is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Okhotsk Subprefecture is a Subprefectures of Hokkaido, subprefecture of Hokkaido, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was renamed from the earlier Abashiri Subprefecture on April 1, 2010. Abashiri Subprefecture was established in 1897. Etymology Abashiri Prefecture was n ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan 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 fr ...

, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefecture capital is

Abashiri is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the ...

. Kitami is physically in the middle of Okhotsk Subprefecture. The

Kitami Mountains is a mountain range of Hokkaidō, Japan. Unlike much of the rest of Japan, the Kitami Mountains are not very seismically active. The Kitami Mountains are north of the Ishikari Mountains and east of the Teshio Mountains. A depression separates th ...

are nearby and are the main reason behind the city's name. The city is the result of the merger of Kitami,

Tanno The term Tanno may refer to: Places *Tanno, Hokkaidō, town in Tokoro District, Japan *Tanno Station, railway station in above town People Tanno is also a Japanese surname which may refer to: *Akira Tanno (1925–2015), Japanese photographer *Asa ...

, Tokoro and Rubeshibe towns in 2006 administrative reform. Kitami developed mainly in commerce and industry/service industries, Tanno in agriculture, Tokoro in fishery and agriculture, and Rubeshibe in forestry and tourism on hot springs. Due to the characteristics of the region, Kitami has the highest onion and white flower bean production in Japan. Scallop fishing also flourishes, which makes it the "birthplace of scallop farming" in the country. In addition, the region is home to historical and tourist places like the Pearson Museum, Wakka Wild Flower Garden, and

Tokoro Ruins is a small town, formerly an independent administrative division located in Tokoro District, Abashiri Subprefecture (now Okhotsk Subprefecture), Hokkaido, Japan. On March 5, 2006, the division, along with the towns of Rubeshibe and Tanno (all ...

, which are listed as " Hokkaido Heritage" sites. As of July 31, 2023, the city had a population of 112,185, citizens in 61,793 households. The population density is . The total area is .

Etymology

The name came as a suggestion of the Japanese explorer and cartographer

Matsuura Takeshirō was a Japanese explorer, cartographer, writer, painter, priest, and antiquarian. During the late Edo period and Bakumatsu he journeyed six times to Ezo, including to Sakhalin and the Kuriles. In the early Meiji period he was an official in th ...

during the

Meiji Era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, 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 feu ...

, when imperial bureaucrats were registering the place for initiating the region's development through the

Hokkaidō Development Commission The , sometimes referred to as Hokkaidō Colonization Office or simply the Kaitakushi, was a government agency in early Meiji Japan. Tasked with the administration, economic development, and securing of the northern frontier in what, at the time ...

. Before the imperial intervention, there was no Ainu name for the region. The meaning of the name consists of the kanji's combinations of characters 北 (North) 見 (See) and 市 (City), which means "''City of the North View''". The reason behind this meaning is due to the region's mountains, which allow the view of the

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

and the Russian island of

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

. Originally, the name refers to a vast area between the

mountains A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

and the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...

. Since the merger of Kitami City with the surrounding Tokoro, Rubeshibe and

towns in 2006, it is often referred to as the area around the Kitami Basin, the so-called Kitami Inland Area, excluding the former Tokoro Town area in the coastal area.

Chronology

The Edo period

The

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, when Japan was under the rule of the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

and the country's 300 regional ''

daimyo were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominally to ...

''. During this period, there is no registration of continuous human settlement in this place. The nearest populations were composed of Ainu Tribes. Nowadays, one of their old settlements has become the

. The history began to appear in the final years of the Edo period, as a result of the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

and the

Boshin War The , sometimes known as the Japanese Revolution or Japanese Civil War, was a civil war in Japan fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa shogunate and a coalition seeking to seize political power in the name of the Impe ...

. * 1856: Japanese explorer

passed over the region for the first time on the

Tokoro River The is a river in Hokkaido, Japan. The Tokoro River, which has its source in Mount Mikuni (alt. 1,541 m), flows through Oketo and Kunneppu and into the Sea of Okhotsk from Kitami. Many white-tailed eagles and Steller's sea eagles that have ...

Meiji Era

The

Meiji era The was an Japanese era name, era of History of Japan, 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 feu ...

is an

era An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

Japanese history The first human inhabitants of the Japanese archipelago have been traced to the Paleolithic, around 38–39,000 years ago. The Jōmon period, named after its cord-marked pottery, was followed by the Yayoi period in the first millennium BC when ...

that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. In this period, the

was over and the short-lived

Ezo Republic The was a short-lived separatist state established in 1869 on the island of Ezo, now Hokkaido, by a part of the former military of the Tokugawa shogunate at the end of the ''Bakumatsu'' period in Japan. It was the first government to attempt t ...

was conquered by the Japanese Imperial Army. Due to the risk of having new revolts in the border of the empire and the constant expansion of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

at the north, the imperial bureau started the mass colonisation of the region and the "Japanization" of the natives through forced assimilation and segregation. * 1869 (Meiji 2): The Meiji government renames Ezo as "Hokkaido" and creates the

. * 1872 (Meiji 5): The village of is founded, starting the process of settle in the region. * 1882 (Meiji 15):

is abolished, and the first three prefectures are established in Hokkaido. This area belonged to Nemuro prefecture, one of those firstly created. * 1897 (Meiji 30): 112 immigrants arrives and settle, which led to the substantial growth of the region. * 1899 (Meiji 32): Is produced the first mint in the region. * 1904 (Meiji 37): Rice cultivation begins. * 1910 (Meiji 43): Train service arrives (then called the Ikeda Railway Line), connecting the village to

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

, capital of Hokkaido.

Taishō Era

Taishō is a period dating from 30 July 1912 to 25 December 1926, coinciding with the reign of the

Emperor Taishō , posthumously honored as , was the 123rd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, reigning from 1912 until his death in 1926. His reign, known as the Taishō era, was characterized by a liberal and democratic shift in ...

. During this Era, the emperor wasn't capable of using his power due to cerebral meningitis contracted in his childhood. Because of his personal limitations, the imperial government was led informally by an

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

of notables called

Genrō was an unofficial designation given to a generation of elder Japanese statesmen, all born in the 1830s and 1840s, who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor during the Meiji, Taishō, and early Shōwa eras of Japan ...

(元老). Thanks to this power vacuum, Japan developed a political system that allowed a liberal government, with the creation of political parties and a major role of the

National Diet , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

. * 1914 (Taisho 3): Pearson Museum is opened in the old house of the Pearsons, an American missionary couple. * 1915 (Taisho 4): Tokoro Village is created. * 1921 (Taisho 10): Rubeshibe Town is created.

Showa Era

This

chapter Chapter or Chapters may refer to: Books * Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document * Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10 * Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...

ese history corresponds to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (

Hirohito , Posthumous name, posthumously honored as , was the 124th emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession, from 25 December 1926 until Death and state funeral of Hirohito, his death in 1989. He remains Japan's longest-reigni ...

) from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989. This time represents the most intense changes in Kitami, Hokkaido, and Japan. In the beginning, the city started to specialise in the production of Mint, meanwhile, the Empire of Japan was under a militaristic

rule Rule or ruling may refer to: Human activity * The exercise of political or personal control by someone with authority or power * Business rule, a rule pertaining to the structure or behavior internal to a business * School rule, a rule th ...

with expansionist actions that led to the participation of the country in the Second World War. After the end of the conflict, Japan started to concentrate its economic efforts on mass industrialisation, which, in consequence, led Japan to the second most important economy in the world. Kitami had an industrial development during this progress and the city reached its highest population in the middle of the 80s. * 1928 (Showa 3): Mr. and Mrs. Pearson leave Kitami and come back to the United States. * 1934 (Showa 9): The

Japanese Red Cross The is the Japanese affiliate of the International Red Cross. The Imperial Family of Japan has traditionally supported the society, with the Empress as Honorary President and other imperial family members as vice presidents. Its headquarters ...

hospital is completed. * 1934 (Showa 9): Kitami's Mint Memorial Hall is opened. * 1939 (Showa 14): Kitami's mint production gets 70% of the world market and reaches its peak. * 1942 (Showa 17): Kitami becomes a city. * 1947 (Showa 22): 50th anniversary of the creation of Kitami City. Enactment of the Kitami City coat of arms. * 1954 (Showa 29): "Kitami Commerce and Industry Festival" is held for the first time * 1960 (Showa 35): Establishment of the Kitami College of Technology. * 1971 (Showa 46): "Kitami Winter Festival" held for the first time. * 1979 (Showa 54): The population of Kitami City exceeds 100,000. * 1983 (Showa 58): The 100th anniversary of the creation of Tokoro. * 1984 (Showa 59): Kitami Cultural Center in the Kitami area opens. * 1988 (Showa 63): Tokorocho Curling Hall (currently Tokorocho Curling Hall, Kitami City ) was completed.

Heisei Era

Is the

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

corresponding to the reign of Emperor

Akihito Akihito (born 23 December 1933) is a member of the Imperial House of Japan who reigned as the 125th emperor of Japan from 1989 until 2019 Japanese imperial transition, his abdication in 2019. The era of his rule was named the Heisei era, Hei ...

from 8 January 1989 until his

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...

on 30 April 2019. Heisei's era was marked by turbulent politics and a prolonged economic slowdown. Since the economic downturn, Kitami never recovered its economic dimensions since the burst of the Japanese financial crisis and its population started to slowly decrease until nowadays. In this era, the actual city administrative divisions were created. * 1991 (Heisei 3): "Solar Challenge in Hokkaido" (solar car race) held for the first time (ended in 2003). * 1996 (Heisei 8): Marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of Kitami. * 1997 (Heisei 9): The "Kaoryanse Festival" is held for the first time. * 1999 (Heisei 11): Hokkaido's Japanese Red Cross College of Nursing is opened in the city. * 2000 (Heisei 12): "Kitami Severe Cold Yakiniku Festival" was held for the first time. * 2001 (Heisei 13): The Pearson Museum and Wakka Wild Flower Garden are selected as "Hokkaido Heritage". * 2004 (Heisei 16): A record blizzard hits (snow cover . Ancient archaeological sites along the Okhotsk coast including the Tokoro archaeological site are selected as "Hokkaido heritage". * 2006 (Heisei 18): Kitami, Tokoro, Rubeshibe and Tanno surges as City of Kitami. * 2008 (Heisei 20): The first community broadcast "FM Okhotsk" opens. * 2009 (Heisei 21): "Kitami Half Marathon" held for the first time. * 2014 (Heisei 26): Kitami's daily maximum temperature recorded the highest value until 2019 (37.2 °C).

Reiwa Era

Reiwa is the current and 232nd era of the official calendar of Japan. It began on 1 May 2019, the day on which Emperor Akihito's eldest son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as the 126th Emperor of Japan. The day before, Emperor Akihito abdicated ...

is the current era of Japan's official calendar. It began on 1 May 2019, the day on which Emperor

's elder son,

Naruhito Naruhito (born 23 February 1960) is Emperor of Japan. He acceded to the Chrysanthemum Throne following 2019 Japanese imperial transition, the abdication of his father, Akihito, on 1 May 2019, beginning the Reiwa era. He is the 126th monarch, ...

, ascended the throne as the 126th

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

. * 2019 (first year of Reiwa): On May 26, the highest temperature in the history of observation was observed in Kitami City at 38.1 °C, beating the 2014 record.

Towns and autonomous regions

Kitami is the result of the administrative unification of small towns with the main city, which was made in 2006. Thanks to this merging, Kitami is the biggest city in the

. These small towns still exist as ''Autonomous Region Districts'' (自治区). There are four autonomous regions/towns in total.

City of Kitami

Translated as ''North View'' (北見), it is the main urban area of the region. The city flourished during the prewar era through the production of mint, which at the time accounted for 70% of world production. Nowadays Kitami is the commercial, industrial, and service center of the

Okhotsk Okhotsk ( rus, Охотск, p=ɐˈxotsk) is an urban locality (a work settlement) and the administrative center of Okhotsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, located at the mouth of the Okhota River on the Sea of Okhotsk. Population: ...

area. The government makes efforts to develop the city through an industry-academia-government collaboration involving universities and other higher education institutions that are also based in the area.

Town of Tanno

Translated as ''Edge Field'' (端野) which is based in the native Ainu name ''nufu-un-keshi'' (''edge of the field''), the district is mainly a farm field with smooth hills and a rural landscape in the Tokoro river basin. The district has an educational zone with elementary and junior high schools, social education facilities, and parks in the main centre of the district. The rural landscape is also shaped by farms with urban convenience. In the last population survey (2005) the town had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 5,425 and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 33 persons per km². The total area was 163.50 km².

Town of Tokoro

Agriculture and fisheries thrive in this district with abundant nature, including Wakka Wild Flower Park, where flowers stand out on the sandbar between the Sea of Okhotsk and

Lake Saroma , also Saroma Lagoon, is a coastal lagoon (hence a body of brackish water) in Saroma, Kitami, and Yūbetsu. It is located in Abashiri Quasi-National Park. By area, the lake is the third largest in Japan and the largest in Hokkaidō. The nam ...

. It has a year-round curling hall, which is one of the largest of its kind in Japan, as well as historical sites such as the Tokoro Site and the birthplace of scallop cultivation. As of 2004, the town had an estimated

of 4,885 and a

of 17.55 persons per km². The total area was 278.29 km².

Town of Rubeshibe

Translated as ''Legacy of the Detained Pistils'' (留辺蘂), the district is surrounded by thick forests at the foot of the

Taisetsu The is a Rapid Train, special rapid service operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) between and in Hokkaido via the Sekihoku Main Line since 15 March 2025. The service was formerly classified as a limited express service between ...

mountains and along the Muka River. Its key industries are White Flower (shirohana-mame) beans production, for which it boasts the nation's largest yield, and the forest products industry, which uses locally produced wood. As a tourist spot, Yama no Aquarium (Kita no Daichi no Aquarium) in the Onneyu Onsen resort is attracting nationwide attention with its unique display tanks. Before the unification with Kitami, the town had an estimated

of 8,704 and a

of 15.41 persons per km². The total area was 564.69 km².

Economy

History and actual situation

Kitami's first economy was the natural production of ''Mentha'' (

Mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

). During at one time (pre-war) the region exported

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

(known as ''hakka'' locally) in a scale that represented the supply of 70% of the world's mint consumption at its peak. Nowadays it is the most important city of the Okhotsk region. Due to its size, Kitami is the main industrial and commercial pole of the region. The number of employees by industry is divided by 7.6% for the primary industry, 18.8% for the secondary industry, and 73.6% for the tertiary industry (2010). These economic proportions are comparable to major cities in Hokkaido but, in terms of primary industry, the percentage is higher when compared with other cities alike.

Agriculture

The extensive farmlands of the city are surrounded by grand nature stretches over 110 km east to west from the foot of the

mountains to the

coast. Abundant sunlight and fertile soil support the production of diverse produce, including rice, wheat/barley, potatoes, beet, beans and other upland crops, onions and other vegetables, as well as dairy products, beef, pork and other livestock products.Efforts are being made to produce diverse farm products by making the most of the climate and characteristics of each district. Clean agriculture harmonious with the natural environment is promoted by minimising the use of chemical fertilisers and synthetic pesticides to deliver safe, reliable and high-quality farm products to consumers. ; Onions The total production of onions in FY 2019 was approximately 221,000 tons, accounting for roughly 25% of the total production of Hokkaido as well as being the largest yield in Japan. The total area of onion fields in the city is approximately 3,500 hectares. Farmers are busy transplanting seedlings in spring, and rows of large, plump onions fill vast fields in autumn. * White Pea Beans White Pea Beans are known as the “queen of beans”. These pure white, large-grained beans are used as an ingredient for the white bean paste in high-class Japanese confectionery. Kitami, which has a cool, inland climate, is ideal for cultivating white pea beans and is a major production area in Hokkaido. The large and tasty white pea beans produced in Kitami are distributed as high-grade beans throughout Japan.

Fishery

In Kitami, which faces the resource-rich

and

, open-sea scallop and fixed-net salmon/trout fisheries are among the city's key industries. Hairy crabs, sea urchin and flatfish are also caught, and

sustainable fishery A conventional idea of a sustainable fishery is that it is one that is harvested at a sustainable rate, where the fish population does not decline over time because of fishing practices. Sustainability in fisheries combines theoretical disciplines ...

is promoted. Scallop and oyster farming and Hokkai shrimp fishing are popular on the lake. The Tokoro Fishing Port is being developed to provide safer and more reliable seafood. With an eye on the conservation of the fishing ground environment, fishing operators are actively engaged in tree planting activities to grow forests. * Scallops The

lake Saroma , also Saroma Lagoon, is a coastal lagoon (hence a body of brackish water) in Saroma, Kitami, and Yūbetsu. It is located in Abashiri Quasi-National Park. By area, the lake is the third largest in Japan and the largest in Hokkaidō. The nam ...

is the birthplace of

scallop Scallop () is a common name that encompasses various species of marine bivalve molluscs in the taxonomic family Pectinidae, the scallops. However, the common name "scallop" is also sometimes applied to species in other closely related famili ...

farming. After many hardships, fishermen established propagation and culture technology to build the foundation of the Tokoro area as one of the world's leading scallop producing areas. The scallops grown in Lake Saroma and the Sea of Okhotsk are plump and sweet, and have an exceptional texture. They are distributed all over the world as a luxury food item. * Oysters and Hokkai shrimp From mid-October to the end of March, oyster fishing is popular on Lake Saroma. The oysters, which are small yet have a rich flavor, are highly valued especially for eating raw. Hokkai shrimp, which is shipped only in July and August, is mainly boiled in salt. With a saltiness that pairs perfectly with sake, moderate elasticity, crispy texture, and sweetness that spreads in the mouth, it is known as a summer specialty of the Okhotsk area.

Industry

Efforts to revitalise the local economy include the "cultivation" of new sales channels and the development of new products with higher added value to overcome the problem of logistics costs. Product development is promoted via inter-industry collaboration and by attracting enterprises to the Kitami Industrial Complex and Kitami HighTech Park, both of which make the most of local resources. Kitami Institute of Technology's Cooperative Research & Community Collaboration Center serves as a contact point for joint research with the private sector. The Okhotsk Collaborative Research Center and the Kitami Office of the Hokkaido Branch of the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation have been established as “one-stop service bases” to support R&D and commercialization in the local community. Measures to promote local industries, such as the enhancement of technological capabilities and the development of new products, are taken while strengthening industry-academia-government collaboration. There is important private enterprises installed in the city like

Kyocera Corporation is a Japanese multinational ceramics and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. It manufactures industrial ceramics, solar power generating systems, telecommun ...

and

Hitachi, Ltd. () is a Japanese multinational conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable energy, railway systems, healthcare products, and f ...

Commerce

As the central city of the Okhotsk area, Kitami has expanded its retail trading zone in the last years. The commercial district in the downtown area, where retail, service and restaurant establishments are concentrated, has long been a place for interaction among citizens. Various events are held to make the commercial district more attractive. A new shopping zone formed in the suburbs has further livened up the commercial sector of Kitami. Lively and diverse commercial activities are promoted by making the most of local creativity while facilitating the participation of local residents in the development of a community. In financial matters, the annual sales of both wholesale and retail businesses in Kitami City are declining, and the number of business establishments and employees is also declining. This decline occur mainly due the Japanese economic crisis, faster ageing population and urban exodus. In the tourism industry, there are about 1.5 million tourists a year, mainly in Lake Saroma and Onneyu Onsen. However, the total number of overnight guests has been around 450,000 a year, making it a so-called “passing-type” tourist destination. File:Kitami street.jpg, Downtown of the City File:AEON-Kitami1.JPG, An Aeon's retail store in Kitami File:TOBU.EAST-MALL01.JPG, Tobu East Mall, one of the largest in the region.

Education

Kitami is home to the

Kitami Institute of Technology is a national university in Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan. Founded as the Kitami Junior College of Technology on 6 January 1960, it was chartered as a university (Kitami Institute of Technology) on 6 January 1966. In 2004, it became part of the Natio ...

, an engineering university that originally opened in 1960, and the Japanese Red Cross Hokkaido College of Nursing, established in 1999 by the

through consolidation of several other institutions. The ''Kitami Central Library'' is the main library of the city. In December 2015, the library was relocated to a new building on the south side, making it easily accessible from the downtown area. The library has a collection of approximately 330,000 books and supports the learning of residents with a network of nine facilities in the city, which have 799,000 books in total. It provides an audiovisual area where DVDs and music can be enjoyed and a literature museum area that exhibits valuable materials of the poet Mokichi Saito. PCs and Wi-Fi can be used freely by residents and non-residents alike. New services such as e-books are also available.

Universities

National

Private

* Japanese Red Cross Hokkaido College of Nursing

High schools

Public

* Hokkaido Kitami Commercial High School * Hokkaido Kitami Hakuyou High School * Hokkaido Kitami Hokuto High School * Hokkaido Kitami Ryokuryo High School * Hokkaido Kitami Technical High School * Hokkaido Rubeshibe High School * Hokkaido Tokoro High School

Private

* Kitami Fuji Girls' High School

Festivals

* The Kitami Winter Festival, held annually during the 2nd week of February. * The Kitami Bonchi Festival (Summer Festival) in early July. * The Kitami Chrysanthemum festival in mid October−early November.

Mascots

Kitami's mascots are , , , , , and . * Mint-kun and Pepper-chan are married squirrels. They ate so much food that they are rounded. Mint-kun likes to hack things (he once boosted 70% of the world market) while Pepper-chan likes fresh air. They represent technology and cuisine. * Nonta-kun and Nonta-chan are farmers from Tanno. They wear red hat with wheat ears. Their faces looked like onions and their shoes look like rice. They represent agriculture. * Matsubo is a pinecone from Rubeshibe. He loves shopping. His charms points are his scales and his eyes. He represents tourism. * Tokoro-kun is a sporty scallop from Tokoro. He represents sports and fisheries. * Ecolon is a seed (which resembled the recycling symbol) with wings. Her hair (seedling) can spin like

Doraemon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio. First serialized in 1969, the manga's chapters were collected in 45 volumes published by Shogakukan from 1974 to 1996. The story revolves around an earless robotic ...

's take-copter. When she flies by, everything turns green. She represents the environment.

Mass media

Newspapers

* ''

Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

''—Hokkaido's Kitami Branch * ''Hokkaido Construction Newspaper''—Kitami Branch * ''

Hokkaido Shimbun The , which is often abbreviated as , is a Japanese language daily newspaper published mainly in Hokkaidō, Japan by . As of January 2025, its morning edition has a circulation of 730,000. It was first published in Sapporo in 1887. See also *Lib ...

''—Kitami Branch * ''

Mainichi Shimbun The is one of the major newspapers in Japan, published by In addition to the ''Mainichi Shimbun'', which is printed twice a day in several local editions, Mainichi also operates an English-language news website called , and publishes a bilin ...

Hokkaido's Kitami Communication Department * ''

Yomiuri Shimbun The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...

''—Hokkaido's Kitami Branch

Tabloids

* Densho Hato Kitami Headquarters, Rubeshibe Office * Doshin information magazine ''Mint'' * ''Gra Style''

Broadcasting stations

TV

Hokkaido Broadcasting , also known as HBC, is a Japanese broadcast network affiliated with the Japan News Network (JNN), Japan Radio Network (JRN) and National Radio Network (NRN). Their headquarters are located in Hokkaidō. HBC was established on November 3 ...

(HBC) Kitami Broadcasting Station *

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

Kitami Broadcasting Station *

Sapporo Television Broadcasting is a TV station of Nippon News Network (NNN) and Nippon Television Network System (NNS) in Hokkaidō, Japan. Headquartered in Sapporo, the capital city of Hokkaidō prefecture, the TV station was established on April 8, 1958. It is usually ca ...

(STV) Kitami Broadcasting Station

Radio

* FM Okhotsk

Sports

Curling

The city has strong associations with the sport of

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

, inherited from the former town of Tokoro, which was absorbed into the city in 2006. Interest in the sport grew following a friendship visit in 1980 by a curling team from

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

in Canada. An outdoor curling rink was built in Tokoro the following year, and it hosted the 1st NHK Cup Curling Championship. In January 1988, the town built a dedicated 5-lane

hall, the first in Japan. This eventually closed in early 2013, replaced by a new, larger, all-year-round structure. Curling was introduced in schools in Tokoro as part of the

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

curriculum, and the two produced a number of Olympic curlers. Five members of the Japanese curling team at the

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

in Nagano were from Tokoro, three members of the Japanese curling team at the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics (), officially the XX Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February in Turin, Italy. This marked the second time Italy had hosted the Winter O ...

in Torino were from Tokoro, and three members of the Japanese curling team at the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

in Vancouver were from Tokoro.

Geography

Kitami City is located in a mild valley close to the

. This Mountains, especially the Mount Mikuni, is where the headwaters of the

are located. The river belongs to in-Mukagawa basin, which leads to the

. This course has more than 110 km of extension. Tokoro Autonomous Region district has its limits based in the course of the basin. Besides of the Sea of Okhotsk and Lake Saroma, there is the Abashiri Quasi-National Park, where is located the Wakka Natural Flower Garden. The park is listed as a Hokkaido heritage site.

Features

Terrain and mountains

* Mt. Mukayama (1,759 m) * Mt. Mikuni (1,541 m) * Kitami Fuji (1,291 m) * Nikoroyama (829 m)

Rivers

* Komachigawa * Kunneppu River * Mukagawa * Nikoro River *

Lakes

* Lake Tomisato

Vegetation

* Mainly Wakka primitive flower

Climate

Kitami has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

with cold winters and relatively warm summers. The coldest month is January, with an average low of , and the warmest month is August, with an average high of . Kitami's inland location creates a larger temperature range than some coastal cities. Due to the mountains nearby, the

Foehn wind A Foehn, or Föhn (, , , ), is a type of dry, relatively warm downslope wind in the lee of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of its moisture on windw ...

effect occurs in summer when prevailing winds are from the southeast, so that Kitami often has the hottest temperatures in Hokkaido during this season and averages about 5 °C (9 °F) hotter than

Kushiro is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. Located along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean, it serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. History An ...

. Traces of snow fall every day during the winter and cover is heavy, usually peaking at , though Kitami still receives less overall precipitation than any other town in Japan as it is shielded from the heaviest moisture from both the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

and Pacific Ocean. University of Tokyo's snow monitoring system is located in the city, which main coverage consist in the area of eastern Hokkaido.

Transportation

Highway

Tokachi-Okhotsk Expressway The is a two-lane expressway, two-lane national Expressways of Japan, expressway in Tokachi Subprefecture and Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of December 2018, the expressway is under construction to connect to link to the Dōtō Expre ...

Bus

The Hokkaido Kitami Bus Company has a number of inter-city as well as out-of-city routes.

Rail

The

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

Sekihoku Main Line is a railway line in Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) between in Asahikawa and Abashiri Station in Abashiri. The name comes from the first Kanji characters of and , names of 19th century provinces along t ...

that passes through Kitami reached the city on October 19, 1910, when the town was still called Notsukeushi. The largest station is Kitami Station, with Nishi-Kitami Station, Hakuyo Station, and Itoshino Station also located in Kitami.

Air

The city is served by

Memanbetsu Airport is an airport in the Memanbetsu section of Ōzora, Hokkaidō, Ōzora, a town in Hokkaidō, Japan. The airport is close to Shiretoko National Park and consistently has over one million passengers per year. History The current airfield was ope ...

in the neighboring town of Ōzora.

Sister cities

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Empress Elisabeth (disambiguation), lists various empresses named ''Elisabeth'' or ''Elizabeth'' * Princess Elizabeth ...

, New Jersey, United States. Signed on June 12, 1969. *

Poronaysk Poronaysk (; ; Ainu: ''Sistukari'' or ''Sisi Tukari'') is a town and the administrative center of Poronaysky District of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located on the Poronay River north of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Population: History It was founded i ...

Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalinskaya oblastʹ, p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the Russian ...

, Russia. Signed on August 13, 1972. *

Jinju Jinju (; ) is a city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was the location of the first (1592) and second (1593) Sieges of Jinju by Japanese forces during the Imjin War. The Republic of Korea Air Force Education and Training Comman ...

Gyeongsangnam-do South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple that ...

, South Korea *

Barrhead Barrhead (, ) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268. History Barrhead was formed when a series of small textile-produ ...

, Alberta, Canada (Barrhead Town had a relationship with the former town of Tokoro. In 2006, Tokoro merged into Kitami city so Kitami takes over the relationship.) *

Kōchi, Kōchi is the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture located on the island of Shikoku in Japan. With over 40% of the prefectural population, Kōchi is the main commercial and industrial centre and the "primate city" of the prefecture. , the city had an e ...

, Japan *

Sakawa, Kōchi file:Sakawa town-office.jpg, 270px, Sakawa Town Office file:Sakawa tanada(4981693778 90ee868acb o).jpg, 270px, Rice terraces in Sakawa file:Aoyama bunko.jpg, 270px, Seizan Bunko is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Takaoka District, Kōchi ...

, Japan *

Marumori, Miyagi is a town located in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 13,092, and a population density of 48 persons per km2 in 5,050 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Marumori is located in the extreme so ...

, Japan * Ono, Gifu, Japan

Notable people from Kitami

Shinya Abe is a Japanese curler and curling coach from Sapporo, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and ext ...

, Japanese curler and curling coach *

Kosuke Aita Kosuke Aita (born October 2, 1998, in Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan) is a Japanese curler. Personal life As of 2021, Aita was a student at the Kitami Institute of Technology is a national university in Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan. Founded as the Kit ...

, Japanese curler *

Satsuki Fujisawa is a Japanese curler from Kitami, Hokkaido. As a skip, she has won the Japanese national championship six times. Fujisawa skipped the bronze medal-winning Japanese team at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games and the silver medal-winning team at the ...

, Japanese curler ( Skipper) *

Yumie Funayama is a Japanese curler, born April 5, 1978, in Tokoro, Hokkaido as . She is currently the coach of Sayaka Yoshimura's team from Sapporo, Hokkaido. Career At age 12, Funayama began curling in her hometown Tokoro, Hokkaido, joining Akiko Katoh ...

, Japanese curler (Real Name: Yumie Hayashi,

Nihongo is the principal language of the Japonic language family spoken by the Japanese people. It has around 123 million speakers, primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language, and within the Japanese diaspora worldwide. ...

: 林弓枝, ''Hayashi Yumie'') * Takuya Furuya, Japanese

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Chiba Lotte Marines The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based in Chiba, Chiba, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, in the Kantō region, and owned by Lotte Holdings, Lotte Holdings Co., Ltd. The Marines were a founding member of the Pacific Le ...

in Japan's

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

* Kazuhiko Ikawa, Japanese curler * Mao Ishigaki, Japanese curler *

Takehiko Itō is a Japanese manga artist best known for his work on the manga ''Outlaw Star'' from his affiliated Morning Star Studio. He was also the primary creative mind behind other works of fiction set in the ''Toward Stars'' universe including the ''Uch ...

, Japanese

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

(''

NG Knight Ramune & 40 is a Japanese anime television series of 1990. It was one of the Ramune group of television shows and OVAs, and the "NG" in the title stands for "new generation". In all there were 3 OVA series (''NG Knight Ramune & 40 EX'', ''NG Knight R ...

'', ''

Outlaw Star is a media franchise#Japan, Japanese media mix primarily consisting of an anime Television show, television series produced by Sunrise (now a division of Bandai Namco Filmworks) and a corresponding Seinen manga, ''seinen'' manga series w ...

'', among others) *

Ami Kikuchi is a Japanese model, ''tarento'' and radio personality from LesPros Entertainment. She is from Kitami, Hokkaido, and is a second generation member (number 16) of the idol group Idoling. Since her graduation from ''Idoling'', Kikuchi has made n ...

, Japanese

gravure idol A model is a person with a Role (disambiguation), role either to display commercial product (business), products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as an Model (art), artist's model. Modelling ("modeling" in British and ...

, ''

tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in the United States were descri ...

'', radio personality and

J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

idol, former member of

girl group

Idoling!!! was a Japanese TV show with an attached female idol group created by Fuji TV. The concept of the group was to watch as the girls grow as idols and experience various things. Idoling's main source of exposure was their TV show, which aired s ...

* Chiharu Kitaoka, Japanese

voice actress Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

Taro Kondo (born 8 September 1994) is a Japanese speed skater. Kondo competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics for Japan. In the 1000 metres The 1000 metres, 1 kilometer run, or 1K run is an uncommon middle-distance running event in track and field com ...

, Japanese

speed skater Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors racing, race each other in travelling a certain distance on Ice skate, skates. Types of speed skating are long-track speed skating, short-track speed skating, and marath ...

* Jake Lee,

Zainichi Korean () are ethnic Koreans who immigrated to Japan before 1945 and are citizens or permanent residents of Japan, or who are descendants of those immigrants. They are a group distinct from South Korean nationals who have immigrated to Japan since t ...

professional wrestler (Real Name: ''Lee Che-Gyong'',

Hangul The Korean alphabet is the modern writing system for the Korean language. In North Korea, the alphabet is known as (), and in South Korea, it is known as (). The letters for the five basic consonants reflect the shape of the speech organs ...

: 이 체경) * Yuta Matsumura, Japanese curler * Miz, Japanese pop/rock singer and actress (Real Name: Mizuki Watanabe,

: 渡邊瑞枝, ''Watanabe Mizuki'') * Mari Motohashi, Japanese curler * Tatsuki Nara, Japanese

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays for

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

club

Avispa Fukuoka is a Japanese professional football club based in Hakata, Fukuoka. They currently compete in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. History Earlier years in Fujieda The club were originally based in Fujieda, Shizu ...

. * Akemi Niwa, Japanese curler, a three-time (1993, 1997, 1998) and a three-time Japan women's champion (1997, 1998, 1999) *

Ayumi Ogasawara is a Japanese curler, born November 25, 1978, as . She skipped her own team in Sapporo, Hokkaido, until 2015, which represented Japan at the 2014 Winter Olympics before retiring from competitive sports. Currently she is working as a curling coac ...

, Japanese curler and curling coach *

Yoshiyuki Ohmiya Also known as Yoshiyuki Oomiya. is a Japanese curler and curling coach from Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan. He represented Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, where the Japanese men's team placed 5th. His daughter is Japanese female curler A ...

, Japanese curler and curling coach *

Kiyofumi Ohno is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter from Kitami, Hokkaido is a Cities of Japan, city in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefecture capita ...

Japanese pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...

singer-songwriter * Tsuyoshi Ryutaki, Japanese male curler * Hiroshi Sato, Japanese curler and curling coach * Yōsuke Shinoda,

Japanese politician The politics of Japan are conducted in a framework of a dominant-party bicameral parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. A hereditary monarch, currently Emperor Naruhito, serves as head of state while the Prime Minist ...

of the

Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

and a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

in the

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

(national legislature). *

Yumi Suzuki is a Japanese curler. She currently plays second for Team Loco Solare, which is skipped by Satsuki Fujisawa. The team won the bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics and a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Career Suzuki was a member ...

, Japanese curler * Megumi Takase, former Japanese football player and younger sister of Akira Takase * Akira Takase, Japanese

(

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) and older brother of Megumi Takase *

Yasumasa Tanida is a Japanese curler from Kitami is a city in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefecture capital is Abashiri. Kitami is physically in th ...

, Japanese curler *

Makoto Tsuruga is a Japanese curler. He represented Japan at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, where the Japanese team placed 5th. He was the skip for the Japanese team at the 2010 World Men's Curling Championship The 2010 World Men's Curling Championship ( ...

, Japanese curler * Osamu Uno,

of the

and a member of the

in the

(national legislature) * Whiteberry, five-piece all-girl pop/rock band *

Chinami Yoshida is a Japanese curler. She currently plays third for Team Loco Solare, which is skipped by Satsuki Fujisawa. The team won the bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Career Yoshida began cur ...

, Japanese curler and older sister of

Yurika Yoshida is a Japanese curler. She currently plays lead for Team Loco Solare, which is skipped by Satsuki Fujisawa. The team won the bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Olympics and the silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Career Yoshida was a membe ...

, Japanese curler and younger sister of

Sayaka Yoshimura is a Japanese curler from Sapporo, Hokkaido. She is the skip of the FORTIUS curling team, which won the Japan Curling Championships in 2015, 2021 and 2025. At the international level, she has represented Japan three times at the World Women's C ...

, Japanese curler

In pop culture

The 2019

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

series '' Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!'' is set in Kitami and its author, Kai Ikada, is a native of the city.

Citations

General and cited references

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitami, Hokkaido 1872 establishments in Japan Cities in Hokkaido Populated places established in 1872