Article

01604 ／にいかっぷちょう

Hokkaido 新冠郡

Niikappu Town

A great rock wall at the river mouth.

Judge's Fort, river-mouth cliff

Photo by motoGP from Japan (CC BY 2.1 jp)

01 ／ Natural monument

A mud volcano whose mounds formed when mud and gasburst out in an earthquake is a Hokkaido natural monument.

According to the Geological Survey of Japan's Chishitsu News (1992), the mud volcano 2 km north of the Niikappu town center spewed mud and gas in the 1952 Tokachi-oki earthquake and formed 8 mud mounds. The largest, Mound 7, is 25 m high and 230 by 160 m.

Hokkaido natural monument, Jan. 18, 1968
8 mud mounds; Mound 7 is 25 m high
Located in Niikappu Town

02 ／ Railway

In 1926 the Hidaka Takushoku Railway opened,bringing the first railway to Niikappu.

Railway in Niikappu Town — Photo by Mr-haruka (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The town's newsletter says that when the Hidaka Takushoku Railway opened between Atsuga and Shizunai in 1926, stations were set up at what later became Niikappu Station and at Seppu. Okaribe Station was added in 1958, and the Mukawa-Samani section of the Hidaka Main Line closed on April 1, 2021.

1926: Atsuga-Shizunai opened
1958: Okaribe Station added
Apr. 1, 2021: Mukawa-Samani closed

03 ／ Place name

First called Pipok ("in the rock's shadow"),it was renamed Nikap in 1809.

The town's guide says the area was first called Pipok, meaning "in the shadow of the rock," and was renamed Nikap in 1809, with the characters for Niikappu applied. The name is said to come from clothes made of elm bark.

Pipok = "in the shadow of the rock"
Renamed Nikap in 1809
Nikap = elm bark

Niikappu 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 September 2019)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 railway station; buses link Tomakomai and Shizunai.

about 5,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in the town. The town's website posts Donan Bus timetables, including the Tomakomai-Shizunai line (revised October 1, 2026). Within town there is an AI on-demand bus called Melody. The town belongs to Niikappu District.

People living here: 5,309people
Area: 585.71km²
Households: 2,443households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 4 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.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Niikappu Town in Japan42.362°N 142.318°E

to MukawaLocal bus74min

Travel times follow 道南バス『苫小牧静内線』の時刻表（https://www.donanbus.co.jp/map/hidaka_shizunai_tomakomai/tomakomai_shizunai/ 、2026-10-29 に本体が読んだ）。鵡川駅前→新冠本町：8:30→9:44・10:04→11:18・11:54→13:08・14:14→15:28＝74分（15:59・18:09発は79分）。20:21発（73分）は土日祝運休の便で採らない。 (checked 2026-10-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities.

Territory of Niikappu 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

43.7km

Shinhidaka Town, Hidaka Town, Biratori Town, Obihiro City, Nakasatsunai Village

Niikappu Town isthis kind of town.

01The Judge's Fort cliff is a great rock wall at the Niikappu River mouth. The town says Yoshitsune is said to have built a fort there and rested
02The Niikappu mud volcano, a group of mud mounds formed by mud and gas in the 1952 Tokachi-oki earthquake, is a Hokkaido natural monument. The area was first called Pipok ("in the shadow of the rock"), renamed Nikap in 1809
03In 1926 the Hidaka Takushoku Railway opened between Atsuga and Shizunai, bringing the first railway to Niikappu. The Hidaka Main Line's Mukawa-Samani section closed in 2021

See the town as it is now.

Facebookniikappu ↗

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Niikappu Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes