One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Suttsu寿都町
The wind town on Suttsu Bay
Shiribeshi region · Powder, canals and the bluest coast in Japan.
Suttsu harnesses its famous winds for power and slow-cooks shirasu whitebait into the town's signature savory preserve.
Suttsu is a fishing town curled around a bay on the Sea of Japan, and wind is its identity. A local gale called the dashi blows down the valley so reliably that the town built Japan's first municipal wind turbines here decades ago, and the blades still turn above the harbour. Cape Benkei juts out at the bay's mouth, herring-era history lingers in the port, and the food is pure coast. It suits travellers working the quiet southwest coast between Iwanai and Oshamambe.
- Region
- Shiribeshi (後志)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~154 km · 2.4 h summer / 2.8 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~123 km · 1.9 h summer / 2.2 h winter
- Best season in Shiribeshi
- December–March for powder, June–August for Shakotan blue and uni. Otaru works in any season.
Suttsu 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 Suttsu
Cape Benkei
弁慶岬
A grassy headland with a lighthouse at the mouth of the bay, named for the warrior monk Benkei who legend says waited here for reinforcements. Big skies, and the whole Suttsu coast laid out below.
The wind turbines
町営の風車
Suttsu was the first municipality in Japan to run its own wind farm. The turbines on the ridges above town are a landmark you can see from most of the bay, and the town still explains itself through them.
Michi-no-Eki Minatoma-re Suttsu
道の駅みなとま〜れ寿都
The roadside station (Michi-no-Eki) sits right on the harbour, with a seafood counter that runs through the local specialities and a deck facing the fishing fleet.
Getting to Suttsu
Route 229 links Suttsu to Iwanai in the north and Shimamaki in the south; Route 5 via Kuromatsunai connects it to the Sapporo–Hakodate corridor. Oshamambe station, with limited expresses on the Sapporo–Hakodate line, is about 40 minutes by car. Sapporo is roughly two and a half to three hours by car, and New Chitose Airport similar.
Shiribeshi region: Otaru is 40 minutes from Sapporo by train; Niseko is about 2 hours by car or winter bus. Shakotan needs a car.
When to visit Suttsu
Late spring through early autumn, May to October, when the bay is calm, the cape is green and the whitebait boats are out. Oysters from the bay are a winter to spring product. Winter itself is famous for the wind and best left to the locals.
What to eat in Suttsu
The signature is namadaki shirasu, whitebait simmered fresh from the net into a savoury preserve. Bay-raised oysters, Atka mackerel served over rice as the town's own hokke-meshi, sea urchin in summer and salmon in autumn round out a menu that hardly leaves the harbour.
Suttsu in context: the Shiribeshi region
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Shiribeshi packs three world-class reasons to visit into one compact peninsula. In winter, Niseko's legendary powder falls beneath the perfect cone of Mt. Yotei, drawing skiers from every continent. Year-round, Otaru's canal glows under gas lamps, its herring-boom mansions and sushi counters an easy trip from Sapporo.