One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Takinoue滝上町
A pink hillside in May and the smell of mint
Okhotsk region · Drift ice in winter, wilderness gateways all year.
Takinoue carpets a whole hillside in pink moss phlox each May and leads Japan in true Japanese mint — the town smells faintly of it.
Takinoue is a mountain town on the Shokotsu River, inland from Monbetsu on Route 273, ringed by forest and best known for one hillside that turns solid pink with moss phlox every May. It is also the leading producer of true Japanese mint, a crop that once made the whole region rich, and the town keeps a herb garden and distills mint oil that scents the local sweets. A river gorge runs right through the centre, and upstream the road climbs to a high marsh on the pass toward Asahikawa.
- Region
- Okhotsk (オホーツク)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~246 km · 3.8 h summer / 4.5 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~238 km · 3.7 h summer / 4.3 h winter
- Best season in Okhotsk
- Late January–March for drift ice; May–October for Shiretoko's lakes, falls and wildlife.
Takinoue 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 Takinoue
Shibazakura Takinoue Park
芝ざくら滝上公園
A steep hillside above the town centre planted entirely with moss phlox, in flower from early May into June. Paths zigzag up through the pink to a lookout over the river valley; the scent carries into town.
Kinsenkyo Gorge
錦仙峡
The Shokotsu River cuts a rocky gorge through the middle of town, with a walking path along the water, small falls and rapids, and maples that make it the town's autumn colour spot.
Herb garden and mint distillery
香りの里ハーブガーデン
A town-run garden of herbs and mint on a hill by the river, with a small distillery where the Japanese mint oil is made. Fragrant from June to September and the place to see why the town smells the way it does.
Ukishima Marsh
浮島湿原
A high moor near the pass on Route 273 toward Asahikawa, with dozens of small ponds, some with floating islands, reached by a short trail from the road. Cotton grass in early summer, colour in September.
Getting to Takinoue
Monbetsu Airport is about 40 minutes by car. There is no railway; the nearest stations are at Engaru on the Sekihoku Main Line, about an hour away. Route 273 runs through town, linking Monbetsu on the coast with Asahikawa over the Ukishima Pass in roughly two hours. Sapporo is about four hours.
Okhotsk region: Fly into Memanbetsu Airport for Abashiri and Shiretoko's west side; drift-ice season adds special trains and buses.
When to visit Takinoue
Early May to early June for the moss phlox, the one crowded time. June to September for the herb garden, the marsh on the pass and fly fishing on the Shokotsu River. October for the maples in the gorge. Winter is deep snow and empty roads.
What to eat in Takinoue
Mint is the flavour: candies, teas, oils and sweets scented with the town's own Japanese mint. The forests give mountain vegetables and mushrooms, the valley farms keep dairy cattle, and the Shokotsu River is a well-known rainbow trout stream, managed for catch and release rather than the table.
Takinoue in context: the Okhotsk region
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Every winter, the Sea of Okhotsk performs one of the natural world's great spectacles on this coast: drift ice, sailing down from the north until the horizon turns white. Icebreaker cruises push through it from Abashiri and Monbetsu — an only-here experience in all of Japan.