One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Kushiro Town釧路町
The town with the best seat over Kushiro Marsh
Kushiro region · Kushiro City, the Kushiro Marsh and the lakes of Akan and Teshikaga.
Kushiro Town owns the best seat over Kushiro Marsh — the Hosooka overlook — plus kombu coves with famously unreadable Ainu place names.
Kushiro Town wraps around the east side of Kushiro City and is a separate municipality, a mix of suburbs, dairy pasture and a rugged Pacific coast. Its claim to fame is the Hosooka overlook, the classic wide view of the Kushiro River winding through Japan's largest marsh, with Lake Takkobu tucked below it. Down on the Konbumori coast, Ainu-derived place names are so hard to read that even Japanese visitors photograph the road signs. A town for marsh views and quiet kelp-fishing coves rather than nightlife.
- Region
- Kushiro (釧路)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~315 km · 4.8 h summer / 5.7 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~349 km · 5.4 h summer / 6.4 h winter
- Best season in Kushiro
- Summer suits wetland walks, canoeing and the lakes; winter is a popular time for crane watching. Plan around the season and the day's weather.
Kushiro Town 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 Kushiro Town
Hosooka Observatory
細岡展望台
The 'Great Overlook' on the eastern rim of Kushiro Marsh: the river's meanders, the reed plain to the horizon and, on clear days, the Akan volcanoes behind. A short walk up from Kushiro-Shitsugen station.
Lake Takkobu
達古武湖
A shallow marsh lake below the overlook with a campground and a boardwalk trail through the forest on its shore. Canoe trips into the marsh often start from here.
Konbumori coast
昆布森海岸
A cliff-and-cove coastline south of town where kelp is dried on the beaches in summer. The village names along the road, all from Ainu, are famously unreadable, and Cape Shirepa at the far end looks out over an open Pacific.
Getting to Kushiro Town
Kushiro Airport is about an hour by car. Beppo station on the Nemuro Main Line serves the town centre, and the Senmo Line's Toya and Kushiro-Shitsugen stations are the ones for the marsh and Hosooka. Route 44 runs east toward Akkeshi and Route 391 north along the marsh. From Sapporo it is roughly five hours by car.
Kushiro region: Kushiro Airport and JR Kushiro Station are the main gateways. Airport buses serve both the city centre and Lake Akan; check transport to wetland sites, the Teshikaga lakes and tour meeting points separately.
When to visit Kushiro Town
May to October for the overlook and canoeing, with June and July the greenest months on the marsh. Winter is quieter but the snow-covered marsh from Hosooka is worth the cold, and the Konbumori kelp drying happens in July and August.
What to eat in Kushiro Town
Kelp is the signature: the Konbumori coast is a kombu fishery, and kelp products fill the town's shelves. The same coast brings sea urchin, hokke mackerel and salmon, and inland dairy farms supply milk and beef. Being next to Kushiro City, the robatayaki and ramen culture spills over too.
Kushiro Town in context: the Kushiro region
Click a town to open its page
The Kushiro region covers eight municipalities in eastern Hokkaido. Kushiro City is the main gateway, with the airport, Kushiro Station and a harbour known for seafood and robatayaki charcoal grills. The Kushiro Marsh, Japan's largest wetland, lies north of the city and spreads across several municipalities, so plan your visit around a specific observatory, boardwalk or canoe tour.