Plants & Animals

Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park is a key refuge for many endangered flora and fauna.

On Mount Rishiri, you can see Sakhalin fir, Erman's birch and green alder forests at elevations over 500 meters, and Japanese stone pine and endemic alpine flora like the Rishiri hinageshi above 1,100 meters. Rebun Island is home to endemic plants such as the Rebun atsumoriso and Rebun usuyukiso. The lush Sarobetsu Plain is awash with wetland flowers like the mountain cranberry and sundew.

The park is also a vital waypoint for migratory birds, including the bean goose and whistling swan, and home to creatures such as the Eurasian least shrew and viviparous lizards.

Plants

Rishiri hinageshi

The Rishiri hinageshi (Papaver fauriei) is an endangered perennial plant that blooms with bowl-shaped yellow or green flowers in early summer. You'll find it near the gravelly summit of Mount Rishiri.

Fauriei poppy

Ezo Kanzou

The Ezo kanzou (Hemerocallis dumortieri Morr. var. esculenta) is a type of daylily with vibrant yellow blooms appearing from mid-June to early July. It grows on wetlands in the Sarobetsu Plain, and near the Ororon Line that runs alongside the Sea of Japan.

Ezo kanzou

Animals

Bean Goose

The Taiga bean goose is the largest species of goose found in Japan. Thousands of these migratory birds can be seen at Penke Marsh and Panke Marsh on the Sarobetsu Plain at the beginning of spring and fall.

Bean goose

Yellow-Breasted Bunting

The Sarobetsu Plain is an key breeding ground for the yellow-breasted bunting (Emberiza aureola). This critically endangered species is typically chestnut brown with black and white streaks, and a breast of electric yellow. Male have dark faces, while the females are usually whiteish.

Yellow-breasted bunting

Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park