Article

01430 ／つきがたちょう

Hokkaido 樺戸郡

Tsukigata Town

Entrance steps of Sapporo soft stone.

Former Kabato Prison Main Office

Photo by Mozzucu (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Maruyama Cedar Forest

Cedars planted in 1890grow in a protected forest.

The Forestry Agency describes the cedar plantation on Maruyama as planted in 1890 (Meiji 23), with trees 25 to 30 m tall. It was set aside as the Tsukigata Cedar Protected Forest in 1952 and became the Tsukigata Cedar Rare Population Protected Forest in the 2018 reorganization. It covers 2.12 ha, and the town presents it as a commemorative planting for the tenth anniversary of the Kabato Prison's opening.

Planted 1890
Trees 25-30 m tall
Area 2.12 ha
2018: Rare Population Protected Forest

02 ／ The Name Kabato

The name Kabato is said to comefrom the Ainu word Kapato.

The town website records that Kabato, in Kabato District and the Kabato Prison, comes from the Ainu word Kapato. It means the water plant kohone (Japanese spatterdock), which bears small yellow flowers in summer, and the area around the confluence of the Ishikari River and a tributary is said to have meant a place where it grows thick.

Ainu Kapato = kohone (spatterdock)
Area around a confluence with the Ishikari River
Also the name of Kabato District

03 ／ Former Ishikari-Tsukigata Station

On the platform of a closed station,a replica name sign is set up.

The Sassho Line opened in 1935 (Showa 10) and closed in 2020 (Reiwa 2). The town website says the site of Ishikari-Tsukigata Station has an information board on the old line and, on the platform, a replica of the station name sign. A stamp corner for the old station building is in the Town Office.

1935 (Showa 10): line opens
2020 (Reiwa 2): line closes
Station sign is a replica

Tsukigata 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 2012)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; 36 minutes by bus from Iwamizawa.

about 4,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in the town. On the Iwamizawa-Tsukigata Line bus (timetable of April 1, 2026), the trip from Iwamizawa Terminal to the Tsukigata Town Office takes 36 minutes with no change, and every bus on weekdays and on weekends and holidays takes 36 minutes.

People living here: 3,691people
Area: 150.4km²
Households: 1,320households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 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.

Tsukigata Town in Japan43.338°N 141.669°E

to IwamizawaLocal bus36min

Travel times follow 月形町公式『公共交通機関時刻表』（https://www.town.tsukigata.hokkaido.jp/site/tsukigatachounokoukyoukoutsuu/1168.html。2025-10-01 更新）に載る『令和8年度岩見沢月形線時刻表』（令和8年4月1日・運行は有限会社アオヤナギ観光バス。愛称『つきみ～る号』）。岩見沢ターミナル発→月形役場着が、平日（1便7:45→8:21、2便10:00→10:36、3便12:00→12:36、4便14:20→14:56、5便17:00→17:36、6便19:20→19:56）も土日祝日（1便8:20→8:56、2便10:20→10:56、3便13:20→13:56）も全便36分 (checked 2026-10-29). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities.

Territory of Tsukigata 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

19.6km

Tobetsu Town, Urausu Town, Iwamizawa City, Bibai City, Shinshinotsu Village

Tsukigata Town isthis kind of town.

01The Former Kabato Prison Main Office is one of the facilities of the Tsukigata Kabato Museum, rebuilt in 1886 (Meiji 19). Its outer walls are clapboard, its entrance steps are Sapporo soft stone, and it is a component cultural property of the Japan Heritage story of coal, iron and port
02Maruyama has a protected forest of cedars planted in 1890, the town website says the name Kabato comes from the Ainu word Kapato, and the site of Ishikari-Tsukigata Station holds an information board on the Sassho Line and a replica station name sign
03The town has no railway station; a bus runs from Iwamizawa to the Tsukigata Town Office stop

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Tsukigata Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes