The Miyabe char is an endemic species here at Lake Shikaribetsu, evolving from Dolly Verden (Miyabe char is a subspecies of Dolly Verden). Over 10 thousand years ago, ancestral Dolly Verden were land-locked due to volcanic activities, then evolving in a unique way. Miyabe chars have changed to feed mainly on planktons, which led to the greater number of gill rakers; an organ for filtering food (planktons). Mr. Masamitsu Oshima named the fish Miyabe char after Dr. Kingo Miyabe, who found that Miyabe char could be distinguishable from Dolly Verden in terms of the number of gill rakers.
Miyabe char in Lake Shikaribetsu have three body colors (green, brown and blue) corresponding to their living habits/environments. Especially the blue one with pink and orange dots is extremely beautiful, called “jewel of lake”. Average size of the char is around 30cm, but over-40cm one is often caught these days. Our record is 64cm. People have found the chars around 70cm. Although nobody has ever caught anything larger than that.
The population of the Miyabe char has seriously decreased due to overfishing and was protected as endangered species. Thanks to the preservation, the population has come back like better than*before. For preserving the Miyabe char to next generations, Shikaoi Town introduced the catch & release system from 2005. Also they set up various rules such as fish hook, seasons (50 days in a year) and the number of anglers (50 people per day). For sustainable resource management, we would like to ask you to fill some catch data forms.
1st stage: May 22, 2024 -June 16, 2024 (7 AM-3 PM)
2nd stage: September 21, 2024- October 6, 2024 (7 AM-3 PM)
Open for 50 people/day
4,190 yen/day・person
Only if the parents to accompany , elementary and junior high school students of the recreational fishing fee will be free .
1. Lure or Fly-fishing ONLY (Bait fishing is NOT allowed).
2. All Miyabe char should be released.
Bag limit: 10 fish/person, except for Miyabe char.
3. Only SINGLE-BARBLESS HOOK is allowed.
(Rowboat Hire) 2,500 yen for 2 persons
(Life Vest) 500 yen/person
(Rowboat Ferrying) 1,000 yen/one-way, 2,000 yen/round-trip
(Guide fishing by boat) 19,800 yen/person 29,800 yen/2 person for 3 hours. Need a reservation.
(Fishing tour rates) 1 person: 19,800 yen for 2 person: 29,800 yen
For intermediate to advanced anglers who want to enjoy fishing in earnest, the advanced course is recommended. It is a special fishing tour for lure fishing and fly fishing only. Our exclusive guide will take you to the fishing area reserved for the fishing tour on a motorboat. Please note that the fishing tour is reservation only and limited to one group per day.
* Learn more about our guided fishing tours
・From New Chitose Airport (3h)
Doutou Expressway (Chitose-Higashi IC to Tokachi-Shimizu IC) → Route 274 → Route 85
・From Obihiro Airport (1.5h)
Obihiro-Hiroo Expressway (Koufuku IC to Memuro IC) → Route 54 → Route 274 → Route 85
・From Sapporo (3.5h)
Hokkaido Expressway (Sapporo-Minami IC to Tokachi-Shimizu IC via Chitose-Eniwa JCT) → Route 274 → Route 85
JR line is also available.