is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

located in

Sōya Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Its population is estimated to be 77,500 as of July 31, 2004 and its area is . It is the northernmost subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below pre ...

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 lar ...

, Japan. As of 2004, the district has 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 16,986 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 8.87 persons per km². The total area is .

Towns and villages

* Esashi *

Hamatonbetsu is a town located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 3,841, an area of ., and a density of 9.6 persons per km². The town is in a long period of sustained population loss. It i ...

* Nakatonbetsu

Merger

*On March 20, 2006, the town of Utanobori merged into the town of Esashi. Districts in Hokkaido {{Hokkaido-geo-stub