Futatsume Yotei, Loco No. 79615, Kutchan Town
Article

01400 ／ くっちゃんちょう

Hokkaido 虻田郡

Kutchan Town

Having run some 56 Earth laps, it stays.

Futatsume Yotei, Loco No. 79615

Photo by ふれでぃまーきゅりー (CC BY 4.0)

01 ／ Iwaonupuri sulfur mine

From behind the station to the mine,a ropeway was built in 1919.

Iwaonupuri sulfur mine in Kutchan Town
Photo by Highten31 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The sulfur mine site on the north side of Mount Iwaonupuri was selected as a Modern Industrial Heritage site by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The town says it was the first in Hokkaido to use steam refining for sulfur ore, and that in 1919 a ropeway was built from behind Kutchan Station to the mine. Only scattered firebricks remain now.

  • Modern Industrial Heritage
  • First steam refining in Hokkaido
  • Ropeway built in 1919

02 ／ Lake Hangetsu

A lava mound rose mid-lake,splitting it into two lakes.

Lake Hangetsu in Kutchan Town
Photo by Yasu (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The tourist association's guide map (2022 edition) describes Lake Hangetsu as a lake formed when water filled an explosion crater on the slopes of Mount Yotei, 320 m long, 150 m wide and 18.2 m deep at its deepest. It says a lava dome rose in the middle of the round lake, splitting it into Lake Hangetsu and a second lake, New Moon Lake.

  • 320 m long, 150 m wide
  • 18.2 m at its deepest
  • Lava dome in the middle

03 ／ Kutchan locomotive depot turntable

With snow guards on its circular rail,a 20 m turntable once turned.

The turntable of the Kutchan locomotive depot was renewed as an electric 20 m, three-point-support type in 1957. Snow guards are fitted on its circular rail, which the town describes as a feature of a heavy-snow region. It was in use until 1990, to turn the steam locomotive C62 Niseko.

  • Made electric in 1957
  • 20 m, three-point support
  • In use until 1990

Kutchan Town from the sky

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

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

From Otaru, about 90 min on a local train.

  • about 20,000 people
  • Rural district town

The town's stations are Kutchan and Hirafu on the JR Hakodate Main Line, and the gateway is Kutchan Station. The town's access page gives about 90 minutes by local train from Otaru to Kutchan, and about 90 minutes from Oshamambe (checked October 2026).

People living here
15,129people
19952020

+0.7% since 2015

17,078 → 15,129

Area
261.34km²

71.05km² of it habitable

2024

Households
7,631households

2.0 people per household

2020

Rent (average for rentals)
41,546yen

National average 60,630 yen

2023

Healthcare
1 hospital ／ 10 clinics

7.3 per 10,000 people

2023

Area261.34km²Habitable land71.05km² ／ 27%
Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103
Children waiting for childcare
—4 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 6 municipalities.

Kutchan Town in Japan42.902°N 140.759°E
TokyoOsakaKutchan Town
Territory of Kutchan 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

21.6km

Kyowa Town, Kyogoku Town, Niseko Town, Akaigawa Village, Niki Town, Rankoshi Town

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

Kutchan Town isthis kind of town.

  1. 01Steam locomotive No. 79615 of the 9600 class, nicknamed Futatsume Yotei ("Two-Eyed Yotei"), has a two-seat headlight form seen only in Hokkaido and ran 2,250,895 km (the town says about 56 laps of Earth); it is kept on the grounds of the town's Culture and Welfare Center (as of June 2024)
  2. 02The sulfur mine site on the north side of Iwaonupuri is a Modern Industrial Heritage site, and Lake Hangetsu formed in an explosion crater on Yotei's slopes, split into Lake Hangetsu and New Moon Lake by a lava dome
  3. 03The Kutchan depot turntable was renewed as an electric 20 m type in 1957, and the town's gateway is Kutchan Station on the JR Hakodate Main Line, about 90 minutes from Otaru by local train, according to the town

See the town as it is now.

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kutchan Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes

Similar towns

Next town Hokkaido Niseko Town →The town took a name said to mean cliff.