Article

01693 ／しべつちょう

Hokkaido 標津郡

Shibetsu Town

The turntable of a sea-to-mountain line.

Former Nemuro-Shibetsu turntable

Photo by MaedaAkihiko (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Shibetsu Ruins

Pit dwelling remains, not fully filled in,show as hollows in the ground.

The Ichani Karikarius site of the Shibetsu Ruins is a national historic site where ancient pit dwelling remains can be seen as hollows in the ground. The town's website describes people living here almost without a break from about 10,000 years ago, and names springs around the site as one reason many pits remain.

National historic site
Pit hollows visible on the ground
80+ springs around the site (town website)

02 ／ Shibetsu River

The town's name comes from Ainu for"big river," its website says.

The town's website gives the origin of Shibetsu as the Ainu "Shi (big) betsu (river)," and its overview explains it as "where salmon are, a big river, or the main stream." A map sent by the Matsumae domain to the shogunate in the Genroku era wrote "Chibenai," and the characters for Shibetsu were assigned in 1869.

Origin: "Shi (big) betsu (river)" (town website)
"Chibenai" on a Genroku-era map
Characters for Shibetsu assigned in 1869

03 ／ Shibetsu Banya screen

A screen of late Edo period Shibetsualso shows an anchor beside the shrine.

The Shibetsu Banya screen depicts Shibetsu in the final years of the shogunate. The tourism association says the original is in Niigata. Cultural Heritage Online records that a screen from that time, held by a temple in Niigata City, also shows an anchor placed beside the shrine.

Screen of Shibetsu in the late Edo period
Original in Niigata (tourism association)
Shrine's four-pronged anchor: town-designated (2017)

Shibetsu 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 August–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 station in town. 135 minutes by bus from Beppo.

about 5,000 people
Rural district town

The town has no railway station. Akan Bus's Kushiro–Shibetsu line runs from the Beppo Station stop on the JR Nemuro Main Line to the bus company's Shibetsu office in 135 minutes with no transfer, counted on the fastest daily service. The town's cultural property plan gives the nearest railway stations as Shibecha and Kushiro.

People living here: 5,023people
Area: 624.69km²
Households: 2,206households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 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.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Shibetsu Town in Japan43.661°N 145.131°E

to BeppoLocal bus135min

Travel times follow 阿寒バス『釧路羅臼線・釧路標津線』日本語PDF（https://www.akanbus.co.jp/route/pdf/time/rausu.pdf・紙面2024/10/1・Last-Modified 2024-10-01）の便3（別保駅前8:40→標津営業所10:55）と便9（別保駅前14:10→標津営業所16:25）はどちらも135分。★（土日祝運休）の無い毎日運転の便。2026-10-29 に PDF と阿寒バスの定期路線バスの頁（同じ路線を掲載）を確認。 (checked 2026-10-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities.

Territory of Shibetsu 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

37.7km

Nakashibetsu Town, Shari Town, Rausu Town, Betsukai Town, Kiyosato Town

Shibetsu Town isthis kind of town.

01The Former Nemuro-Shibetsu Station turntable was at Nemuro-Shibetsu Station on the Japanese National Railways Shibetsu Line, fully opened in 1937; the town designated it a historic site in 2002, and the steam locomotive C11 224 was moved to the turntable's site through the preservation society's work
02The Ichani Karikarius site of the Shibetsu Ruins is a national historic site where pit dwelling remains show as hollows in the ground, and the town's website gives the origin of the name Shibetsu as the Ainu "Shi (big) betsu (river)"
03The Shibetsu Banya screen depicts Shibetsu in the final years of the shogunate, Cultural Heritage Online records an anchor beside the shrine on a screen of that time, and the town has no station, with a 135-minute Akan Bus ride from Beppo Station

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Shibetsu Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes