One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Nakagawa中川町
Ammonites in the riverbanks of the Teshio
Kamikawa region · Lavender, patchwork hills and the roof of Hokkaido.
Nakagawa digs ammonites out of its riverbanks — a fossil village on the Teshio with a fine little geology museum.
Nakagawa is a small town in the far north of Kamikawa where the Teshio River winds through low hills toward the Japan Sea. Its riverbanks and cliffs hold marine fossils from the age of the dinosaurs, and giant ammonites dug from them fill a town museum built in an old school. The Teshio itself is one of Japan's longest rivers and a canoe route runs through the town, with a roadside station and a town hot spring near the water. Cattle graze the hills. A place for fossils, paddling and silence.
- Region
- Kamikawa (上川)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~291 km · 4.5 h summer / 5.3 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~256 km · 3.9 h summer / 4.7 h winter
- Best season in Kamikawa
- July for lavender, September for Japan's first autumn colors on Daisetsuzan, winter for serious snow country.
Nakagawa 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 Nakagawa
Nakagawa Eco-Museum Centre
中川町エコミュージアムセンター
The town's natural history museum in a former school, with huge ammonites and marine reptile fossils found in the local cliffs, plus exhibits on the Teshio valley.
Teshio River canoe route
天塩川のカヌー
The river runs wide and slow through town on its way to the sea, and a long-distance canoe route with campsites passes here. Summer paddling trips can be arranged in town.
Michi-no-Eki Nakagawa
道の駅なかがわ
The roadside station on Route 40 at the north end of town, with local produce, fossil-themed souvenirs and information on the river. The last real stop before the Soya region.
Getting to Nakagawa
Asahikawa Airport is about three hours by car. Route 40 runs through town toward Wakkanai. JR Soya Main Line trains stop at Teshio-Nakagawa station, including some limited expresses. Sapporo is about 4.5 hours by car, so most people arrive from Wakkanai or on the way north.
Kamikawa region: Asahikawa has its own airport and fast JR links from Sapporo (about 85 minutes). Furano and Biei are best by car or the summer sightseeing trains.
When to visit Nakagawa
July and August for canoeing and the river campsites. Late September and October for autumn colors on the low hills and clear fossil-hunting weather. Winter is deep and quiet, and the river freezes over.
What to eat in Nakagawa
Beef cattle and dairy from the hills are the main products, along with river fish from the Teshio. Mountain vegetables in spring and mushrooms in autumn are gathered from the surrounding forest and sold at the roadside station.
Nakagawa in context: the Kamikawa region
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Kamikawa holds the two images most people picture when they think of Hokkaido in summer: Furano's purple lavender fields and Biei's rolling patchwork hills. Asahikawa, the island's second city, anchors the region with its shoyu ramen and a zoo famous for up-close animal enclosures.
Towns near Nakagawa
Read next
More towns in Kamikawa
Other regions: Ishikari · Sorachi · Shiribeshi · Iburi · Hidaka · Oshima · Hiyama · Rumoi · Soya · Okhotsk · Tokachi · Kushiro · Nemuro