One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Okoppe興部町
Dairy country on the northern Okhotsk coast
Okhotsk region · Abashiri, Monbetsu and Shiretoko in northeastern Hokkaido.
Okoppe is a dairy town whose butter and cheese have a cult following — and a rider-house in an old train car for touring cyclists.
Okoppe is a dairy town on the coast north of Monbetsu, where the Okoppe River comes down from the Nishiokoppe forests to a shore of long beaches and small fishing ports. Cows outnumber people many times over, and the town's butter and cheese have a following well beyond Hokkaido. For travelers it is a landmark on the Route 238 coastal drive, with a roadside station whose retired train cars serve as a free bunkhouse for touring cyclists and riders, and a fishing port at Saruru that lands hairy crab.
- Region
- Okhotsk (オホーツク)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~287 km · 4.4 h summer / 5.2 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~275 km · 4.2 h summer / 5 h winter
- Best season in Okhotsk
- Winter for a chance of drift ice (never guaranteed); the green season for lakes and Shiretoko. Check access for your dates.
Okoppe 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 Okoppe
Michi-no-Eki Okoppe
道の駅おこっぺ
The roadside station (Michi-no-Eki) on Route 238, with a dairy shop and two old railway carriages parked beside it that serve as a free rider house for cyclists and motorcyclists touring the coast in summer.
Saruru fishing port and coast
沙留の漁港と海岸
A small harbor at the northern end of town where hairy crab, scallops and salmon are landed, backed by a stretch of coast that gives some of the clearest views of the drift ice arriving in winter.
Dairy pastures of the Okoppe valley
興部川沿いの牧草地
Inland along the river the town is one continuous pasture, with big barns, silos and grazing herds against the forested hills. The roads through it are empty and good for slow cycling in June and July.
Getting to Okoppe
Monbetsu Airport is about 40 minutes by car. There is no railway on this coast; Nayoro station on the Soya Main Line is about an hour and a half inland via Route 239 through Nishiokoppe. Route 238 runs along the shore from Monbetsu north toward Omu, and Sapporo is roughly five hours away.
Okhotsk region: Memanbetsu Airport is the gateway for Abashiri and the Shari side; Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport serves Monbetsu. From either airport, the last leg to your pier, hotel or Utoro is a separate bus, taxi or car journey, so check it for your dates.
When to visit Okoppe
June to August, when the pastures are green, the rider house is open and the coast road is at its best. Spring for hairy crab and autumn for salmon at Saruru. February brings drift ice to the beaches, seen from the shore rather than a ship.
What to eat in Okoppe
Butter, cheese, milk and ice cream from the town's dairies are the reason to stop, and the roadside station sells all of them. From the sea come hairy crab in spring, scallops through the year and salmon and salmon roe in autumn. Beef from the same pastures rounds it out.
Okoppe in context: the Okhotsk region
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The Okhotsk region covers 18 municipalities in northeastern Hokkaido, including Abashiri, Kitami, Monbetsu and Shari. In winter, sightseeing boats leave Abashiri and Monbetsu. Drift ice can reach this coast, but when, where and how much varies from year to year, and weather and sea conditions decide each departure.