Sword Mountain, iron sword, Shimizu Town
Article

01636 / しみずちょう

Hokkaido 上川郡

Shimizu Town

An iron sword is enshrined at the peak.

Sword Mountain, iron sword

Photo by pakku (CC BY 3.0)

01 / Barn

The Tokachi land-clearing company's barnstill works as a barn on its first floor.

The town introduces a barn that the Tokachi land-clearing company built in 1919 (Taisho 8) after asking the Sapporo Agricultural College, saying its first floor is used as a barn and its second floor as a feed store. A shrine nearby was named by combining a character from the era name Taisho with one from Tokachi. The barn stands on private land, and visits need the owner's permission.

  • Built in 1919 (Taisho 8)
  • First floor a barn, second a feed store
  • Private land; owner's permission needed

02 / Nissho Pass

The pass's fifth-station lookoutgives a full view of the Tokachi Plain.

Nissho Pass in Shimizu Town
Photo by Kenneth Lee Sutherla… (CC BY 3.0)

The town's chronology says the Nissho Road, National Route 274, opened in 1965. The tourism association says the lookout at the fifth station of the pass gives a full view of the Tokachi Plain, and in autumn the Hidaka Mountains show vivid foliage.

  • Nissho Road opened in 1965
  • Lookout at the pass's fifth station

03 / Town name

The town's name, Shimizu, is said to translatethe Ainu name Pekerebetsu.

Town name in Shimizu Town
Photo by 96321478JP (CC BY 4.0)

The town says Shimizu is a translation of the Ainu name Pekerebetsu, meaning a bright, clear river. In 1901 the Pekerebetsu post station was renamed the Shimizu post station, which the chronology records as the origin of the name. The tourism association also touches on the name in its entry on Mt. Pekerebetsu (1,532 m).

  • Meaning: a bright, clear river
  • Renamed the Shimizu post station in 1901
  • Mt. Pekerebetsu is 1,532 m

Shimizu Town from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot July–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

Forest covers 45% of its area, and fields 36%.

  • about 9,000 people
  • Rural district town

The town says Shimizu Town, Hokkaido has a total area of 402.25 km² (23.1 km east-west, 30.7 km north-south), of which forest is 45.03%, fields 36.14% and pasture 5.00% (fiscal 2026 property survey). Shimizu Town and Mikage Village merged in 1956.

People living here
9,094people
19952020

−5.3% since 2015

11,325 → 9,094

Area
402.25km²

223.78km² of it habitable

2024

Households
4,166households

2.2 people per household

2020

Rent (average for rentals)
—
Healthcare
1 hospital / 4 clinics

5.5 per 10,000 people

2023

Area402.25km²Habitable land223.78km² / 56%
Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103
Children waiting for childcare
—3 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 5 municipalities.

Shimizu Town in Japan43.011°N 142.885°E
TokyoOsakaShimizu Town
Territory of Shimizu 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

31.3km

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

Shimizu Town isthis kind of town.

  1. 01Sword Mountain is a 1,205 m peak in Hokkaido's Hidaka Mountains, which the town lists among its surrounding mountains; the tourism association says an iron sword is enshrined at its summit
  2. 02A barn built in 1919 by the Tokachi land-clearing company is still used as a barn, and the lookout at the fifth station of Nissho Pass gives a full view of the Tokachi Plain
  3. 03The town says the name Shimizu translates the Ainu name Pekerebetsu, and of the total area of 402.25 km², forest is 45.03% and fields 36.14%

See the town as it is now.

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

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.