One of Hokkaido's 179 towns
Yuni由仁町
A hillside garden and a river with a hopeless name
Sorachi region · Inland central Hokkaido: coal heritage, wineries and seasonal fields.
Yuni's pride is a hillside English garden of herbs and roses — one of Hokkaido's prettiest, an easy drive from the airport.
Yuni is a farming town on the Yubari River south of Kuriyama, about 40 minutes from New Chitose Airport, with the Maoi hills on its western edge. It is best known for a large English-style garden of herbs, roses and perennials laid out on a hillside, and locals will also point you to Yunni-no-Yu, the town hot spring, and to the Yarikirenai River, whose name sounds like 'unbearable' in Japanese and draws a steady stream of people to photograph the sign. An easy first or last stop on a Hokkaido trip.
- Region
- Sorachi (空知)
- From New Chitose Airport
- ~31 km · 30 min summer / 36 min winter
- From Sapporo
- ~59 km · 54 min summer / 1.1 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.
Yuni 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 Yuni
Yuni Garden
ゆにガーデン
A large English-style garden on a south-facing hill, with herb beds, a rose garden, meadows of perennials and paths that follow the slope. It is at its fullest from June to September.
Yunni-no-Yu
ユンニの湯
The town hot spring, a short drive from the garden. It is the easy place to end a garden day, and a reason in itself to detour off the airport road in winter.
Yarikirenai River
ヤリキレナイ川
A small tributary of the Yubari River whose Ainu-derived name reads as 'unbearable' in Japanese. The river is nothing special; the sign on the bridge is the attraction, and it is on most local maps.
Maoi hills
馬追丘陵
The low wooded ridge between Yuni and Naganuma, with forest trails, farm roads and wineries on the Naganuma side. From the top you look east over the Yubari plain and west toward Sapporo.
Getting to Yuni
Yuni station is on the JR Muroran Main Line between Iwamizawa and Tomakomai, served by local trains. By car it is about 40 minutes from New Chitose Airport and about an hour from Sapporo via Route 274 and Route 234; Route 234 runs through the town toward Kuriyama and Yubari.
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 Yuni
June for herbs and roses, July and August for the perennial meadows, September for the second rose bloom and autumn colour in the garden. The hot spring is a good winter reason to detour on the way to or from the airport.
What to eat in Yuni
Yuni is rice and vegetable country, with herb products from the garden as the souvenir line. Farm stands sell seasonal produce, and the town's own rice and vegetables are the base of the everyday table.
Yuni 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 Yuni
Read next
More towns in Sorachi
Other regions: Ishikari · Shiribeshi · Iburi · Hidaka · Oshima · Hiyama · Kamikawa · Rumoi · Soya · Okhotsk · Tokachi · Kushiro · Nemuro