One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Takasu鷹栖町
Tomato juice and sunrise over the Daisetsu range
Kamikawa region · Lavender, patchwork hills and the roof of Hokkaido.
Takasu is quietly famous for tomato juice pressed from its own fields — and for sunrise views over the Taisetsu range across the valley.
Takasu is a farming town on the northwest edge of Asahikawa, close enough to be a suburb but still mostly rice paddies and vegetable fields running up to low wooded hills. Its name is best known for tomato juice pressed from the town's own crop, sold across Hokkaido. The hills on the eastern edge look straight across the Kamikawa basin to Daisetsuzan, which makes this a quiet place for sunrise views and short walks. Visit as a half-day from Asahikawa rather than a destination on its own.
- Region
- Kamikawa (上川)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~181 km · 2.8 h summer / 3.3 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~163 km · 2.5 h summer / 3 h winter
- Best season in Kamikawa
- July for lavender, September for Japan's first autumn colors on Daisetsuzan, winter for serious snow country.
Takasu 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 Takasu
Palette Hills
パレットヒルズ
A town park on a grassy hill with a wide view over the Kamikawa basin to the Daisetsu range. Good for sunrise, picnics and star-watching on clear nights.
Arashiyama forest
嵐山の森
The wooded ridge shared with Asahikawa on the town's southern edge, with walking trails through native forest and spring wildflowers on the slopes.
Tomato fields and farm stands
トマト畑と直売所
In late summer the town's tomato fields ripen and roadside stands sell fresh fruit, juice and vegetables. The harvest season is the best time to taste why the juice is famous.
Getting to Takasu
Asahikawa Airport is about 40 minutes by car. The Doo Expressway's Asahikawa-Takasu interchange is in the town, so Sapporo is under two hours by car. There is no railway station; JR Asahikawa station is about 15 minutes away by road, with local buses connecting.
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 Takasu
August and September for the tomato harvest and the fullest farm stands. May for spring wildflowers in the Arashiyama woods. Winter is deep and cold, and the town has little for visitors in snow season beyond quiet fields.
What to eat in Takasu
Tomato juice made only from Takasu tomatoes is the town's product, sold in bottles and cans all over the region. Rice from the paddies and seasonal vegetables from farm stands make up the rest. Local restaurants use the tomatoes in soups and sauces.
Takasu 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 Takasu
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More towns in Kamikawa
Other regions: Ishikari · Sorachi · Shiribeshi · Iburi · Hidaka · Oshima · Hiyama · Rumoi · Soya · Okhotsk · Tokachi · Kushiro · Nemuro