Tōbetsu, Hokkaido

Tōbetsu 当別町
Town
Tōbetsu Town Office (March 2005)
Flag Seal
Location of Tōbetsu in Hokkaido (Ishikari Subprefecture)
Tōbetsu Location in Japan
Coordinates: 43°13′N 141°31′E
Country	Japan
Region	Hokkaido
Prefecture	Hokkaido (Ishikari Subprefecture)
District	Ishikari
Government
• Mayor	Masaki Miyaji
Area
• Total	422.71 km2 (163.21 sq mi)
Population  (September 30, 2016)
• Total	16,694
• Density	39/km2 (100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	58-9 Shirakabacho, Tobetsu, Hokkaido 061-0292
Website	www.town.tobetsu.hokkaido.jp
Symbols
Bird	Ural owl
Flower	Gypsophila elegans
Tree	Betula platyphylla

Tōbetsu (当別町, Tōbetsu-chō) is a town located in Ishikari, Hokkaido, Japan.

As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 16,694, and a density of 39 persons per km². The total area is 422.71 km².

Geography

Located on the north part of Ishikari Subprefecture of Hokkaido, the shape of the municipality is elongated north to south. It overlaps with the catchment area of the Tōbetsu river approximately. Tōbetsu means "river from marsh" in Ainu language, and in Japanese it is called "Tōbetsu Gawa (river)". Low mountains occupy the northern area of the municipality. The southern area is a part of the Ishikari Plains.

Sapporo, the largest city of Hokkaido, lies on southwest of Tōbetsu. The large river of Ishikari divided Tōbetsu from Sapporo until 1934, when the Sasshō Line railroad connected the two cities. Several more bridges built in the latter half of 20th century have further reduced the traffic obstacle. Tōbetsu has produced rice and recently flowers. Residential buildings are increasing modestly because of its better access to Sapporo.

History

• 1902 - Tōbetsu village was founded.
• 1947 - Tōbetsu village became Tōbetsu town.

Sister cities

• Leksand, Dalarna, Sweden (since 1987)
• Osaki, Miyagi (since 2000)
• Uwajima, Ehime (since 2009)

Education

University

• Health Sciences University of Hokkaido

High schools

• Hokkaido Tobetsu High School

Transportation

• Sasshō Line: Ishikari-Futomi - Ishikari-Tōbetsu - Hokkaidō-Iryōdaigaku

Mascot

Tobenosuke, the town's mascot

Tōbetsu's mascot is Tobenosuke (とべのすけ) who is a 5-year-old Eurasian tree sparrow who lives in the forests of Tōbetsu. Not only is he is a Jidaigeki actor, he also has samurai ancestors that belong the Date clan. Despite his age, he will arm himself with a golden katana if anyone tries to mess with an innocent. He wears a kimono made from annual baby's-breath with an obe is made from a Asian white birch and a green and gold kabuto with the kanji "tō" (当) painted on it as good luck. He also wears white war paint around his eyes to strike fear amongst his enemies. As a result, he is mistaken for a ural owl. His birthday is October 2. He is designed by Yasuka Arai.

Notable people from Tōbetsu

• Tatsunori Arai, football player

See also

• Sweden Hills

External links

• Media related to Tōbetsu, Hokkaidō at Wikimedia Commons
• Official Website (in Japanese)