Article

01424 ／ないえちょう

Hokkaido 空知郡

Naie Town

Midway along a 29.2 km straight road.

House Yarubi Naie, a roadside station

Photo by ほくなん (Public domain)

01 ／ Route 12's straight

An order in 1886 gave riseto a road meant to be straight.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism records that in 1886 an order called for the road to be made straight where possible, and it was born as an intended straight road. After the 1990 improvement, it says, the national route has Japan's longest straight section (29.2 km), spanning three cities and one town.

1886: ordered to be built straight where possible
1990: improvement makes a 29.2 km straight section
Spans Takikawa, Sunagawa, Naie and Bibai

02 ／ Landing Point of Date Kuninao

A stone monument is inscribed“Landing Point of Date Kuninao.”

The town chronology records that in May 1870 Date Kuninao and 17 others, including Tanaka Yoshinobu of the Kaitakushi (Hokkaido Development Commission), went up the Ishikari River, landed at Naie and set marker stakes at the mouths of the Naei and Nae Rivers. The chronology includes a photo of the monument.

May 1870: surveyed after going up the Ishikari River
17 people including Tanaka Yoshinobu
Marker stakes at the mouths of two rivers

03 ／ Nae and the Naie River

The town name comes from “Nae,”said to mean a river of much sand.

Nae and the Naie River in Naie Town — Photo by ゆりのき橋 (CC BY 3.0)

The town profile records that Naie derives from the Ainu word “Nae” and means “a river of much sand.” The town chronology lists the completion of Hyakunen Bridge in October 1989, with service starting in 1990.

Ainu “Nae” = river of much sand
October 1989: Hyakunen Bridge completed
Service began in 1990

Naie 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 May–June 2007)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

68 km to Sapporo, 68.8 km to Asahikawa.

about 5,000 people
Rural district town

The town's only railway station is Naie Station on the JR Hakodate Main Line, listed in the JR Hokkaido timetable for October 2026. The town profile records that it is linked by a distance of 68 km to Sapporo City and 68.8 km to Asahikawa City.

People living here: 5,120people
Area: 88.19km²
Households: 2,312households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 3 clinics

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 6 municipalities.

Naie Town in Japan43.425°N 141.883°E

Territory of Naie 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

9.8km

Bibai City, Kamisunagawa Town, Urausu Town, Sunagawa City, Ashibetsu City, Shintotsukawa Town

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

Naie Town isthis kind of town.

01Route 12 in Naie Town is part of a 29.2 km straight section, Japan's longest according to the ministry, spanning three cities and one town. The town introduces its roadside station, House Yarubi Naie, as sitting at the midpoint of that straight road
02In 1870 Date Kuninao went up the Ishikari River and landed at Naie, and the town chronology includes a photo of the “Landing Point of Date Kuninao” monument. The town records that its name comes from the Ainu word “Nae” (a river of much sand)
03The town's station is Naie Station on the JR Hakodate Main Line, and the profile records distances of 68 km to Sapporo City and 68.8 km to Asahikawa City

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Naie Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes