One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Kuriyama栗山町
Old sake warehouses and the great purple emperor
Sorachi region · Coal country turned wine valley — Hokkaido's quiet middle.
Kuriyama is home to one of Hokkaido's oldest sake breweries, its historic wooden warehouses open to visitors every spring.
Kuriyama is a town on the Yubari River south of Iwamizawa, on the Muroran Main Line, and it is one of the older settled places in Sorachi. Its centre is a street of dark wooden sake warehouses belonging to one of Hokkaido's oldest breweries, opened to crowds every spring. On the wooded hill behind the town, the town raises the great purple emperor, Japan's national butterfly, and shows it in a small observation house. Come for sake, butterflies and a September street festival that fills the town.
- Region
- Sorachi (空知)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~43 km · 42 min summer / 48 min winter
- From Sapporo
- ~57 km · 54 min summer / 1 h winter
- Best season in Sorachi
- Late spring for canola blooms, summer to early autumn for vineyards and melon season.
Kuriyama 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 Kuriyama
Sake brewery street
酒蔵の通り
A row of wooden storehouses from the Meiji era belonging to a brewery founded in 1878, one of the oldest in Hokkaido. The buildings are a landmark year-round and the grounds open for a festival each spring.
Fabre Forest and the great purple emperor
ファーブルの森・オオムラサキ館
A town nature reserve on the hill above the centre, where the great purple emperor butterfly is bred and released. The observation house lets you see the adults in July, and the forest trails are open all season.
Kuriyama Park
栗山公園
A town park at the foot of the hill with a small free zoo of farm animals and deer, a pond, playgrounds and cherry trees. It runs straight into the Fabre Forest trails.
Kuriyama Autumn Festival
栗山秋まつり
One of Hokkaido's biggest street fairs, held in September, with hundreds of stalls along the main street and crowds from across the region. For a few days the quiet town is anything but.
Getting to Kuriyama
Kuriyama station is on the JR Muroran Main Line, about 20 minutes from Iwamizawa by local train, with connections there to Sapporo. By car it is about an hour from Sapporo via Route 274 and Route 234, and about 45 minutes from New Chitose Airport. Buses also run from Sapporo.
Sorachi region: An easy detour off the Sapporo–Asahikawa corridor by car or JR. Wineries are best reached by car.
When to visit Kuriyama
Spring for the brewery festival and early May for cherry blossom in the park; July for the butterflies; September for the autumn festival and the rice harvest around town. October colour on the hill is a bonus.
What to eat in Kuriyama
Sake is the obvious purchase, brewed here with Hokkaido rice and cold water. The town also grows rice and vegetables, sold at stands in season, and sake-lees sweets and snacks made beside the brewery make good souvenirs.
Kuriyama in context: the Sorachi region
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Sorachi is the Hokkaido most travelers drive straight through — and that's exactly why it stays wonderful. A century ago this valley powered Japan with coal; towns like Yubari and Mikasa still carry that industrial memory in museums, rail relics and quiet main streets.
Towns near Kuriyama
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More towns in Sorachi
Other regions: Ishikari · Shiribeshi · Iburi · Hidaka · Oshima · Hiyama · Kamikawa · Rumoi · Soya · Okhotsk · Tokachi · Kushiro · Nemuro