One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Kyowa共和町
Raiden melons below the marsh ponds of Shinsen-numa
Shiribeshi region · Otaru's canal, Yoichi whisky, Niseko snow and the Shakotan coast.
Kyowa grows the Raiden melons and watermelons of summer roadside legend, and holds Shinsen-numa's moody marsh ponds on the Niseko range.
Kyowa fills the farmland between Kutchan and the Iwanai coast, and two things define it. On the ground, it grows the Raiden melons and watermelons that every roadside stand in southwest Hokkaido advertises in summer. Up on the Niseko range, it holds Shinsen-numa, the loveliest of the mountain ponds on the Niseko Panorama Line, reached by a boardwalk through dwarf pine and bog. Scarecrows are the town's mascot, which tells you the rest. Come in summer for fruit and in early autumn for the pond.
- Region
- Shiribeshi (後志)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~121 km · 1.9 h summer / 2.2 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~80 km · 1.2 h summer / 1.5 h winter
- Best season in Shiribeshi
- Winter for skiing around Niseko; summer for the Shakotan coast and Yoichi fruit, after checking current trail closures. Otaru works in any season.
Kyowa 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 Kyowa
Shinsen-numa
神仙沼
A high marsh pond on the Niseko range beside the Panorama Line, with a boardwalk loop through wetland and dwarf pine. Its still water and autumn colour make it the most photographed spot on the pass.
Niseko Panorama Line
ニセコパノラマライン
Prefectural Road 66 climbs from Kyowa's fields over the range to Niseko, with lookouts over the Iwanai coast and Yotei on the far side. Open roughly May to October.
Kakashi Furusato Museum
かかし古里館
The town's local-history museum, named for its scarecrow emblem, with farm tools, a schoolroom and the story of the settlers who turned this plain into melon country.
Getting to Kyowa
Routes 5 and 276 run through the town between Kutchan and Iwanai, and the Panorama Line branches off into the mountains. From Sapporo it is about two hours by car. The nearest useful station is Kutchan, on the Hakodate Main Line's mountain section, which still runs but is due to close after the Shinkansen extension. New Chitose Airport is around two and a half hours.
Shiribeshi region: JR links New Chitose Airport and Sapporo with Otaru. For Niseko, choose your hotel first, then a seasonal airport bus or JR with a local transfer. For Cape Kamui, change at Bikuni to the town bus and check whether it serves your stop on your date.
When to visit Kyowa
July and August for melons and watermelons piled at the stands along Route 5 and 276. Late September to early October for autumn colour at Shinsen-numa before the pass road closes. Late June brings the first bog flowers on the boardwalk.
What to eat in Kyowa
Raiden melons and Raiden watermelons, named after the coast nearby, are the summer brands the whole region knows. The plain also grows rice, asparagus and potatoes, and Iwanai's port next door supplies the fish.
Kyowa in context: the Shiribeshi region
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Shiribeshi is a region of western Hokkaido made up of 20 municipalities, from Otaru and Yoichi on the coast to Kutchan and Niseko inland. In winter, Niseko and Kutchan are bases for skiing within sight of Mt. Yotei. In any season, Otaru's canal, stone warehouses and sushi counters make a day trip from Sapporo.