yubari District (夕張郡)
Official website
www.town.yuni.lg.jp

Known for

  • Yuni Garden (ゆにガーデン): a 14-ha garden with 15 themed areas, described as one of Japan's largest English-style gardens. Its "Kochia Hill" of 32,000 plants is one of the largest in Hokkaido and turns from green to red in autumn56.
  • The centipede race (百足競走): first held in 1975 and still run each summer. The 2026 race was the 49th. Teams of six run with their feet roped together in a line, and the race is pictured on Yuni's road-side town-boundary sign (カントリーサイン)578.
  • Farm country: after the Kawabata Dam was built in the early 1960s, Yuni's upland fields were turned into a paddy belt of about 4,000 ha. Rice is still the core crop, alongside wheat, beans, vegetables and cut flowers1. Flower sales exceed ¥300 million9.
  • Yunni no Yu (ユンニの湯): a hot spring whose coffee-colored water is valued for leaving skin smooth5.
  • The Yarikirenai River (ヤリキレナイ川): its name reads in Japanese as "the unbearable river", which has made it a TV curiosity and a local photo spot105.
  • Ice Age fossils: a mammoth molar, described by the town as the oldest found in Japan, and giant-deer antlers were found in Yuni in 1990 and are shown at Yumekku-kan11.
  • Local food: the half-century-old miso horumon (offal) of Tokyo Hormon (東京ホルモン), a string of farm cafés, and log-grown shiitake59.
  • Golf: the Sapporo Golf Club Yuni Course was designed by Seiichi Inoue and has hosted the ANA Open three times5.

Sights & activities

Nature & scenery

  • Yuni Garden (庭園ゆにガーデン): Fushimi 134-2, tel. 0123-82-2001. 14 ha, 15 themed gardens. Spring brings muscari, tulips and cherry blossoms, summer peonies and roses, and autumn the kochia. Open 22 May–3 November 2026, 10:00–16:00 (last entry 15:30). Closed Wednesdays from May to September, except 23 September, and open daily in October. On some October days the opening time changes to ease crowding29. Adults (junior-high age and up) pay ¥800 from May to September and ¥1,000 in October–November, and elementary-school children enter free. There is a cafeteria, "Basil" (バジル), and a lamb-barbecue (Genghis Khan) house by the farm-experience plots. About 50 minutes by car from Sapporo and 35 minutes from New Chitose Airport6265.
  • Fushimidai Park (伏見台公園): Fushimi 70, about 2 km from Yuni Station, 146 m above sea level on the Maoi Hills. Cherry blossoms and azaleas in spring and autumn leaves on Maoi-yama. The observation deck looks east to Mt. Yūbari-dake and over the rice fields, and cloud seas are sometimes seen. There is a large play area with a long slide and the 1936 imperial-review monument155.
  • Yarikirenai River sign: a popular photo stop for the river's name5.

Onsen

  • Yunni no Yu (ユンニの湯): Fushimi 122, tel. 0123-83-3800. The water is a hypotonic, weakly alkaline cold mineral spring of the sodium-bicarbonate and chloride type (ナトリウム炭酸水素塩・塩化物泉). It rises from about 800 m underground and is coffee-brown, possibly from old coal seams. It is known as a "beauty bath", and there are also weekly herb baths. Lodging is in 15 log-style rooms plus 4 rooms with private open-air baths, and a restaurant serves Yuni produce. Day bathing is available53025.

Museums & heritage

  • Yumekku-kan (ゆめっく館): Chūō 202, tel. 0123-83-3803. A library of more than 60,000 books combined with a museum. It has life-size mammoth and giant-deer models, the original 1990 molar and antler fossils, and a local-history corner. Open Tuesday–Friday 10:00–18:00 and weekends 10:00–17:00, closed Mondays and national holidays (as of September 2026)11.

Outdoor & seasonal activities

  • Furusan Reservoir Nature Park Auto Campground (古山貯水池自然公園オートキャンプ場): Furusan 430, tel. 0123-83-3979. It has RV and car sites and two free-camping areas, one with a dog run. Cooking shelters have hot water, and free firewood splitting is offered. Visitors can hike, watch birds and see stag beetles and fireflies in summer195.
  • Golf: Sapporo Golf Club Yuni Course (札幌ゴルフ倶楽部由仁コース, Kōei 588) was designed by Seiichi Inoue and opened in 19755. Yuni Tobu Golf Club (ユニ東武ゴルフクラブ, Yamagata 132) has 27 holes on three courses531.
  • Park golf: Kaori-no-Sato "Yuni-PA!" (薫りの里パークゴルフ場 ゆにっPA！, Fushimi 138) and Mikawa Park Golf Club (三川パークゴルフクラブ, Nishi-Mikawa 354-1) each have 36 holes. All of Mikawa's courses are barrier-free531.
  • Fruit and mushroom picking: strawberries at Kawashima Farm. Pesticide-free grapes at Senda Grape Garden (千田ぶどう園, Yamagata 309), from about mid-September to mid-October. Apples from mid-September to February at Mikita Orchard (三木田果樹園, Yamagata 81, direct sales only). Log-grown shiitake from October to December at Kitai Farm (Yamamasu 798)531.
  • Cycling: quiet farm roads and gentle hills make Yuni a cycling-tourism base, with events through the year5.
  • Yuni Water Land (Yuniウォーターランド): a large heated pool open all year, 10:00–21:00, closed Sundays and over New Year31.

Food experiences

  • Kitchen Farm Yard (キッチンファームヤード, Nishi-Mikawa 913): a farm restaurant run by the fourth generation of a farm family dating from the Taishō era. Its "soup spice" is a soup-curry-style dish made with more than 10 vegetables from the farm523.
  • cafe KALAMA (Furusan 589): Hawaiian-themed lunches such as garlic shrimp, with rice and vegetables from the café's own farm5.
  • Udon no Goemon (うどんの五衛門, Yamagata 322-1): seasonal tempura udon and a shiitake udon5.
  • Azekko (あぜっこ, Higashi-Mikawa 926): onigiri of Yuni-grown Nanatsuboshi rice cooked in a wood-fired kamado5.
  • Soba-dokoro Imura (そば処井むら, Tōei 174-4): green soba made with wakame, served since 19875.
  • Be nut's (Mikawa Nishiki-chō 118-1): peanut soft-serve5.
  • Harapeko Panya (はらぺこパンや, Yamagata 138): natural-yeast bread made with the farm's own wheat and eggs5.

Roadside stations (Michi-no-Eki)

No Michi-no-Eki is located in Yuni. The official Hokkaido roadside-station list includes no station with a Yuni address32. The nearest are:

  • Maoi no Oka Kōen (道の駅マオイの丘公園), Naganuma, on National Route 274 just across the Maoi Hills. It has a farmers' market, a wood-fired pizzeria, a sweets shop and an observation deck. There are 176 standard parking spaces and 4 EV chargers. Open 9:00–18:00 from April to November and 9:00–17:00 from December to March (as of September 2026 — check before visiting)33.
  • Abira D51 Station (道の駅あびらD51ステーション), Oiwake, Abira, on National Route 234 south of Yuni. It is railway-themed and has farm-produce sales, takeout food and a dog run. Open 9:00–18:00 from April to September and 9:00–17:00 from October to March (as of September 2026 — check before visiting)34.
  • Yūbari Meload (道の駅夕張メロード), Momijiyama, Yubari, on National Route 274 east of Yuni. It sells Yubari melons and melon-themed sweets. Closed Mondays, with seasonal hours (as of September 2026 — check before visiting)35.

For travel services inside Yuni, two places stand in for a roadside station:

  • Poppo-kan Yuni (ポッポ館ゆに), the tourist information center on the site of the old JR Yuni Station building (Honchō 364-2). It also serves as the station's waiting room. It sells "Yuni no Mono" goods and has free Wi-Fi and an ostomate-accessible toilet514.
  • Yuni Parking Area (由仁PA) on the Dōtō Expressway, in Kawabata, has toilets, 24-hour vending machines and EV charging in both directions. It is unusual in having a gas station but no shop, according to Wikipedia17.

Getting there & around

  • Rail: the JR Muroran Main Line (Iwamizawa–Tomakomai) runs north–south through the town with three stations: Mikawa (三川), Furusan (古山, read ふるさん) and Yuni (由仁)1236. The JR Sekishō Line crosses the south of the town at Kawabata (川端)12. Service is sparse. As of October 2025 there were 7 Muroran Line trains each way per day, and 3 up and 2 down Sekishō Line locals (Oiwake–Shin-Yūbari)1.
  • From Sapporo by rail: JR Hakodate Line to Iwamizawa (about 40 minutes), then the Muroran Line to Yuni (about 30 minutes)5.
  • From New Chitose Airport by rail: rapid train to Minami-Chitose (5 minutes), Sekishō Line to Oiwake (about 20 minutes), then the Muroran Line to Yuni (about 20 minutes)5.
  • By car: about 1 hour from Sapporo, about 35 minutes from New Chitose Airport and about 30 minutes from Kitahiroshima (Es Con Field)5. National Route 234 runs north–south and Route 274 east–west. The Dōtō Expressway crosses the town with Yuni PA, and Oiwake-chō IC is 7.4 km from the PA. The Minami-Naganuma ramp of the Dōō-ken Renraku road is also nearby117. Distances are about 40 km to Sapporo, about 30 km to New Chitose Airport and about 25 km to Iwamizawa1.
  • Buses: Chūō Bus runs the Iwamizawa–Naganuma line. The Sapporo–Yūbari bus ended in September 2023 and the Iwamizawa–Yuni bus in October 2025. Since October 2024 the town has run a Yuni–Kitahiroshima demand bus1. The tourism pamphlet suggests taking a Chūō Bus from Sapporo Station to Kuriyama (about 1 hour), then the train one stop to Yuni5.
  • Nearest airport: New Chitose (CTS). It is about 1 hour 30 minutes by air from Tokyo Haneda5.

Practical tips

  • Best time to visit: late May to early November, when Yuni Garden is open. Plan around the centipede race in early August, the kochia color in autumn, and fruit picking from September to October2685.
  • Closed days: Yuni Garden is closed Wednesdays from May to September, and Yumekku-kan on Mondays and national holidays. Many cafés open only a few days a week, so check their Instagram or the tourism association guide first261123.
  • Visitor information: Poppo-kan Yuni at JR Yuni Station (tel. 0123-83-2355)5. The Yuni Town Tourism Association is at Chūō 27, inside the Chamber of Commerce (tel. 0123-83-2136, weekdays 9:00–17:00)522.
  • Getting around: trains are infrequent and the sights are spread along 32 km of town, so a car or bicycle helps12.
  • Winter: snow is lighter than in much of Hokkaido, but it varies from year to year (500 cm cumulative in 2023)1. Expect icy roads, and note that Yuni Garden is closed from early November to late May26.
  • Wildlife: the Maoi Hills and the forests of the southeast border wild land. As anywhere in rural Hokkaido, watch for deer on roads at dusk and check local bear notices before hiking (general caution, unverified for Yuni specifically).

More about Yuni

At a glance
Field Details
Type Town (町)
Subprefecture Sorachi (空知総合振興局). Yuni is the southernmost municipality in the subprefecture1
District Yubari District (夕張郡)
Population 4,822 (2020 Census)1; 4,411 in 2,270 households (resident register, 1 September 2026)2
Area 133.74 km² (GSI, 1 April 2026)3. The town is gourd-shaped (瓢箪形), about 8 km east–west and 32 km north–south2
Density About 33 people/km² (2026 register figure ÷ GSI area); about 36/km² at the 2020 Census
Municipal history Pioneer settlement began in 1886. Yuni Village (由仁村) was created on 4 February 1892, came under the second-class village system in 1902 and became a town on 1 November 195041
Neighboring municipalities Yubari and Kuriyama (across the Yubari River), Naganuma (beyond the Maoi Hills), Chitose, Abira and Atsuma1
Symbols Tree: Japanese yew (イチイ, called オンコ in Hokkaido). Flower: chrysanthemum (菊). Both were adopted in 1982, and the town emblem (a stylized ユ) in 1968. No town bird is listed2. The town's history timeline dates the emblem and flag decision to 20 December 19674
Mascot None found
Slogan "A small town that shines" (小さくてもキラリと輝くまち), the tagline on the town website. The Seventh Comprehensive Plan, which began in FY2024, words its vision for the town as 「小さくてもキラリと輝くまちへ」 ("toward a small town that shines")21
Official website https://www.town.yuni.lg.jp/

Name origin

The town says its name is a corruption of the Ainu word Yuunni (ユウンニ), meaning "a place where there is a hot spring"212. The English Wikipedia gives the same meaning and writes the form as Yu-u-n-ni13. A common analysis splits it into yu ("hot water/spring") + un ("to be at") + i ("place"), but this breakdown is unverified in the sources consulted. The town's modern onsen, Yunni no Yu, uses the Ainu-style form of the name. No competing etymology for the town name was found.

Other place names in the town also come from Ainu. The Yarikirenai River is traced either to Yanke-nai ("river without fish") or to Iyar-kinai ("the other half of a pair of rivers"). Settlers changed it into a Japanese phrase meaning "unbearable", after the river's repeated floods in the late 1800s and early 1900s105.

History
  • Prehistory: in 1990, a mammoth molar and giant-deer (オオツノシカ) antler fossils were found in the town. The tourist pamphlet dates them to about 50,000 years ago, in the Ice Age115.
  • Ainu era and Edo period: the Japanese Wikipedia lists an archaeological site, the Iwanai site (由仁町岩内遺跡), among the town's cultural properties, but its age and character are not described there12. No Matsumae-era trading posts in Yuni are documented in the sources consulted.
  • 1886–87: pioneer settlers, including 下国皎三 and 沼山兵七, arrived and farming began4.
  • January 1891: a group of 119 settlers from Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本団体) arrived4. A district of the town is still called Kumamoto (熊本)5.
  • 1892: Yuni Village was created on 4 February with a village headman's office. On 1 August the Muroran–Iwamizawa railway opened, along with Yuni Station414.
  • 1894: the first successful trial planting of paddy rice in Yuni1.
  • 1895: Katō Heigorō (加藤平五郎) came from the Mikawa region of Aichi Prefecture, in what is now Hekinan City, with 19 tenant farmers and opened up the Mikawa (三川) district. This is the origin of Yuni's tie with Hekinan42.
  • June 1897: a settler group from Yamagata Prefecture (山形団体) arrived4. A district of the town is named Yamagata (山形)5.
  • 1902: Yuni came under the second-class town-and-village system (二級町村制)1.
  • 1905: in October, a large irrigation reservoir was finished at Furusan (古山). The town timeline calls it the first in Hokkaido4.
  • 1936: the Imperial Army held its Special Grand Maneuvers on the Ishikari Plain. Emperor Shōwa reviewed them from a field headquarters on the Fushimi heights, now Fushimidai Park, where the monument 聖上御統監之地 stands. The town timeline gives the date as 3 October and the park page gives 3 November415.
  • 1950: Yuni became a town on 1 November4.
  • 1950s–60s: the national Ō-Yūbari irrigation and drainage project began in 1953. The Kawabata Dam (川端ダム) was finished in 1962 according to the town timeline, or 1963 according to the town's development plan. It ended water shortages and turned upland farms into a paddy belt of about 4,000 ha14. The population peaked at 13,404 in 19571.
  • 1966: after a flood, a town official wrote the nickname "Yarikirenai River" on a disaster-relief subsidy form, and the name became official in effect10.
  • 1972–82: Yuni was designated for rural industrial development, and an industrial estate was built in 19821.
  • 1988: in April, Yuni signed a youth friendship-city agreement with Hekinan, Aichi2.
  • 1993: Yumekku-kan and Yunni no Yu opened. A herb-garden exchange terminal followed in 2000 and Yuni Garden in 200116.
  • 2003–05: Yuni, Nanporo and Kuriyama negotiated a merger and chose the name "Higashi-Sapporo City" (東さっぽろ市). Because Naganuma stayed out, Nanporo would have been cut off from the rest of the new city. Nanporo voters opposed the merger in an October 2004 referendum, its council rejected it, and the merger council was dissolved in March 200512.
  • 2009–10: Yuni was classed as a "fiscal early-recovery municipality" (財政健全化団体) and recovered after cutting costs1. The town timeline says the recovery plan was finished two years early, in September 201116.
  • 2011: Yuni Commercial High School closed. Yuni Parking Area was completed on 22 October and opened with the Dōtō Expressway link on 29 October1617. In August, Yuni and Hekinan signed a mutual-aid agreement for disasters16.
  • 2018: the Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake was felt at shindo 5-lower in Yuni16.
  • 2019: the Yūbari branch of the Sekishō Line closed, so Sekishō Line local trains now run only between Oiwake and Shin-Yūbari1.
  • 2020 onward: combined elementary–junior high education began in 2020, and the town marked its 130th anniversary in 2022162. In October 2024 a town-run demand bus to Kitahiroshima began, and in FY2025 Yuni joined the "South Sorachi" regional partnership of four cities and five towns (南空知定住自立圏)1.

Geography & climate
  • Landforms: Yuni lies in the Yuni–Abira Lowland (由仁安平低地), between the gentle Maoi Hills (馬追丘陵) to the west and south, which average about 250 m, and hills leading into the Yubari Mountains to the southeast. Elevation ranges from 24.7 m to 506.6 m, and most of the town is flat, fertile farmland1.
  • Soils: alluvial soils line the Yubari River and diluvial soils cover the hills. Much of the ground is volcanic soil from the Tarumae volcano, which is somewhat less fertile1.
  • Rivers and water: the Yubari River (夕張川) runs north–south and forms part of the boundary with Yubari and Kuriyama1. Other rivers include the Yuni River (由仁川) and the Yarikirenai River, a Class A river (一級河川) and tributary of the Yubari in the Ishikari River system, about 5 km long1012. Its basin is given as 6.8 km²18. Furusan Reservoir (古山貯水池, read ふるさん) has a nature park and campground19.
  • Viewpoints: the observation deck in Fushimidai Park, 146 m above sea level, looks over the rice fields toward Mt. Yūbari-dake (夕張岳) and Maoi-yama15.
  • Climate: the inland position brings large temperature swings, but the town describes snowfall as light and the climate as mild for Hokkaido. In 2023 the annual mean temperature was 9.0 °C, precipitation 811.5 mm and cumulative snowfall 500 cm, and snowfall varies a lot from year to year1. Record temperatures were not found in the sources consulted.

Economy & industry
  • Agriculture: farm households fell from 534 in 2000 to 304 in 2020 and 258 in 2025. Farm workers fell from 895 in 2015 to 504 in 2025, and 54.8% of them were 65 or older in 2025. Cultivated land has held roughly steady at 5,651 ha (2025) because each farm now works more land1. Rice was the base, and after Japan's rice-acreage controls farms diversified into wheat, beans, vegetables and flowers1.
  • Specialty farming: cut flowers, mainly baby's breath (カスミ草) and lisianthus, now bring in more than ¥300 million in sales and are valued in Honshu markets for their color and long vase life. Yuni also grows log-grown shiitake (only 3.4% of Hokkaido shiitake is grown on logs), strawberries from heated greenhouses from mid-to-late February, and "mammoth" melons and watermelons9.
  • Manufacturing: in 2021 there were 28 establishments with 389 employees and about ¥11.05 billion in shipments1. Nihon Shokuhin Seizō (日本食品製造, maker of "Nisshoku" oatmeal and cereals) has a factory in Mikawa5. Other firms in town include makers of automatic doors, wire mesh and concrete products13.
  • Commerce: 61 shops with 354 employees and ¥10.3 billion in annual sales (2021), down from 147 shops in 19911.
  • Tourism: Yuni Garden is the anchor, backed by the onsen hotel, golf and park-golf courses, farm-experience plots, an auto campground and farm restaurants. The town says a town-wide system for receiving visitors is still a major task1. The tourism association runs year-round cycling-tourism events5. Annual visitor numbers were not found.
  • Demographics: 65-and-over residents made up 42.9% of the population in 2020, up from 5.0% in 1960. Employment fell from 5,965 in 1960 to 2,597 in 2020, and the primary-sector share fell from 60.1% to 35.9%1. The town projects about 3,482 residents in 2040 and 2,423 in 20601.
  • Revitalization: the town is courting telework and satellite-office firms, runs a migration and settlement support center, and has declared itself a Zero Carbon City120.

Local specialties
Specialty Category Details & where to get it
Rice: ゆめぴりか, ななつぼし, おぼろづき, 豊作米®, 六代目米将軍, 命米 Crop Several farms sell their own brands. Hōsakukai Nōen's "Hōsaku-mai" (豊作米®) and Gashū Nōsan's lowland-soil "Rokudaime Kome Shōgun" (六代目米将軍) are offered as furusato gifts. Katagiri Nōen's "Inochi-mai" (命米) is grown in Hon-Mikawa and sold at the farm's own greengrocer, Katagiri Nōen Market, which is across the border in Naganuma. Yunni Direct Sales (ゆんに直売所, Higashi-Mikawa 926) has a rice vending machine that runs all year and sells vegetables on summer weekends215
Yukihikari rice (ゆきひかり) Crop A variety grown by Kii Farm (喜井ファーム) and marketed as friendly to people with allergies21
Reduced-pesticide rice Crop "YES!clean" rice grown with less than half the usual pesticide by the ゆに減農薬米生産組合9
Yukkuri-imo sweet potato (由栗いも) Crop / sweets A sweet potato branded jointly by Yuni and neighboring Kuriyama, as the characters 由 and 栗 suggest22. In Yuni it is grown by young local farmers and goes into tarts, kibidango and caramel, and into a popular soft-serve at Yuni Garden5
Log-grown shiitake (原木しいたけ) Crop Seven farms grow it. You can pick your own at Kitai Farm (北井農園, Yamamasu) from October to December, by reservation. It also goes into the dried "Yasai-meshi" rice mix (野菜めし)95
"Mammo-suika" watermelon & Mammoth melon (マンモスイカ / マンモスメロン) Fruit Named after the mammoth fossil find. The watermelon name is a blend of マンモス (mammoth) and スイカ (watermelon). Morita Farm in Higashi-Mikawa sells the watermelons from about August at a stand on Route 274, and the red-fleshed melons from Yuni Natural Melon Cooperative are popular as gifts9
Strawberries (いちご) Fruit Akihime greenhouse berries, a gift-grade variety, are sold from mid-to-late February95. Kawashima Farm (河島農園, Naka-Mikawa 324) offers pick-your-own "Momo no Sachi" (百々の幸) berries, by phone inquiry5
Tsurukichi Natsuho® wheat (つるきち夏穂®) Grain A high-protein wheat from Iwasaki Farm (岩崎農園) and Komugi (誇夢技), sold as flour, ramen and spelt (Hohenloher) flour5
Corn and vegetable products Processed Kii Farm makes "Gyugyutto! Tōmorokoshi" corn processed on the day of picking, butter potatoes and pumpkin retort packs. There are also canned asparagus and sweet corn95
Nisshoku oatmeal & cereals Processed Made at Nihon Shokuhin Seizō's Mikawa factory. In town they are sold at Seicomart Yuni and Terasawa59
Yuni-Dore dressing (ゆにドレ) Condiment Made from Yuni onions with herbs and sold at local shops95
Kuniwo salmon kimchi (くにをの鮭キムチ) Preserved food Large pieces of salmon in a secret kimchi sauce. The company is at Chūō 149-1. In town it is sold at Terasawa (てらさわ, a local shop founded in 1902) and Yuni Garden5
Yarikirenai River (ヤリキレナイ川) Sake A junmai sake made from Hokkaido rice and named after the river59
Tōkimi 100 (とうきみ100) Shōchū 25% ABV shōchū made entirely from corn grown by JA Sorachi-minami (そらち南農協)9
Miso horumon (みそホルモン) Local dish Tokyo Hormon (東京ホルモン, Honchō 299) has served it for about 50 years: offal simmered and grilled on a special iron plate in a secret miso sauce, with noodles to finish. There is also a "horumon manjū" steamed bun5
"Reverse burger" (逆バーガー) Local dish Yuni-raised meat on the outside with the bun in the middle. Served at Shokujidokoro Maruyama, a station-front diner (Honchō 153)523
Crafts Craft Mangetō® (万華陶) ceramics from UNI Kinugama gallery appear in the furusato catalog. The metal workshop yurisuke makes copper and brass goods, by appointment215
Furusato nozei gifts Return gifts Donations can be made through Satofull, Rakuten, Furusato Choice, Furunavi and Amazon. Gifts are mainly rice and produce, and there is a digital golf coupon for Yuni Tobu Golf Club worth 30% of the donation2421

Culture & festivals
Event When Highlights
Yuni Summer Festival & Centipede Race (由仁町夏まつり・百足競走) Early August. The 49th was on 2 August 2026 Started in 1975 by the town's youth council for its 30th anniversary. Teams of six run in a line with their feet roped together. Divisions are men's and women's (junior-high age and up), children, and "Karugamo" pairs of a small child and a parent, on 100 m or 30 m courses. The day also has a 50-person centipede, mochi- and candy-throwing, Maoi taiko drumming, stalls and a big bingo draw. It is held outside the Fureru cultural hall785
Kochia Hill color change, Yuni Garden Late summer to autumn, fully red in October (garden open through 3 November) 32,000 kochia plants turn from green to red, with evening illumination for a limited period62526
Yuni Pottering (ゆにポタリング) Several times a year since 2022. The 9th was on 6 September 2026 A "see, eat, experience" cycling tour through farmland and local eateries2722
Yuni SNOW Pottering February (7 February 2026) A winter cycling event2722
Yukkuri-imo Festival (由栗いもフェスティバル) Month unverified. Held 2021–2024 Features the town's brand sweet potato22
Yuni New Potato Festival (ゆに新じゃがフェスティバル) Month unverified. Held 2020–2023 A new-potato harvest event22
Mikawa Jizō Festival (三川地蔵まつり) Month unverified A traditional festival in the Mikawa district. The town lists it with the summer festival as an event it supports1
  • Performing arts and culture: the town culture federation (文化連盟) holds a culture festival and music and performing-arts shows. The multipurpose hall Fureru (文化交流館ふれ～る, Tōei 87-1) hosts concerts and stage events1288. Maoi taiko (馬追太鼓) drumming is performed at the summer festival5.
  • Shrines: Yuni Shrine (由仁神社) stands in the town center and Mikawa Shrine (三川神社) in Mikawa5.
  • Museum: Yumekku-kan (ゆめっく館) combines a library and a local-history museum (see Sights)11.

Ainu heritage

Ainu heritage in Yuni survives mainly in place names: the town name Yuunni and the Ainu forms behind the Yarikirenai River210. The sources consulted document no Ainu archaeological sites, cultural facility or living tradition in the town. Visitors interested in Ainu culture usually go to Upopoy (National Ainu Museum) in Shiraoi.

Sister & friendship cities
  • Hekinan, Aichi Prefecture (愛知県碧南市): youth friendship city agreement signed in April 1988. The link goes back to Katō Heigorō, who came from the Hekinan area and opened up Yuni's Mikawa district in 189524. Youth delegations, sports teams and cultural groups visited each other through the 1990s and 2000s, and on 8 August 2011 the two towns signed a mutual-aid agreement for disasters16.
  • International: none found.

Notable people
  • Shikanai Nobutaka (鹿内信隆, 1911–1990): head of the Fuji Sankei Group and president of Nippon Broadcasting, Fuji TV and the Sankei Shimbun. He grew up in Yuni, and most biographies, including his own memoir, give Yuni as his birthplace. The writer Sano Shin'ichi says he was born in Rumoi instead37.
  • Kamebuchi Akinobu (亀渕昭信, born 1942): radio DJ and president of Nippon Broadcasting from 1999 to 2005. He is from Yuni and has served as a Yuni hometown ambassador, though some profiles give his birthplace as Sapporo38.
  • Sugimoto Iqura (杉基イクラ): a manga artist born in Yuni, known for Nanamaru Sanbatsu (ナナマルサンバツ)39.

Sources

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

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  3. 令和8年全国都道府県市区町村別面積調（4月1日時点） — 国土地理院 JA accessed 2026-09-23
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  6. ゆにガーデン — 由仁町 JA accessed 2026-09-23
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