One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Yubetsu湧別町
Tulips in May and a sand road across Lake Saroma
Okhotsk region · Abashiri, Monbetsu and Shiretoko in northeastern Hokkaido.
Yubetsu's tulip park erupts into 200 varieties every May — a Dutch postcard scene on the Okhotsk coast.
Yubetsu holds the northern and western shores of Lake Saroma, where the Yubetsu River comes down from the Engaru hills and the long sand spit that seals the lake begins. Its famous month is May, when the Kamiyubetsu Tulip Park opens hundreds of varieties in front of a Dutch windmill. The rest of the year the draw is the lake: a hilltop park with rides above the water, a town hot spring and the straight sand-spit road that ends at a lookout with the lake on one hand and the Okhotsk on the other.
- Region
- Okhotsk (オホーツク)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~291 km · 4.5 h summer / 5.3 h winter
- From Sapporo
- ~292 km · 4.5 h summer / 5.3 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.
Yubetsu 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 Yubetsu
Kamiyubetsu Tulip Park
かみゆうべつチューリップ公園
A town park inland at Kamiyubetsu that fills with tulips of around two hundred varieties from early May, arranged in colour blocks around a windmill lookout. A festival runs through the bloom.
Ryugu Kaido sand-spit road
竜宮街道
The road along the sand spit from the Yubetsu side, dead straight for kilometres with the lake on the right and the sea on the left, ending at a small lookout called Ryugudai. Wild roses on the dunes in June.
Michi-no-Eki Ai-Land Yubetsu
道の駅愛ランド湧別
A roadside station (Michi-no-Eki) on a hill over the lake with a small amusement park attached, so the ferris wheel looks straight down on Lake Saroma. Popular with families driving the coast in summer.
Ultramarathon start
ウルトラマラソンのスタート地点
The Saroma Lake 100 km Ultramarathon sets off from Yubetsu every June before dawn, and the first long stretch of the course follows the town's shore of the lake toward Saroma before the sun is properly up.
Getting to Yubetsu
Monbetsu Airport is about 40 minutes by car and Memanbetsu about an hour and a quarter. There is no railway; Engaru station on the Sekihoku Main Line is about 30 minutes away. Route 238 follows the coast and lakeshore through the town, and Route 242 links Kamiyubetsu to Engaru.
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 Yubetsu
Early to late May for the tulips, the one time the town is busy. June for wild roses on the spit and the ultramarathon; July and August for the lake, the hill park and the coast. Oysters and the frozen lake make a quiet reason to come in winter.
What to eat in Yubetsu
Lake Saroma scallops are landed here in quantity and the town's plants dry and process them; oysters come in from autumn. On the coast there is salmon and hairy crab. Inland the Yubetsu valley grows wheat, potatoes and onions and keeps dairy herds on the hills.
Yubetsu 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.