was 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 ...

located in Nishi District,

Oshima Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. As of 2004 it had a population of 456,621 and an area of 3,715.38 km2. Hakodate Airport is located in the City of Hakodate. Geography The subprefecture is located on the Oshima Penins ...

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's name literally means bear rock after a prominent rock formation that looks like a bear and cub on its coast. As of 2004, 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 3,487 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 15.82 persons per km². The total area was 220.38 km². As many "town" districts, Kumaishi itself is composed of many smaller villages strung out along the coast facing 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 h ...

. Its industry mainly comprises fishing, notably squid fishing and at night many lights of the squid fishing fleets can be seen far out in the sea. The area is beautifully scenic in many portions and provides some rare untouched Japanese wilderness although some of the coastline has seen Japanese style engineering and been "decorated" with concrete "tetrapods".

History

On October 1, 2005, Kumaishi was merged with the old town of Yakumo (formerly from Yamakoshi District,

) to create the new and expanded town of Yakumo (now in the newly created Futami District,

). Therefore, Kumaishi was transferred from

Hiyama Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan located on the Oshima Peninsula on the Sea of Japan side. It includes Okushiri Island. It was established in 1897. Geography Mergers History *1897: Hiyama Subprefecture was established. *20 ...

as a result of financial difficulties.

Climate

References

External links

Yakumo official website
Dissolved municipalities of Hokkaido Yakumo, Hokkaido {{Hokkaido-geo-stub