Photo: Hiroshi Nakai / CC BY 2.0Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada
Cape Chikyu
Cliffs of about 100 m with the white Chikiu Misaki Lighthouse, first lit in 1920, 130 m above the Pacific. It is ranked first among Hokkaido’s 100 natural sights. The observatory is open-air and free. The name comes from the Ainu “chikep”, cliff. Car parking has been charged since April 2026. Taxis are not known to wait at the cape: keep yours, and expect a waiting charge.
Taxi from Shukutsu Pier 7.8 km, about 15 min, about ¥3,100 each way (our estimate); from Chuo Pier 4.9 km, about ¥2,100Full guide: Cape ChikyuHakucho Bridge and the roadside station
The Hakucho Bridge, 1,380 m long and finished in 1998, is the largest suspension bridge in eastern Japan, and Shukutsu Pier sits at its west end. The Michi-no-eki Mitara Muroran beside it is free, with an exhibition on the bridge and an observation deck: open 09:30–19:00 from April to October, 09:30–17:00 from November to March (closed Thursdays then). The bridge is lit from sunset to midnight.
On foot from Shukutsu Pier, about 15 min to the roadside station and about 20 min to the bridge observatory (our estimates)Full guide: Hakucho Bridge and the roadside stationNoboribetsu Hell Valley
Jigokudani is an explosion crater about 450 m across, full of steaming vents and boiling springs, that feeds the onsen town with about 10,000 tonnes of hot water a day. It is free. A ramp, no steeper than 8%, runs from the park service centre to the observatory. Oyunuma pond and a natural footbath on the Oyunuma river are nearby, also free.
Taxi to JR Higashi-Muroran about 15 min, limited express about 15 min to Noboribetsu, Donan bus about 15–25 min to the onsen: about 1 h 15 min – 1 h 30 min each way (our estimate)Full guide: Noboribetsu Hell ValleyCurry ramen at Aji no Daio
Aji no Daio Muroran Honten calls itself the shop where Muroran curry ramen began. Curry ramen ¥1,000. 11:00–14:30, closed Tuesdays. MLIT’s cruise port guide calls the dish Hokkaido’s fourth ramen flavour, after Sapporo miso, Hakodate salt and Asahikawa soy.
Taxi from Shukutsu 4.5 km, about ¥1,900 (our estimate); 15 min on foot from Chuo Pier; 5 min from JR MuroranGoogle MapsUpopoy, the National Ainu Museum and Park
The national museum and park of the Ainu, Hokkaido’s Indigenous people, by Lake Poroto. FY2026 hours: 09:00–18:00 to 31 October, 09:00–17:00 from 1 November; last entry an hour before closing. Closed Mondays (the next weekday if Monday is a holiday). Adult ¥1,200, or ¥1,000 bought online; junior high and younger free. The FY2027 calendar is not yet published.
Taxi to JR Higashi-Muroran, limited express about 30 min to Shiraoi, 10 min on foot: about 1 h 10 min – 1 h 30 min each way (our estimate)Google MapsTokkarisho
Cliffs of about 100 m covered in bamboo grass around a small cove; the name comes from the Ainu “tokar-isho”, seal rock. Free and open-air. It shares a bus stop with Cape Chikyu, so do the two in one taxi.
Taxi from Shukutsu 7.6 km, about ¥3,100 (our estimate); 1.3 km, about 2 min by taxi from Cape ChikyuGoogle MapsMuroran yakitori
Muroran yakitori is pork, not chicken: Hokkaido pork shoulder and onion with a sweet sauce and Western mustard. The Agency for Cultural Affairs named it a “100-year food” in 2026. Most yakitori houses open at 17:00, so on a day call eat it at Kofune near Cape Etomo: lunch 11:30–14:30, two skewers ¥390, closed Mondays and the 3rd Tuesday. On a call that sails at 19:00 or later, Ippei Honten (from 1950) opens at 17:00.
Kofune: taxi from Shukutsu 3.0 km, about 5 min (our estimate). Ippei Honten: about 15 min on foot from JR Higashi-MuroranGoogle Maps
Cape Chikyu by boat
Reservation required. Star Marine’s 90-minute Cape Chikyu cruise sails at 10:00 and 14:00 from April to November, adult ¥5,000, past Daikokujima, the Kinbyobu and Ginbyobu cliffs and Cape Chikyu. Every trip needs at least five passengers. From June to August dolphin-watching trips (150 min, ¥7,500) take priority. Check in 20 minutes before. Cash, cards and PayPay.
Star Marine boards at the foot of the Hakucho Bridge, beside the roadside station: about 15 min on foot from Shukutsu (our estimate)Full guide: Cape ChikyuMuroran Aquarium
Hokkaido’s oldest aquarium, opened in 1953: about 120 species, seal, sea-lion and penguin shows, and a small funfair. Adult ¥400. 09:30–16:30. It opens only from late April to mid-October; the 2027 season dates are not yet published.
On foot from Shukutsu Pier, beside the roadside station (about 15 min, our estimate)Google MapsOld Muroran Station building
A wooden station building from 1912, the oldest surviving in Hokkaido and a registered Tangible Cultural Property. It is now the Muroran Tourism Association office, free: 08:00–19:00 from April to October, 08:00–17:00 from November to March, closed 1 January. Ask here for maps and taxis.
10 min on foot from Chuo Pier (our estimate); taxi from Shukutsu about ¥1,900Google Maps
