One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Takikawa滝川市
Canola gold in May, lamb on the grill all year
Sorachi region · Inland central Hokkaido: coal heritage, wineries and seasonal fields.
In late May Takikawa turns gold — one of Japan's largest canola blossom landscapes — and its lamb jingisukan tradition runs deep.
Takikawa sits where the Sorachi River joins the Ishikari, halfway between Sapporo and Asahikawa, and is the practical hub of northern Sorachi. In late May its rolling farmland turns gold with one of the largest canola blooms in Japan, and coach loads come out for it. The rest of the year it is a rail junction, a glider airfield, a museum with a fossil sea cow, and the town that gave Hokkaido its marinated lamb jingisukan.
- Region
- Sorachi (空知)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~128 km · 2 h summer / 2.3 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~104 km · 1.6 h summer / 1.9 h winter
- Best season in Sorachi
- Canola usually in mid to late May, the coal museum from spring to autumn (closed in winter); winery visits depend on each winery.
Takikawa 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 Takikawa
Canola fields of Ebeotsu
江部乙の菜の花畑
Around the Ebeotsu district north of the centre, canola is grown in rotation with wheat, and in late May the hills are one of the largest yellow blooms in Japan. A canola festival is held at the peak.
Takikawa Sky Park
たきかわスカイパーク
A grass airfield on the Ishikari riverbank that is one of Japan's main glider centres. Gliders and light aircraft take off all summer, and there is a viewing area to watch from.
Takikawa Museum of Art and Natural History
滝川市美術自然史館
The city museum's prize is the Takikawa sea cow, a fossil of a large marine mammal dug from the riverbank here, shown alongside local art and the natural history of the Ishikari plain.
Ishikari–Sorachi confluence
石狩川と空知川の合流点
Two of Hokkaido's biggest rivers meet just below town, with levee paths, parkland and wide skies. The kind of place locals walk in the evening rather than a sight, but it explains why the city is here.
Getting to Takikawa
Takikawa station is the junction of the JR Hakodate Main Line and the Nemuro Main Line, about an hour from Sapporo by limited express and 35 minutes from Asahikawa. By car, Route 12 or the Do-o Expressway (Takikawa IC) from Sapporo takes about 1.5 hours; Asahikawa Airport is about an hour. Route 38 leaves here for Ashibetsu and Furano.
Sorachi region: Between Sapporo and Asahikawa by JR or car. Sights are spread out, so check the last leg from the station; anyone tasting wine should not drive.
When to visit Takikawa
Late May is the canola bloom, the one week the town is busy. June to September for gliders and the riverside. September brings the wheat and rice harvest and the second wave of farm produce. Jingisukan is year-round, indoors in winter and on the riverbank in summer.
What to eat in Takikawa
Marinated lamb jingisukan was developed here and is the dish to order: thin lamb in a soy-based marinade grilled with vegetables. Canola oil pressed from the local bloom, rice and wheat from the plain, and apples from the Ebeotsu orchards round out the local table.
Takikawa in context: the Sorachi region
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Coal mining shaped many Sorachi towns, and places such as Yubari and Mikasa still keep that history in museums, rail relics and quiet main streets.
Towns near Takikawa
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More towns in Sorachi
Other regions: Ishikari · Shiribeshi · Iburi · Hidaka · Oshima · Hiyama · Kamikawa · Rumoi · Soya · Okhotsk · Tokachi · Kushiro · Nemuro