is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Kamikawa Subprefecture
is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. The name is derived from Kamikawa no hitobito no Shūraku (Village of the Upstream People), a translation of the Ainu Peni Unguri Kotan. Settlement began in 1867. The sub-prefecture was establi ...
,
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 town had an estimated
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
of 4,609 and a
density
Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...
of 6.9 persons per km
2. The total area is .
Geography
Bifuka is located in a valley in the north central region of the island of Hokkaido. The town is surrounded by mountains. The
Teshio River flows roughly northwest through Bifuka.
Neighboring municipalities
Bifuka borders six other municipalities, which span Kamikawa,
Okhotsk
Okhotsk ( rus, Охотск, p=ɐˈxotsk) is an types of inhabited localities in Russia, urban locality (a urban-type settlement, work settlement) and the administrative center of Okhotsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located at the mou ...
, and
Sōya subprefectures:
*Kamikawa Subprefecture
**
Nayoro
**
Otoineppu
**
Nakagawa
**
Horokanai
*Okhotsk Subprefecture
**
Ōmu
*Sōya Subprefecture
**
Esashi
Climate
Education
Hokkaido Bifuka High School
is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost Prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own List of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; th ...
is located in the town.
Museum
Bifuka is home to the
Bifuka Sturgeon Museum
is a town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "tow ...
, a small facility which maintains eight species of
sturgeon
Sturgeon is the common name for the 27 species of fish belonging to the family Acipenseridae. The earliest sturgeon fossils date to the Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretace ...
. Sturgeon were found in the Teshio River as far as Bifuka until the
Meiji Period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
.
Transportation
is served by the
JR Hokkaido
The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a sm ...
Sōya Main Line
The is a Japanese railway line operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) in Hokkaido. The line connects Asahikawa Station in Asahikawa and Wakkanai Station in Wakkanai, and is the northernmost railway line in Japan. The name comes fr ...
, which runs from to .
The town is linked with
Route 40
The following highways are numbered 40:
International
* European route E40
Argentina
* National Route 40
Australia
* NSW State Route 40 (Windsor Road and Victoria Road in Sydney)
* Victorian State Route 40
* Mulligan Highway (Queensland)
Br ...
linking
Wakkanai
' meaning "cold water river" is a city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture. It contains Japan's northernmost point, Cape Sōya, from which the Russian island of Sakhalin can be seen.
As of ...
and southern Hokkaido. Another route the
Route 275 is also connected.
Culture
Mascots
Bifuka's mascot are and . They are pumpkins who are best friends. Both wear hats made of birch trees. However, Bifuka-kun is a green pumpkin who wears a tie that resembled a sturgeon while Mimi-chan is an orange pumpkin who carries a bag that resembled a sturgeon.
References
External links
*
Official Website
Towns in Hokkaido
{{Hokkaido-geo-stub