[3][7] In the Japanese language the name of the town is written with ateji, or kanji characters used to phonetically represent native or borrowed words.

The Tokugawa shogunate, the feudal rulers of Japan of the period, granted the Matsumae Clan rights to trade with the Ainu people in the southern Hokkaido region.

With the decline of the fortune of samurai families during the Edo period, many chose to give up life as a warrior and migrate to Shakotan and other coastal areas of southern Hokkaido to farm and develop the rich herring industry.

[3][6] The settlements on Shakotan were connected to the rest of Japan only by sea; the construction of roads across Hokkaido did not occur until the early 20th century.

During the Bakumatsu (1853 – 1867), the final years of the Edo period, fishermen began using large nets to harvest herring.

A census taken in 1879 revealed that the Funama area of Shakotan consisted of 75 households, had a population of 350, 10 horses, a school, a temple, and three Shinto shrines.

[8] The era of the herring industry ended due to overfishing by 1917, and the population on the Shakotan Peninsula decreased rapidly.

The park, established in 1962, covers 190 square kilometres (73 sq mi), and is managed by the prefectural government of Hokkaido.

[9] The heavily forested Takara Island, with a coastline of 800 metres (2,600 ft), sits just beyond Cape Ōgon in the Bikuni area of Shakotan.

Takara, meaning "treasure" in Japanese, was possibly given its name by fishermen who found rich shoals of herring around the island in the early 19th century.

Gyōja garlic, taranome, and udo, all parts of traditional Japanese cuisine, are gathered in the wild during spring in Shakotan.

[6] Shakotan is in a period of significant, ongoing population decline which mirrors that of other areas of rural Japan.

Shakotan is noted for its catch of sea urchin (uni), squid, Olive flounder, cod, and Alaska pollock.

Small-scale farm products of the town include potatoes and kabocha, a Japanese winter squash.

[6] The peak of Mount Shakotan can be reached via numerous hiking trails, all beginning at Japan National Route 229.

[6] The reef areas off the coast of Shakotan, noted for the deep blue color of the water, can be viewed via glass-bottomed boats from Bikuni Harbor.

The regional police office, located in Yoichi, has branches serving the town of Shakotan in Bikuni, Irika, and Yobetsu.

The town is connected to nearby Otaru and the prefectural capitol Sapporo by Hokkaidō Chūō Bus Company.

The Bikuni area of Shakotan can be reached by bus in 75 minutes from the JR Hokkaido Otaru Station.

Hokkaidō Prefectural Route 913 runs along the coastline of the Shakotan Peninsula between Nozuka and Fumi, and provides access to many sightseeing locations in the town, notably Cape Kamui.

In 1914 the shrine structures were moved in their entirety to their present-day location in the central Bikuni area of Shakotan.

[6][18] Kamui Shrine, located in the hilly forested areas of Raikishi west of the port of Yobetsu, was established in the 19th century.