Sobetsu Town

• Hokkaido
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Sobetsu Town, on the southeastern shore of Lake Toya (entry 01_0040) in the Iburi region of Hokkaido, is home to one of the world's most remarkable geological phenomena — 'Showa-Shinzan', a 398-metre volcano that rose from a wheat field in just two years (1943–1945) during World War II. Designated as a National Special Natural Monument, its dramatic birth was documented in extraordinary detail by a local postmaster, Masao Mimatsu, whose hand-drawn 'Mimatsu Diagram' remains a landmark of world volcanology. Immediately adjacent, the active volcano 'Mt. Usu' (Usuzan) offers a ropeway to its 737-metre summit, where panoramic views sweep across Lake Toya, Showa-Shinzan and Uchiura Bay. Near the summit, the 'Crater Ruins Park' — created after the 2000 eruption — preserves roads, utility poles and buried buildings as they were left mid-eruption, a haunting and uniquely powerful time-capsule. Together, the area forms the 'Toya-Usu UNESCO Global Geopark', designated in 2009 as a living outdoor museum of volcanic co-existence. In February, the 'Showa-Shinzan International Snowball Fight' attracts teams from around the world.