One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Mukawaむかわ町
Real shishamo drying by the sea, and a dinosaur in the hills
Iburi region · Volcano country — lakes, hell valleys and Ainu culture.
Mukawa means shishamo — the real, local kind grilled whole — and Kamuysaurus, the dinosaur skeleton dug from its hills.
Mukawa sits where the Mukawa River meets the Pacific east of Tomakomai, and it is the town of shishamo, the small smelt that only spawns in a handful of rivers on this coast. In autumn, rows of the fish hang drying on lines by the harbor. Inland, the Hobetsu district produced Kamuysaurus, a near-complete duck-billed dinosaur skeleton found in its hills and now displayed in the town museum. The Hidaka Line ends here, which makes Mukawa the last stop by rail on this coast. It suits food-focused travelers and families with a dinosaur fan on board.
- Region
- Iburi (胆振)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~49 km · 48 min summer / 54 min winter
- From Sapporo
- ~98 km · 1.5 h summer / 1.8 h winter
- Best season in Iburi
- Year-round onsen country; summer adds Lake Toya's nightly fireworks, winter makes the hot springs sweeter.
Mukawa 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 Mukawa
Hobetsu Museum
穂別博物館
The town museum in the Hobetsu district holds Kamuysaurus japonicus, the largest and most complete dinosaur skeleton found in Japan, along with marine reptiles and ammonites from the same hills. Small, serious and well worth the drive inland.
Shishamo drying racks
ししゃもの簾干し
From October to November the harbor area fills with 'sudare-boshi', fish strung in rows on bamboo and hung to dry in the sea wind. It is the sight the town is known for, and fresh-grilled shishamo is easy to find around town in the same weeks.
Michi-no-Eki Mukawa Shiki-no-Yakata
道の駅むかわ四季の館
A roadside station in the town centre that also holds a public hot-spring bath and other town facilities alongside the shishamo shop, so most visitors end up here at some point. Good for a soak after the beach or the museum.
Mukawa river mouth and beach
鵡川河口と海岸
The estuary is a stopover for migrating shorebirds, and the Pacific beach beyond it is long and empty, with the Hidaka mountains in the distance on clear days. Sunsets over the water here are the town's quiet evening show.
Getting to Mukawa
Mukawa station is the eastern end of the JR Hidaka Line from Tomakomai, with a handful of local trains a day; beyond here the coast is bus-only. By car, New Chitose Airport is about 40 minutes via the Hidaka Expressway or Route 235, and Sapporo about 1.5 hours. Route 274 climbs inland to Hobetsu, which also has an exit on the Do-to Expressway.
Iburi region: On the main Sapporo–Hakodate corridor: JR stops at Noboribetsu and Toya, and Upopoy is right by Shiraoi station.
When to visit Mukawa
October to November is shishamo season, when the fish run up the river, the drying racks go up and the town is at its liveliest. Summer is for the beach and the river, and July to August for Hobetsu melons. The museum is a year-round destination.
What to eat in Mukawa
Shishamo is the town's whole reputation: the true Hokkaido species, not the imported capelin sold under the name elsewhere, eaten grilled, sun-dried or raw as sushi in season. Hobetsu grows melons in summer, and rice and vegetables come from the river plain. Everything else is secondary here.
Mukawa in context: the Iburi region
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Iburi is where Hokkaido's volcanic engine comes to the surface. Lake Toya fills a vast caldera ringed by hot-spring hotels and a still-smoking young volcano; Noboribetsu's Jigokudani 'Hell Valley' steams and bubbles above one of Japan's most celebrated onsen towns.