Shiraoi
Shiraoi is a town on the Pacific coast of Iburi in southern Hokkaido, home to Upopoy, the National Ainu Museum and Park, about forty minutes by car from New Chitose Airport.
- Region
- Hokkaido
- Journeys
- One of our journeys
overview
On a quiet lake by the sea, the culture of the first people of Hokkaido.
The Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido, of Sakhalin and of the Kuril Islands, with their own language, beliefs, clothing and arts, and a way of life once built on hunting, fishing and gathering in the forests and rivers of the north. Japan recognised them in law as an indigenous people in 2019, and the following year opened Upopoy in Shiraoi as the national centre for Ainu culture. Its name means singing together in a large group.
Shiraoi was a natural home for it. An Ainu village has welcomed visitors on the shore of Lake Poroto since the 1960s, and the town has long been one of the places where Ainu dance, craft and language were kept alive. Upopoy stands on the same lakeshore, among birch woods, with the National Ainu Museum, a reconstructed village of thatched houses, workshops and a hall for performance.
A few hours here change the way Hokkaido is seen, and Pure Hokkaido makes the visit from Noboribetsu. The place names on every map, Sapporo, Shiretoko, Noboribetsu, come from the Ainu language, and the museum explains the world behind them. Shiraoi lies between New Chitose Airport and the onsen of Noboribetsu, so it falls easily on the road south from Sapporo to Lake Toya and Noboribetsu.
see and do
What to see in Shiraoi
The National Ainu Museum
The first national museum devoted to the Ainu, with galleries on language, belief, daily life, history and exchange with neighbouring peoples, and exhibits labelled first in the Ainu language.
Ainu traditional dance
Performances in the hall on the lakeshore of the dances and songs of the Ainu, inscribed by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2009, with the mukkuri, a bamboo mouth harp, and the tonkori, a five-stringed instrument of Sakhalin.
The kotan by the lake
A village of cise, the traditional thatched houses of the Ainu, on the shore of Lake Poroto, where staff explain the hearth, the sacred east window and the life of a household.
The craft workshops
Studios where Ainu wood carving and embroidery are practised and taught, and where attush, the cloth woven from elm bark, is made by hand.
Lake Poroto
The small lake beside Upopoy, ringed by birch and oak, whose still water and wooded shore are part of the setting of the museum and the village.
The Sendai Domain Shiraoi Moto-jinya
The earthworks of a coastal guard post built in 1856 by the Sendai domain to watch the shores of Ezo, now a national historic site with a small museum.
experiences
The best of Shiraoi
Upopoy with a guide
A private guide through the museum and the kotan, who can explain Ainu belief, language and history and how the culture is being carried forward today.
Craft in the hand
Time in the workshops with Ainu craftspeople, watching the patterns of embroidery and carving take shape, and learning to play the mukkuri.
Shiraoi beef
A dinner of Shiraoi beef, the wagyu raised on the town's farms, tender and finely marbled and one of the most prized beefs in Hokkaido.
plan your visit
Shiraoi on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- Half a day for Upopoy, best taken on the road between Sapporo or New Chitose Airport and a night or two at Noboribetsu or Lake Toya.
- Getting there
- By private car from New Chitose Airport in about forty minutes, from Sapporo in about an hour and a quarter, and from Noboribetsu in about twenty minutes. Limited express trains from Sapporo reach Shiraoi Station, a ten-minute walk from Upopoy, in about an hour.
- Pairs well with
- Shiraoi lies between New Chitose Airport and the onsen of Noboribetsu, so it fits on the first or last day of a journey through southern Hokkaido, with Lake Toya and Lake Shikotsu close by.NoboribetsuLake ToyaLake ShikotsuSapporoHakodate
journeys
Tours of Japan that include Shiraoi
Open a journey below for its route, its dates and its price. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can bring you here and anywhere else in Japan you would like to go.
questions
Shiraoi: questions answered
What is Upopoy?
Upopoy is the National Ainu Museum and Park in Shiraoi, opened in 2020 as Japan's national centre for the culture of the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido. It includes the museum, a village of traditional houses, workshops and a performance hall.
How long do you need at Upopoy?
Half a day is enough to see the museum, a dance performance and the village by the lake; a full day allows time in the craft workshops.
How do you get to Upopoy from Sapporo?
By private car in about an hour and a quarter, or by limited express train to Shiraoi Station in about an hour, then a ten-minute walk.
Who are the Ainu?
The Ainu are the indigenous people of Hokkaido, Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands, with their own language and culture. Japan recognised them in law as an indigenous people in 2019.
Is Shiraoi near Noboribetsu?
Yes. Noboribetsu is about twenty minutes by car from Shiraoi, so Upopoy is easily visited on the way to or from a stay at its onsen.
Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Shiraoi?
Pure Hokkaido visits Shiraoi for the day. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can include Shiraoi too.
Can Shiraoi be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director, and it can go anywhere in the country, Shiraoi included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
hokkaido
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Every place in Hokkaido
Shiraoi, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Shiraoi, and we will answer with the journey that suits you best: one of our published tours, a journey of The Private Collection, or a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone.