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Hidakasanmyaku Erimo Tokachi NP, Hokkaido
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In 2016, Nissho Pass recorded 488 mm of continuous rain—over twice its previous record—and 43.8 km of Route 274 closed. Surveyors crossed washouts by bike and rubber boat; more than 500 companies reopened it 14 months later.
Work began in 1955 partly to clear trees toppled by the 1954 Toya Maru Typhoon. Mayor Hisashige Urabe persisted despite hearing it called a “road for bears”; the gravel, 2-lane crossing opened in 1965.
At Nissho, 1994–2003 patrol logs found fog often blanketed the Shimizu side while Hidaka stayed clear. In July and August, visibility fell below 200 m about 1 day in 3; half those days sank below 50 m.
Nissho is a working food corridor as well as a scenic crossing: heavy vehicles made up about 63% of its traffic in 2015, carrying Tokachi produce from a region that supplies roughly 1/5 of Japan’s raw milk.
From Nissho Pass downstream, the Saru River’s Important Cultural Landscape preserves an unexpected cycle: floods scour useful plants, yet over time help renew elm forests where Ainu people used trep lily, pukusa and pukusakina.
The Saru River rises near Nissho Pass, but its name carries a lowland clue: in documented Saru Ainu, sar means “reed bed” and is also the river’s name. It evokes reedlands far from the forested headwaters.
“Nissho” is a compact bridge: 日 comes from Hidaka (日高), and 勝 from Tokachi (十勝), the historical provinces on opposite sides of the mountains. The road was named for linking the two.
On the Hidaka side, the Saru River headwaters forest is more than scenic: its spruce, fir and birch woodland was designated a National Natural Monument on December 4, 1970.
After 2016 washouts stopped traffic on Route 274, experts warned bears might appear more often along the empty road. Damage-survey teams therefore traveled with hunters—a reminder that this busy crossing is also wildlife habitat.
