is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in central

Sorachi Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. As of 2004, its estimated population is 373,736 and its area is 6,558.26 km2. Geography Cities 10 cities are located in Sorachi Subprefecture: Towns and villages by district These are t ...

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The name is

Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East *Ainu languages, a family of languages **Ainu language of Hokkaido **Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands **Sakhalin Ainu la ...

for "mountain ridge". As of October 2022, the city has a population of 9,081 people living in 5,503 households. The total area is 129.88 km². The city was once a prosperous coal-mining city, its population reaching 59,430 in 1960. The population has been gradually declining. There have been efforts to create tourism around the city's coal mining heritage and other sights in order to strengthen the local economy. Other than that, there are also hot springs and campsites.

History

*1891 - Settlement begins. *1918 - Moshiri Coal Mine opens. *1922 - Second-class municipality Akabira Village split off of first-class municipality

Utashinai is a city located in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is Japan's smallest city by population. History It was formerly a prosperous coal mining city, but has declined greatly since the closing of the coal mines. The population hit a ...

. *1929 - Akabira becomes a First-Class municipality. *1937 - Shōwa Denkō Toyosato Mine opened. *1938 - Sumitomo Coal Mine, Hokkaido Coal Mine Railroad and Akama Coal Mine opened. *1943 - Akabira Village becomes Akabira Town. *July 1, 1954 - Akabira Town becomes Akabira City. *1967 - Shōwa Denkō Toyosato Mine closed. *1969 - Moshiri Coal Mine closed. *1973 - Akama Coal Mine closed. *1994 - Sumitomo Coal Mine closed. *2003 - Mid-Sorachi Merger Committee established. *2007 - A major elementary school in Akabira closed down. It once had about 5000 students but has dropped rapidly after the closure of the coal mines. *2008 - Hokkaido provides the city with a low-interest loan to support the city *February 28, 2015 -

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for number of snowmen made in an hour (2036) for the filming of the drama ''Fuben na Benriya'' ("Inconvenient Handyman").

Geography

Akabira is located in the central region of the

Sorachi Sub-prefecture jurisdiction. The Sorachi River flows through the city limits from east to west. Originally, development stretched from

(歌志内) to Mojiri (茂尻), but now is an urban region along the Sorachi River.

Main Mountains

* Mt. Irumukeppu (イルムケップ山) * Mt. Akabira (赤平山) * Mt. Kamui (神威岳)

Main Rivers

* Sorachi River (空知川) * Horokura River (幌倉川) * Akamazawa River (赤間沢川) * Katsura River (桂川)

Neighborhoods

* Akabira (赤平) * Izumachi (泉町), Blocks 1-4 * Erumuchō (エルム町) * Oomachi (大町), Blocks 1-4 *North Bunkyōchō (北文京町), Blocks 1-5 *Kyowachō (共和町) *Saiwaichō (幸町), Blocks 1-7 *Sakuragichō (桜木町), Blocks 1-5 *Shōwachō (昭和町), Blocks 1-6 *Sumiyoshichō (住吉町) *Toyookachō (豊丘町), Blocks 1-3 *Toyosato (字豊里) *Nishikimachi (錦町), Blocks 1-3 *West Toyosatochō (西豊里町) *West Bunkyōchō (西文京町), Blocks 1-5 *East Oomachi (東大町), Blocks 1-3 *East Toyosatochō (東豊里町) *East Bunkyōchō (東文京町), Blocks 1-4 *Hyakkochō East (百戸町東), Blocks 1-5 *Hyakkochō West (百戸町西), Blocks 1-6 *Hyakkochō North (百戸町北) *Hiragishikatsurachō (平岸桂町) *Hiragishishinkōchō (平岸新光町), Blocks 1-9 *Hiragishinakamachi (平岸仲町), Blocks 1-6 *Hiragishihigashimachi (平岸東町), Blocks 1-6 *Hiragishinishimachi (平岸西町), Blocks 1-6 *Hiragishiminamimachi (平岸南町) *Hiragishiakebonochō (平岸曙町), Blocks 1-6 *Hōeichō (豊栄町), Blocks 1-5 *Horookachō (幌岡町) *Honchō (本町), Blocks 1-3 *Misonochō (美園町), Blocks 1-5 *Miyashitachō (宮下町), Blocks 1-5 *Mojiri (茂尻) *Mojiriasahimachi (茂尻旭町), Blocks 1-3 *Mojirikasugachō (茂尻春日町), Blocks 1-3 *Mojirisakaemachi (茂尻栄町), Blocks 1-5 *Mojirishinkasugachō (茂尻新春日町), Blocks 1-2 *Mojirishinmachi (茂尻新町), Blocks 1-5 *Mojirichūōchō South (茂尻中央町南), Blocks 1-6 *Mojirichūōchō North (茂尻中央町北), Blocks 1-2 *Mojirihonchō (茂尻本町), Blocks 1-4 *Mojirimiyashitachō (茂尻宮下町) *Mojirimotomachi South (茂尻元町南), Blocks 1-5 *Mojirimotomachi North (茂尻元町北), Blocks 1-6 *Wakakichō East (若木町東), Blocks 1-9 *Wakakichō West (若木町西), Blocks 1-6 *Wakakichō South (若木町南), Blocks 1-5 *Wakakichō North (若木町北), Blocks 1-8

Population

As of October 2019, the population dropped below 10,000. According to the 2015 census, three communities within Akabira disappeared, with a population of 0 recorded by the census. * Hiragishi (平岸) * Hyakkochō North (百戸町北) * Mojirimiyashitachō (茂尻宮下町)

Transportation

Nemuro Main Line is a railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), connecting Takikawa Station in Takikawa and Nemuro Station in Nemuro, including Obihiro and Kushiro. Higashi-Nemuro is the most easterly situated station on the J ...

Akabira is a city located in central Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The name is Ainu for "mountain ridge". As of October 2022, the city has a population of 9,081 people living in 5,503 households. The total area is 129.88 km2. The city ...

- Moshiri - Hiragishi

Education

Junior high school

* Akabira junior high school

Elementary schools

* Akama elementary school * Toyosato elementary school * Mojiri elementary school

In popular culture

A climactic scene in the 2021 Academy Awards winning film Drive My Car was shot in Akabira, leading to interest from visitors.

Friendship cities

Kaga, Ishikawa is a city located in southwestern Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 67,793 in 29054 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Kaga is located in ...

(since 1995)Friendship cities of Akabira
/ref> *

Samcheok Samcheok () is a city in Gangwon-do, South Korea. History Ancient age & Three Kingdom * It was called "Siljikguk or Siljikgokguk" * 102 under the rule of Silla ( Pasa 23rd) * 468 under the rule of Goguryeo (Jangsu 56th) * 505 The name changed t ...

Gangwon Gangwon or Kangwŏn may refer to: * Gangwon Province (historical), the Goryeo, Joseon Dynasty and the Japanese Korean province * Gangwon Province (South Korea), a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. Before the division of Kore ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

(since 1997) *

Miluo City Miluo () is a county-level city in Hunan province, China, it is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yueyang. The city is located on the northeast of the province and on the eastern bank of the Xiang River, it is to the north ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(since 1999)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akabira, Hokkaido Cities in Hokkaido