Article

01405 ／しゃこたんちょう

Hokkaido 積丹郡

Shakotan Town

Out of the tunnel, a vivid sea below.

Shimamui Coast

Photo by 663highland (CC BY 2.5)

01 ／ Soran Bushi

Soran Bushi is one of four partsof the Authentic Herring-Ground Ondo.

The town calls Shakotan the hometown of Soran Bushi. It is a work song sung while hauling up nets full of herring, and the town says it is one of four parts of the Authentic Herring-Ground Ondo, which together form a single story of herring fishing.

Town founded 1706, per the town
The Herring-Ground Ondo has four parts
Soran Bushi: song for hauling nets

02 ／ Cape Kamui

A cape with a women's-ban gatecarries a legend of Yoshitsune.

The Shakotan Tourism Association tells of Charenka, a chief's daughter who followed Yoshitsune, threw herself into the sea at Cape Kamui, and became Kamui Rock. Boats carrying women were said to capsize there, so the cape was closed to women until the early Meiji era.

About 770 m from the gate to the tip
Women said to be barred until early Meiji
Legend site: Kamui Rock

03 ／ Takara Island

A young man's helmet turned to rock,they say: Takara Island.

In a tragic love legend told by the Shakotan Tourism Association, a chief's daughter Chashina and a young man threw themselves into the sea. His helmet became a rock, and vast shoals of herring arrived. That rock is said to be Takara Island. Cape Ogon juts into the sea beyond Bikuni port.

Chief's daughter Chashina and a young man
The rock where herring arrived
Cape Ogon beyond Bikuni port

Shakotan 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–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, on the tip of the peninsula.

about 2,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in the town. According to the town, it occupies the tip of the Shakotan Peninsula, with a total area of 238.13 km2, about a quarter of the peninsula. Formed by merging three villages and towns, it is described as having a maritime climate, comfortable in both summer and winter.

People living here: 1,831people
Area: 238.13km²
Households: 883households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 2 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —2 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 2 municipalities.

Shakotan Town in Japan43.299°N 140.598°E

Territory of Shakotan 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

18.4km

Kamoenai Village, Furubira Town

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

Shakotan Town isthis kind of town.

01Shimamui Coast lies on Cape Shakotan. The Shakotan Tourism Association says that after the dark tunnel a vivid sea suddenly appears below. It is said to be one of Japan's Top 100 Beaches
02Described by the town as the hometown of Soran Bushi, Shakotan has a legend of the women's ban at Cape Kamui and one of Takara Island, said to be a rock where herring shoals arrived
03The town has no railway station and occupies the tip of the Shakotan Peninsula

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Shakotan Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes