Article

01409 ／あかいがわむら

Hokkaido 余市郡

Akaigawa Village

A caldera-basin village ringed by peaks.

Akaigawa Caldera

Photo by Carbon (Public domain)

01 ／ Discovering the caldera

The village history says the first to spotthe caldera basin was a village schoolteacher.

The village history says a teacher at Akaigawa Ordinary Elementary School wrote to a geoscience society journal asking whether Akaigawa was a caldera. A Tokyo university student who read the letter joined him on a three-day field survey in September 1923 and published a paper in 1926.

September 1923: three-day field survey
1926: paper in a geography journal
Teacher at the village school

02 ／ Obsidian

A source of obsidian,with 67 sites confirmed.

The village history calls Akaigawa a well-known source of obsidian in Hokkaido and says 67 sites, mostly Paleolithic and Jomon, have been confirmed in the village. In August 2026, village children found more than 50 pieces of obsidian in a river.

67 sites, mostly Paleolithic and Jomon
Carried to Tohoku, Niigata and Sakhalin
August 2026: 50+ pieces found by children

03 ／ Pass lookout

The village keeps the lookout's viewby managing the forest itself.

The village says the lookout on the pass overlooks Akaigawa's main settlement, and a sea of clouds can form there on clear early mornings. Under an agreement with the Ishikari District Forest Office, residents work on the Caldera Forest themselves; in September 2024 they pruned larches and cut brush.

Agreement with the forest office
September 2024: 24 join forest work
Sea of clouds on clear early mornings

Akaigawa Village from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot May–August 2025)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

No station; 24 minutes by bus from Yoichi.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in the village. On the village-run Mura Bus, the fastest daily service runs from Yoichi Station stop on the Hakodate Main Line to Akaigawa in 24 minutes, with no change.

People living here: 1,165people
Area: 280.09km²
Households: 621households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 1 clinic

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —1 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Akaigawa Village in Japan43.084°N 140.814°E

to YoichiLocal bus24min

Travel times follow 赤井川村営の路線バス「むらバス」の令和8年夏ダイヤ（令和8年5月1日〜10月31日）の時刻表（村公式『むらバスの路線図や時刻表』のページから PDF。PDF の Last-Modified は 2026-04-20）。余市駅前→赤井川は 2便 7:52→8:16・6便 16:05→16:29・8便 19:14→19:38 のどれも24分（平日ダイヤにも休日ダイヤ〈土日祝〉にも載る便）。逆向き赤井川→余市駅前は 1便 6:18→6:44・3便 9:50→10:16・7便 17:55→18:21 が26分（平日の5便 14:18→14:44 も26分） (checked 2026-10-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 6 municipalities.

Territory of Akaigawa Village

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

19.7km

Niki Town, Otaru City, Sapporo City, Kutchan Town, Yoichi Town, Kyogoku Town

Akaigawa Village isthis kind of town.

01Akaigawa is a village in a basin ringed by mountains in a caldera-like landform, which the village calls Hokkaido's only caldera basin. The village history says a schoolteacher first spotted the caldera on a field survey in 1923
02A total of 67 sites, mostly Paleolithic and Jomon, have been confirmed, and the village calls it a well-known obsidian source in Hokkaido. Residents help keep the view from the pass lookout under an agreement with the forest office
03The village has no railway station; the village-run Mura Bus runs from Yoichi Station to Akaigawa

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Akaigawa Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes