Article

01550 ／おけとちょう

Hokkaido 常呂郡

Oketo Town

Library log: No. 1 in loans per resident, five times.

Oketo Town Library

Photo by Hokko-sha (CC0)

01 ／ Former Oketo Station

A newspaper letter inspired the town to usethe old station's 2nd floor for donated works.

Former Oketo Station in Oketo Town — Photo by 真坂真 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

The official page of the NPO Oketo Poppo Painting Gallery says the town was inspired by a letter to the Yomiuri Shimbun, "A place for unknown painters' works to be donated," and made the second floor of the old station building, on a line that closed in 2006, a place to show donated works. The town says the old station became Community Hall Poppo.

Inspired by a Yomiuri letter
Old station's 2nd floor shows donated works
Line closed in 2006

02 ／ Okecraft

Okecraft grew out of a woodworkingbook that sat in the library.

The tourism site says Okecraft's birth was triggered by a woodworking book in the library. In the Forest Craft Center's chronology, an industrial designer first visited in February 1983 and gave a lecture, and Okecraft was born in October of the same year.

Started from a library woodworking book
February 1983 lecture
Born October 1983

03 ／ Kanoko Valley Scenic Forest

A near-primeval forest led by the Three-TrunkKatsura lies in Oketo's Kanoko Valley.

The Hokkaido Regional Forest Office describes the scenic forest as a near-primeval forest typified by the Three-Trunk Katsura. The tree is about 28 m tall, with an estimated age of 200 to 299 years, and was named one of the Forest Agency's 100 giant trees in 2000. Along a path of about 2 km are the Rainbow Fall and Cloud-Piercing Rock.

Tree about 28 m tall
Estimated age 200 to 299 years
Path about 2 km

Oketo 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–September 2017)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: 50 minutes by bus from Kitami.

about 3,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in town. In the Hokkaido Kitami Bus timetable (revised April 1, 2026), the fastest daily bus from Kitami to Oketo Town Office takes 50 minutes. The town's own guide gives 60 minutes from the Kitami Bus Terminal. The gateway is Oketo Town Office.

People living here: 2,775people
Area: 527.27km²
Households: 1,202households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 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.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Oketo Town in Japan43.676°N 143.586°E

to KitamiLocal bus50min

Travel times follow 北海道北見バス『バス運行時刻表郊外線①』（令和8年〈2026年〉4月1日改定。PDF の Last-Modified は 2026-03-12）の『訓子府・置戸・勝山・陸別線』。北見（北見バスターミナル）5:57発→置戸町役場6:47着 50分（毎日運転の最速。青枠の土日祝運休便は除く） (checked 2026-10-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities.

Territory of Oketo 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

29.7km

Kitami City, Rikubetsu Town, Ashoro Town, Kunneppu Town, Kamishihoro Town

Oketo Town isthis kind of town.

01Oketo Town Library is a library whose chronology on the town's site records No. 1 nationwide in loans per resident in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1981 and 1982; the current building opened in 2005
02The second floor of the old Oketo Station building shows donated works, and the tourism site says Okecraft, born in 1983, started from a woodworking book in the library
03The Kanoko Valley Scenic Forest is a near-primeval forest typified by the Three-Trunk Katsura, with waterfalls and rock formations along a path of about 2 km; the town has no railway station

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Oketo Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes