Wassamu Sights: A Pass Station Kept by Donations

What Kind of Town Is Wassamu?

Wassamu is a town at the southern edge of the Nayoro Basin, in the northern part of Hokkaido’s Kamikawa region. To the south lies Shiokari Pass, and hill country spreads at its foot. The town is also known as a place that has sent many of Japan’s top athletes to cross-country skiing.

Today the town is known for pumpkins, whose planted area is said to be the largest in Japan, and for cabbage that overwinters under the snow. But before the war the town lay north of the northern limit of rice cultivation, and its fields were planted all over with pyrethrum. In this article we trace the sights in order of descending latitude, that is, from north to south. Shiokari Pass itself in the south is also introduced in the article on the neighboring town of Pippu, so here we focus on the sights on the Wassamu side.

1. Wassamu Station (和寒駅)

Wassamu Station is a station on the JR Soya Main Line and the town’s main station. All trains, including limited express trains, stop here. It opened on November 15, 1899, as the terminus of the railway extending from Ranru Station. In 1900 the line was extended toward Shibetsu, and the station has long served as the town’s gateway.

The old station was also a railway base with equipment for supplying water to locomotives. In January 1953, a cold wave froze the water supply equipment, and it is recorded that water was sent to the steam locomotives by fire engine. It is an anecdote that speaks of the severity of winter. This equipment was abolished in 1967.

The present station building was rebuilt in 1988. It is reported that since 1992 the ticket window has been staffed by people dispatched from neighboring Shibetsu Station. The station is also a place of daily life for the townspeople. Please be considerate when photographing or looking around, and check the timetable in advance.

2. Wassamu Shrine (和寒神社)

Wassamu Shrine is a shrine near the town center. Both the kagura masks and the chigo-mai (children’s dance) handed down at this shrine are designated cultural properties of the town. The annual festival is held every August, and it is introduced as beginning with the eve festival and the offering of the chigo-mai on the 24th, followed by a portable-shrine procession on the 25th and a festival of the parishioners on the 26th.

The chigo-mai is a rite in which children dedicate a dance to the gods. It brings to mind how the pioneer settlers, in an age when houses and roads were not yet in place, kept and handed on the form of the festivals of their home villages. The town’s history began when the railway came in 1899 and, in 1915, it separated from Kenbuchi Village to become Wassamu Village.

This is speculation, but in a pioneer land of harsh cold, the shrine must have been a spiritual anchor for people giving thanks for the harvest and praying for safety. Wassamu Shrine is a living shrine. Please observe proper worship manners, and at festival time watch quietly and with respect for the activities of the parishioners.

3. Mikasayama Nature Park (三笠山自然公園)

Mikasayama Nature Park is a nature park on a hill southeast of Wassamu’s town center. Inside the park are a campground, a park golf course and an amusement area for children, making it a leisure place where townspeople gather. In spring, the “Katakuri Garden,” where dogtooth violets bloom, is also introduced as something to enjoy.

In the “Fureai no Mori” in the same area there are also a permanent stage and a roofed area where you can barbecue. It serves as a venue for town events, and is a place where people gather with each season. The park can be called an entrance to nearby nature, close to the lives of the townspeople.

Note that the position given for this item is an approximate point in the park. The seasons and facilities available at each place change. Please check the latest information in official guidance. Near the mountains, do not forget to be prepared for brown bears. In the dogtooth violet season, please keep to the path so as not to trample the flowers.

4. Shiokari Pass Memorial Museum (塩狩峠記念館)

The Shiokari Pass Memorial Museum is a small memorial museum at the foot of Shiokari Pass. The building was originally a house with a shop, built in Asahikawa in 1961. The writer Miura Ayako lived here until 1971, and during that time, in 1964, she published the novel Hyoten (Freezing Point) and became a novelist.

The house was dismantled in 1993 because of its age, but there were voices that wanted it preserved, and with Miura’s consent its parts were kept in storage. Then Wassamu, the setting of her novel Shiokari Pass, decided to restore it at Shiokari Pass as one of the town’s centennial projects. It opened in 1999, and it is said that Miura, in her last years, attended the ceremony with her husband.

The museum is closed during winter, but it is introduced as opening temporarily on February 28, the anniversary of the death of Nagano Masao, the model for the novel’s protagonist. Please visit with respect for the deceased. The opening season can change, so please check official guidance beforehand.

5. Shiokari Station (塩狩駅)

Shiokari Station is a JR Soya Main Line station near the summit of Shiokari Pass. It was first set up in 1916 as a mere signal station. As settlers increased and a hot spring opened nearby, it became a passenger station in 1924. Its name comes from its location on the border between Teshio Province and Ishikari Province.

Because it is on the pass, very few people used it for a long time. In 2019 the railway company asked the municipalities along the line whether they would maintain their stations or have them closed in March 2021. Wassamu decided to take on the maintenance, and since April 2021 the town has continued handling the station’s passenger services.

The maintenance costs are introduced as being covered mainly by furusato nozei donations. By the end of April 2021, about six million yen had been gathered from across the country. Inside the station grounds there is also a monument, built in 1969, to a railway worker who died in the line of duty. Please keep respect for the dead in mind and visit quietly. Check the timetable beforehand.

Local Specialties, Food and Drink

Wassamu is a pumpkin town, with the largest planted area in Japan. It is also known for overwintering cabbage, stored under the snow and shipped in winter. In the Kamikawa area it is also a mushroom-producing area, alongside the town of Aibetsu.

In December 2025, a winter event celebrating the harvest was held for the first time at the town’s community center. What is sold and served changes with the season, so please check beforehand.

Rare Creatures and Nature

The town lies at the foot of Shiokari Pass, the headwaters of a tributary of the Teshio River, at the southern edge of the Nayoro Basin. There are many hills, and in some places dogtooth violets bloom in spring.

When entering mountains or hills, do not forget to be prepared for brown bears. Winter cold is severe, and road conditions change easily.

Other Notable Things About This Town

The railway reached Wassamu in 1899, and in 1915 Wassamu Village was born by separating from Kenbuchi Village. Town status was adopted in 1952. In 1999 the Shiokari Pass Memorial Museum opened.

Before the war, the town lay north of the northern limit of rice cultivation, so pyrethrum was planted in fields everywhere, and so many people had gone in that primary schools were placed deep in the mountains. After the war the production area shifted overseas and the mountain fields fell into disuse, but through crop improvement the northern limit of rice moved north, and the chrysanthemum fields on the flat land became paddies. The town’s scenery has changed its appearance with the times.

The Night Side: Ghost Stories and Haunted Places of This Town

So far we have walked the daytime face of Wassamu: a station that endures severe cold, a shrine that hands down the children’s dance, a hill where flowers bloom, and a pass station kept alive by donations. It was a landscape that conveyed how people have cherished their land and their railway.

In this town there is no place we can confirm as a widely known haunted spot. In our view, the quiet that hangs over Shiokari Pass is rooted not in rumor but in feelings for the railway worker who died in the line of duty in the 1909 accident, and in the prayers of the townspeople.

On KARASU CHANNEL, we set out true ghost stories and haunted places not to visit them but to record them. Having learned the daytime scenery, please read the stories of the night as well.

Before You Go

Opening hours, fees, closing days and access change easily, so they are not listed in this article. Before you go, please check the latest information on the official website of each facility or local government. Some places may be restricted from entry because of weather or disasters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do you read the name Wassamu?

A. It is read “Wassamu-cho.” It is a town in the northern part of the Kamikawa region, at the southern edge of the Nayoro Basin.

Q. Why does Shiokari Station still exist?

A. Because few people use it, and when the railway company asked the municipalities to maintain their stations, the town of Wassamu took over the management. The cost is covered mainly by donations such as furusato nozei.

Q. What is Wassamu known for?

A. It is said to have the largest planted area of pumpkins in Japan, and is also known for overwintering cabbage stored under the snow.

Sources consulted
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/和寒町
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/和寒駅
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/塩狩駅
https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/塩狩峠記念館