Article

01663 ／はまなかちょう

Hokkaido 厚岸郡

Hamanaka Town

Summer fog; plants unlike other bogs.

Kiritappu Peat Plant Community

Photo by Miya.m (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Cape Tofutsu Lighthouse

Its nickname is Cape Kiritappu.A lighthouse stands on the fog-wrapped cape.

Cape Tofutsu Lighthouse in Hamanaka Town — Photo by Tokyodesert (CC BY 3.0)

The town says the cape is also famous for fog rolling in, true to its nickname Cape Kiritappu. The Nippon Foundation says sea fog occurs from June to August and that the lighthouse beam reaches about 35 km.

Cape Kiritappu is a nickname (town)
Sea fog June to August (Nippon Foundation)
Light reaches about 35 km (Nippon Foundation)

02 ／ Cape of Tears and the Standing Rock

A weeping maiden became a rock,the Cape of Tears story goes.

According to the story board shown by the town, in the days when herring fishing flourished, a young man from Akkeshi and the daughter of a Kiritappu net owner fell in love. His ship ran aground in a storm and he vanished into the sea; she is said to have kept calling his name from the cliff. The Standing Rock suggests the young man struggling toward the shore.

Also called "Maiden's Tears" (tourist association)
A young man from Akkeshi and a net owner's daughter
Ship ran aground in a storm; he vanished, they say

03 ／ Cape Azechi

From a cape at the west end of theKiritappu Peninsula, islands lie offshore.

Cape Azechi juts into Biwase Bay. The town says three islands can be seen from it, including Gome Island and an uninhabited island that is an important seabird breeding ground. The town says entry to that island requires a designated guide.

West end of the Kiritappu Peninsula
A cape jutting into Biwase Bay
The offshore island is uninhabited (town)

Hamanaka Town 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 June 2021)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

About 80 km from Kushiro City, about 64 km from Nemuro City.

about 6,000 people
Rural district town

The town's access page lists about 80 km from Kushiro City and about 64 km from Nemuro City (no date shown; checked October 2026). The town has three JR stations, including Hamanaka Station, and developed around agriculture and fishing, with an area of 423.12 km².

People living here: 5,507people
Area: 423.12km²
Households: 2,323households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 2 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —2 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.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Hamanaka Town in Japan43.076°N 145.131°E

Territory of Hamanaka Town

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

30.0km

Akkeshi Town, Betsukai Town, Nemuro City

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Hamanaka Town isthis kind of town.

01The Kiritappu Peat Plant Community, in the middle of the Kiritappu Wetland, was designated a national natural monument in 1922 (Taisho 11). The Ministry of the Environment says 803 ha of the central part is designated
02The town says Cape Tofutsu, nicknamed Cape Kiritappu, is also famous for fog. At Cape of Tears there is a tale of a net owner's daughter whose weeping figure became a rock, and from Cape Azechi an uninhabited island can be seen
03At the eastern end of the Kushiro region. About a third of the wetland, 1,200 ha, is privately owned, and the Kiritappu Wetland National Trust says it works to buy and protect it

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Hamanaka Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes