One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Kamishihoro上士幌町
Balloons over the plain, bridge ruins in the lake
Tokachi region · Obihiro food, Tokachigawa Onsen and seasonal gardens on the Tokachi Plain.
Ballooning over the Tokachi plain, the Naitai highland farm — Japan's largest public ranch — and bridge ruins emerging from Lake Nukabira.
Kamishihoro stretches from the top of the Tokachi plain deep into the Higashi-Taisetsu mountains, and it holds two of the region's best-known sights. Lake Nukabira, a reservoir in the mountains, hides the concrete arches of the Taushubetsu River Bridge, which surface as the water level falls. Naitai Kogen, Japan's largest public ranch, spreads its pastures up a hillside with the plain below. The town also hosts hot-air balloon festivals. It suits drivers heading over the Mikuni Pass and anyone who likes big, empty highland scenery.
- Region
- Tokachi (十勝)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~189 km · 2.9 h summer / 3.4 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~214 km · 3.3 h summer / 3.9 h winter
- Best season in Tokachi
- Late spring to autumn for gardens and green farmland; seasonal gardens such as Manabe Garden close in winter, when food, onsen and snowy scenery shape the trip.
Kamishihoro 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 Kamishihoro
Taushubetsu River Bridge
タウシュベツ川橋梁
An old concrete arch bridge left in the reservoir when the railway was rerouted, now a ruin that emerges from Lake Nukabira as the water drops and disappears again by late summer. Viewpoints are on the far shore, with guided access closer.
Naitai Kogen Ranch
ナイタイ高原牧場
Japan's largest public ranch, a hillside of pasture where cattle graze in summer and the road climbs to a terrace with a view across the whole Tokachi plain. Snow closes it in winter.
Mikuni Pass
三国峠
The highest pass on any national route in Hokkaido, on Route 273 toward Sounkyo. The lookout hangs above an unbroken sea of forest, spectacular in autumn colour.
Nukabira Gensenkyo Onsen
糠平温泉郷
A small hot-spring village on the lake shore inside Daisetsuzan National Park, with a nature centre on the Higashi-Taisetsu range, a base for the bridge and for skiing in winter.
Getting to Kamishihoro
About an hour by car north of Obihiro on National Route 241, and around 1.5 hours from Tokachi-Obihiro Airport. There is no railway; Obihiro is the nearest station. Nukabira is another 30 minutes north, and Route 273 carries on over the Mikuni Pass to Sounkyo and Kamikawa.
Tokachi region: Tokachi-Obihiro Airport and JR Obihiro Station are the main gateways. Plan the last stretch separately: the airport bus into the city, a local bus or taxi to the racecourse or onsen, and a car or taxi for gardens outside the centre.
When to visit Kamishihoro
Late winter, January to March, when Lake Nukabira freezes and you can walk out on the ice to the bridge. May to June for the arches standing clear above low water. August for the balloon festival, late September to October for foliage at Mikuni Pass and Naitai in its last green weeks.
What to eat in Kamishihoro
Dairy from the highland ranches, sold as milk, cheese and soft-serve at the Naitai terrace and the roadside station. Beef raised on the same pastures, plus potatoes, beans and wheat from the fields around town. Inns at Nukabira serve simple mountain meals.
Kamishihoro in context: the Tokachi region
Click a town to open its page
Tokachi is an eastern Hokkaido region of 19 municipalities spread across the Tokachi Plain, a wide farming area that reaches far beyond Obihiro city. Obihiro is the usual base, with butadon pork rice bowls, sweets and banei racing, in which heavy draft horses pull sleds along a course.