Article

01404 ／かもえないむら

Hokkaido 古宇郡

Kamoenai Village

A holed rock stands for the village.

Madoiwa, along Route 229

Photo by wellincline (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Demachi Fukuroma

Catches kept coming, andthey borrowed to build one.

The Demachi fukuroma in Akaishi is a stone-walled herring enclosure of the Shakotan type, listed by the Hokkaido branch of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers. It measures 100 m by 50 m, dates to the mid-Meiji period (1890), and is owned and managed by the village. Locals recall borrowing money to build one.

Completed mid-Meiji (1890)
100 m by 50 m
Owned and managed by the village

02 ／ Ryujin Cape

The dragon of the pondis said to have risen from the cape.

In a village legend, the dragon god living in Tomaru Pond rose to heaven from Ryujin Cape. The village calls the cape, steeped in dragon legend, a landmark that has long saved sailors and the legend inspired the village mascot.

Legend of the Tomaru Pond dragon
Cape along Route 229
1992: mascot chosen for the 120th anniversary

03 ／ Tomaru Pass

One road from Sapporocrosses Tomaru Pass.

The village names two driving routes from Sapporo. Via Inaho Pass, Route 5 and Route 229 take 2 hours 30 minutes; via Tomaru Pass, Route 5, Route 229 and Hokkaido Route 998 take 2 hours 15 minutes. The village has no railway station.

Hokkaido Route 998
2 h 15 min by car via Tomaru Pass
2 h 30 min via Inaho Pass

Kamoenai 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–September 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; 2 h 15 min by car from Sapporo.

about 1,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in the village. The village says it takes 2 hours 15 minutes by car from Sapporo via Tomaru Pass, or 2 hours 30 minutes via Inaho Pass. Its population is 698 (as of September 30, 2026, per the village).

People living here: 870people
Area: 147.79km²
Households: 401households
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.

Shape

Borders 3 municipalities.

Kamoenai Village in Japan43.144°N 140.431°E

Territory of Kamoenai 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

18.2km

Shakotan Town, Tomari Village, Furubira Town

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

Kamoenai Village isthis kind of town.

01Madoiwa is a rock with a hole through its middle, seen on the way from Kamoenai Village toward Shakotan Town along Route 229. The village calls it Kamoenai's signature odd rock.
02The Demachi fukuroma in Akaishi is a stone enclosure listed by the civil engineers' society, completed in the mid-Meiji period. Ryujin Cape has a legend of a dragon rising to heaven from Tomaru Pond.
03The village has no railway station; one road from Sapporo crosses Tomaru Pass on Hokkaido Route 998.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kamoenai Village official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes