One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Kitahiroshima北広島市
Where Hokkaido's rice began, and now its ballpark
Ishikari region · Sapporo's city life, plus Lake Shikotsu, Jozankei Onsen and the Ishikari City coast.
Kitahiroshima is home to ES CON FIELD HOKKAIDO. Check game and visiting schedules before planning a ballpark trip.
Kitahiroshima is a small city wedged between Sapporo and the airport, named after the Hiroshima settlers who cleared it in the 1880s. It holds two very different claims: the Shimamatsu district is where cold-climate rice farming in Hokkaido first succeeded, and the old post station there is where the Sapporo Agricultural College's first president said farewell to his students. Since 2023 the city has also been home to a ballpark village that draws crowds for baseball, hot springs and beer. For visitors it is an easy stop for a game, a hike in the forest park, or a look at where the island's farming started.
- Region
- Ishikari (石狩)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~34 km · 30 min summer / 36 min winter
- From Sapporo
- ~24 km · 24 min summer / 24 min winter
- Best season in Ishikari
- City food in every season, beer gardens in summer and the Snow Festival in winter. Check event dates before planning.
Kitahiroshima 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 Kitahiroshima
Hokkaido Ballpark F Village
北海道ボールパークFビレッジ
The stadium of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, opened in 2023, with a retractable roof, an in-stadium brewery and hot-spring baths. Open on non-game days too, and reachable by shuttle bus from Kitahiroshima station.
Old Shimamatsu Post Station
旧島松駅逓所
A preserved wooden inn on the old Sapporo road, designated a national historic site, where travellers and horses once rested. A monument beside it marks the birthplace of cold-climate rice cultivation in Hokkaido.
Nopporo Forest Park, Kitahiroshima side
野幌森林公園の北広島側
The southern reaches of the great lowland forest fall inside the city, with quieter trails than the museum end. Northern woodland of oak, maple and spruce, good for a slow walk in any season.
Getting to Kitahiroshima
Kitahiroshima station is on the JR Chitose Line, about 20 minutes from Sapporo and 20 from the airport, and rapid trains stop there. The Dō-ō Expressway has a Kitahiroshima interchange, and Routes 36 and 274 cross the city. From New Chitose Airport it is around 30 minutes by car; the ballpark is a 20-minute walk or a short shuttle from the station.
Ishikari region: New Chitose Airport and JR Sapporo Station are the main gateways. Lake Shikotsu, Jozankei and the Ishikari City coast each need their own onward bus or car journey.
When to visit Kitahiroshima
The baseball season runs from late March to October, and summer evenings at the open-roof ballpark are the town at its liveliest. May to June is planting time on the rice plain and the forest is at its greenest. Winter is quiet, with the stadium's hot springs and indoor spaces as the main draw.
What to eat in Kitahiroshima
Rice is the historic crop, and local rice still fills the farm stands in autumn. The ballpark has become a food destination in its own right, with beer brewed on site and stadium dishes that borrow from all over Hokkaido. Dairy and vegetables from the surrounding plain fill in the rest.
Kitahiroshima in context: the Ishikari region
Click a town to open its page
This guide covers the wider Ishikari region, which includes Sapporo and Chitose, home to New Chitose Airport. Ishikari City, on the northern coast, is one of its eight municipalities; if that is where you are heading, use the Ishikari City page.