Article

01649 ／うらほろちょう

Hokkaido 十勝郡

Urahoro Town

Facilities moved; town turned to fields.

Urahoro Station, opened 1903

Photo by Yasu (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Strata

Part of the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary layerwas found up a Kawaruppu River tributary.

In May 2026, a research group including Tohoku University showed that the K/Pg boundary layer is not at the Mokawaruppu River outcrop long assumed to be one, but in mudstone about 4 km northeast, upstream of a Kawaruppu River tributary. The town museum writes that the old outcrop is a fault fracture zone.

End of the Cretaceous, about 66 million years ago
Upstream of a tributary, about 4 km northeast
Announced in May 2026

02 ／ Fossil

From strata about 16.3 to 13.9 million years old,a nearly complete pinniped skeleton.

A skeleton collected in 1991 from an outcrop on a river in Atsunai was described in 2018 as the holotype of a new species of the genus Allodesmus. The paper calls it one of the oldest and the northernmost records of the genus in the western North Pacific. The Ashoro Museum of Paleontology holds it.

About 16.3 to 13.9 million years ago (paper)
Collected in 1991
Described as a new species in 2018

03 ／ Station

The only station in Tokachi with a view of the sea,the town's tourism site says.

Atsunai Station on the Nemuro Main Line opened on December 25, 1903, the same day as Urahoro Station. The town's tourism site introduces it as the only station in Tokachi from which the sea can be seen, and says the sea is visible from the platform. A curator of the town museum writes the same.

Opened December 25, 1903
Only station in Tokachi with a sea view (town's site)
Nemuro Main Line

Urahoro 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 July–November 2023)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

Three active JR stations stand in town, on the Nemuro Main Line.

about 4,000 people
Rural district town

Three stations in town, including Urahoro Station and Atsunai Station, are listed in the JR Hokkaido timetable (October 2026 issue). The gateway is Urahoro Station. The town's access page (updated April 22, 2024) gives 1 hour 10 minutes by local train from Obihiro Station to Urahoro Station.

People living here: 4,387people
Area: 729.85km²
Households: 1,991households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 4 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 5 municipalities.

Urahoro Town in Japan42.809°N 143.658°E

Territory of Urahoro 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

51.8km

Kushiro City, Toyokoro Town, Ikeda Town, Honbetsu Town, Shiranuka Town

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

Urahoro Town isthis kind of town.

01The town's site says that after Urahoro Station opened in December 1903, the main facilities, including government offices, moved to the station, and the original town area became fields within a few years. The town museum titles a column about it "Without Urahoro Station, there would be no Urahoro Town"
02In May 2026, a research group including Tohoku University announced that the K/Pg boundary layer is not at the Mokawaruppu River outcrop long assumed to be one, but in mudstone about 4 km northeast, upstream of a Kawaruppu River tributary
03A pinniped skeleton collected in 1991 from an outcrop on a river in Atsunai was described in 2018 as the holotype of a new species of Allodesmus; the paper gives the strata an age of about 16.3 to 13.9 million years

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Urahoro Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

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