One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Engaru遠軽町
A great rock over town and ten million cosmos on the hill
Okhotsk region · Abashiri, Monbetsu and Shiretoko in northeastern Hokkaido.
Engaru plants ten million cosmos flowers on its Sun Hill each autumn, watched over by the great Ganbo Rock.
Engaru is the railway town of the western Okhotsk, where the Sekihoku Main Line reverses direction at a switchback station under Ganbo Rock, a sheer cliff that has watched over the town since it was a pioneer settlement. The town merged with three mountain villages and now stretches deep into the hills toward the Kitami Pass: Maruseppu with its hot spring and forest railway park, Shirataki with its obsidian, Ikutahara with its farms. Autumn brings the cosmos, ten million of them on a hill above town.
- Region
- Okhotsk (オホーツク)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~245 km · 3.8 h summer / 4.5 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~248 km · 3.8 h summer / 4.5 h winter
- Best season in Okhotsk
- Winter for a chance of drift ice (never guaranteed); the green season for lakes and Shiretoko. Check access for your dates.
Engaru at a glance
Drive estimates: straight-line × 1.35, at 65 km/h (summer) / 55 km/h (winter). How we calculate
What to see in Engaru
Ganbo Rock
瞰望岩
A cliff of bare rock rising straight out of the town centre, climbed by a short path to a top that looks over the whole town, the river and the station below. Sacred to the Ainu, and the town's emblem.
Taiyo-no-Oka Engaru Park
太陽の丘えんがる公園
A hillside park above town that plants one of the largest cosmos fields in Japan, in bloom from late August through September, with a lookout and walking paths through the flowers.
Maruseppu forest park
丸瀬布いこいの森
A riverside park in the Maruseppu hills where a preserved steam locomotive from the old forestry railway still runs on a loop through the trees on weekends in season, with a hot spring and campsite alongside.
Shirataki obsidian sites
白滝の黒曜石遺跡
The Shirataki area holds one of the largest obsidian sources in Japan and a cluster of stone-age sites designated as a national historic site. A museum near the roadside station explains the tools and the trade routes.
Getting to Engaru
Engaru station is on the JR Sekihoku Main Line, and limited express trains from Sapporo take around four hours. Monbetsu Airport is about an hour by car and Memanbetsu about an hour and a half. The Asahikawa-Monbetsu expressway and Route 333 come over the Kitami Pass from Asahikawa, and Route 242 heads south to Kitami.
Okhotsk region: Memanbetsu Airport is the gateway for Abashiri and the Shari side; Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport serves Monbetsu. From either airport, the last leg to your pier, hotel or Utoro is a separate bus, taxi or car journey, so check it for your dates.
When to visit Engaru
Late August to September for the cosmos on the hill, the town's signature. May and June for the fresh green of the mountain valleys and the start of the forest railway season at Maruseppu, which runs into autumn. Winter is snowy and cold in the hills, with the Maruseppu hot spring as the draw.
What to eat in Engaru
The valley farms grow wheat, potatoes, beans and sugar beet, and there is dairy and beef in the hill villages. Wild mushrooms and mountain vegetables come out of the forests in spring and autumn, and the roadside stations sell local honey and wood products alongside the produce.
Engaru in context: the Okhotsk region
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The Okhotsk region covers 18 municipalities in northeastern Hokkaido, including Abashiri, Kitami, Monbetsu and Shari. In winter, sightseeing boats leave Abashiri and Monbetsu. Drift ice can reach this coast, but when, where and how much varies from year to year, and weather and sea conditions decide each departure.