A stop in Ashoro

Ashoro is a city in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido. The city is known for its rich natural beauty and high-quality agriculture; its main industries are dairy farming, livestock farming, and the cultivation of sugar beets and wheat. Being a very small city, its main attraction is Lake Onnetō, part of Akan National Park.

Lake Onneto

One of Hokkaido's three most important lakes is Lake Onneto, known as the "Lake of Five Colors." The lake changes colors depending on the season, weather, time of day, and angle from which it is viewed.

There are several trails that branch off from Lake Onneto, including trails leading to Mount Meakan and Akan Fuji.

Giant Butterbur

Large colonies of giant Japanese butterbur are found only here in Ashoro. The rawan buki grows up to 3 meters tall, so tall you can stand under it.
This broad-leaved green plant grows in the fields of the Rawan River basin. Standing under a rawanbuki plant at its full height can dwarf even an adult.
Botanists who study this plant aren't exactly sure what makes this species so tall, but some think the phenomenon may be attributed to Ashoro's location in a basin valley, as well as minerals in the Rawan River, which come from Lake Onneto.

Rawanbuki is an edible plant used for centuries as a staple in local cuisine. It is a wild vegetable with soft flesh and is rich in minerals such as calcium and magnesium, as well as dietary fiber. The stems are eaten boiled or pickled, but also in curries and many other dishes. The leaves are ground into a powder and used in teas, sweets, and other processed foods, and are sometimes used to wrap other cooked foods. Dishes using the plant include rawanbuki stuffed with meat, Chinese-style rawan salad, and minestrone soup.

How to get there

A bus connects Ashoro to Obihiro nine times a day, and highways running east-west and north-south provide constant access to the city. However, the rail network recently closed, making it no longer available as a means of transportation.