One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Nanae七飯町
Onuma's island lakes under the cone of Komagatake
Oshima region · Hakodate's night view, castle towns and the shinkansen gateway.
Nanae holds Onuma Quasi-National Park — islet-dotted lakes under Mt. Komagatake — and claims the birthplace of Western farming and the Danshaku potato.
Nanae runs north from the edge of Hakodate up to the lakes of Onuma Quasi-National Park, where Mt. Komagatake, a jagged active volcano, stands over water dotted with more than a hundred islets. This is the easiest big scenery near Hakodate, half an hour by train, with cycling, boats and lakeside walks. The town also has a farming pedigree: Western agricultural methods were introduced here in the 1860s, apple orchards were among the first in Hokkaido, and the Danshaku potato was bred at a farm in the town.
- Region
- Oshima (渡島)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~166 km · 2.6 h summer / 3 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~183 km · 2.8 h summer / 3.3 h winter
- Best season in Oshima
- Late April–early May for Matsumae and Goryokaku cherry blossoms; the night view and markets shine year-round.
Nanae 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 Nanae
Onuma Quasi-National Park
大沼国定公園
Three lakes, Onuma, Konuma and Junsainuma, formed when Komagatake's eruptions dammed the valleys. Bridges link the islets near Onuma-Koen station into a walking circuit, and a cycling road loops the whole of Onuma in an hour or two.
Mt. Komagatake
駒ヶ岳
An active volcano whose summit collapsed into the three-horned outline seen from every angle around the lakes. Climbing is permitted only in a set season and up to a fixed point below the crater; the trailhead is on the Mori side.
Shirotai Pasture viewpoint
城岱牧場展望台
A town-run pasture on the ridge road between Nanae and Onuma, with a viewpoint looking down on Hakodate, the bay and the strait. Cows graze in front, the city spreads out behind them. The road is closed in winter.
Michi-no-Eki Nanairo Nanae
道の駅なないろ・ななえ
The roadside station (Michi-no-Eki) on National Route 5 at the southern end of town, built around the town's apples and Danshaku potatoes, with a memorial hall to the farmer who bred the potato next door.
Getting to Nanae
Trains on the JR Hakodate Main Line reach Nanae in about 20 minutes and Onuma-Koen in about 40 from Hakodate; limited expresses to Sapporo also stop at Onuma-Koen. Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto, the shinkansen terminus, is one stop away. By car, National Route 5 and the expressway pass through, and Hakodate Airport is about 30 minutes from the town centre.
Oshima region: The Hokkaido Shinkansen arrives at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto; Hakodate also has its own airport with Tokyo flights.
When to visit Nanae
May to October for the lakes, with cycling and boats from spring, green pastures in summer and the maples around the islets turning in late October. Winter freezes Onuma solid enough for smelt fishing on the ice and strips the volcano bare against the snow.
What to eat in Nanae
Apples are the town's fruit, with orchards along Route 5 and juice and sweets made from them. The Danshaku potato was bred here and is still grown, and the lakes give the dango skewers sold at Onuma station and pond smelt in winter. Dairy from the pastures and beef raised near the lakes are local staples too.
Nanae in context: the Oshima region
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Oshima is Hokkaido's historic south — the first part of the island to open to the outside world. Hakodate wears that history beautifully: Motomachi's churches and slopes, red-brick warehouses on the bay, a morning market that justifies the trip alone, and the celebrated night view from Mt. Hakodate.