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 ...

in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido,

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 ...

. It serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island.

Geography

Mountains

* Mount Oakan *

Mount Meakan is an active stratovolcano located in Akan National Park in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the tallest mountain in the Akan Volcanic Complex. The volcano consists of nine overlapping cones that grew out of the Akan caldera, on the shores of Lake Akan. ...

* Mount Akan-Fuji

Rivers

Kushiro River is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is in length and has a drainage area of . The Kushiro originates from Lake Kussharo and flows south across the Kushiro Plain. The river is joined by two tributaries, the Kuchoro River () and the Setsuri Riv ...

Akan River is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan. Course The Akan River rises from Lake Akan, above sea level. The lake formed when the Akan River was dammed by an eruption of Mount Oakan some 6000 years ago. The river exits the lake at ''Takiguchi'' as a waterf ...

* Shitakara River

Lakes

* Lake Akan * Lake Harutori * Lake Panketō * Lake Penketō * Lake Shunkushitakara

National Parks

* Kushiro-shitsugen National Park * Akan National Park

Climate

Kushiro has a humid continental climate (''Dfb'') but its winter temperatures are less severe than those of inland East Asia at the same latitude. Its port is the most reliably ice-free throughout winter in all of Hokkaido, due to the lack of indentation in the coastline and absence of large inflows of cold

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

nearby. It is also markedly sunnier than the extremely gloomy Kuril Islands to its north, being sheltered by Hokkaido's mountains from the heavy snowfalls produced on the Sea of Japan side by the Aleutian Low. It receives only a third as much snowfall as Sapporo and almost twice as much sunshine as the Kuril Islands are estimated to.

History

An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Kushiro as an open port for trading with the United States and the United Kingdom. Kushiro has been an important port because it is more reliably ice-free during winter than alternative Russian Far East warm-water ports such as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky or other ports in Hokkaido such as Hakodate, which occasionally do freeze for short periods due to the lower

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensionless and equal ...

of the Sea of Japan. For this reason, Kushiro was considered a valuable target for the

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...

s during the Russo-Japanese Wars, but it only became a really important port during the 1920s with the growth of commercial fishing, for which its reliable freedom from ice reduced costs. In addition to its port, Kushiro is serviced by Kushiro Airport with flights from Honshu and by the '' Ōzora'' limited express train service, which runs six times per day to the main population centres in the west of Hokkaido. In July 1945 the city of Kushiro was bombed by American naval aircraft, hundreds of people, mostly civilians, were killed. Following the Invasion of the Kuril Islands in August 1945, Kushiro was favoured by the Russians as the eastern cornerstone of a border between an American-occupied south and a Soviet-occupied north-coupled with

Rumoi is a city located in Rumoi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Rumoi Subprefecture. As of September 2016, the city has an estimated population of 22,242 and the density of 75 persons per km2. The total area is 297.44 km2. ...

as the western cornerstone. However, these plans were cancelled after pressure by US President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. On October 11, 2005, the town of Akan, from Akan District, and the town of Onbetsu, from Shiranuka District, was merged into Kushiro. The town of

Shiranuka is a town located in Kushiro Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September, 2013, it has an estimated population of 8,910, and an area of 773.74 km². The population has fallen significantly in recent years. Etymology It is believed tha ...

now lies between the two sections of Kushiro. In 2008, the city had an estimated population of 189,539 and a total area of , giving a population density of 140 persons per km² (363 persons per sq. mi.). Kushiro was one of the many Japanese cities to receive a

Peace Pagoda A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa; a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most, though not all, peace pagodas built since World War II ...

. Built by the monks and nuns of the Buddhist order Nipponzan Myohoji, it was inaugurated in 1959. Kushiro was accorded city status on 1 August 1922. It is the sister city of Burnaby, British Columbia; Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia; and Kholmsk, Russia. *1869: Kusuri becomes Kushiro. *1900: Kushiro becomes a First Class Municipality as Kushiro Town. *1920: Kushiro Town becomes Kushiro-''ku''. Kushiro Village (now Town) splits off. *1922: Kushiro-''ku'' becomes Kushiro City. *1949: Tottori-cho was merged into Kushiro City. *2005: The old city of Kushiro City, Akan Town, and Onbetsu Town merged was expanded city of Kushiro City.

External relations

Twin Towns – Sister Cities

International

;Sister Cities ;Partner Cities

National

;Sister Cities ;Partner Cities

Sister ports

Port of Kushiro's sister ports are: *

Port of New Orleans The Port of New Orleans is an embarkation port for cruise passengers. It is also Louisiana’s only international container port. The port generates $100 million in revenue annually through its four lines of business – cargo (46%), rail (31%) ...

, Louisiana, United States (since 1984) * Port Stephens, New South Wales,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

(since 1994)

Education

Universities

National

* Hokkaido University of Education, Kushiro Campus

Public

Kushiro Public University of Economics is a public university in Kushiro, Hokkaido is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. It serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. Geography Moun ...

Colleges

National

National Institute of Technology, Kushiro college Kushiro National College of Technology（日本語:釧路工業高等専門学校（くしろこうぎょうこうとうせんもんがっこう）is a national college of technology in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan. It was founded in 1965. Departmen ...

Private

* Kushiro junior College

High schools

Public

Hokkaido Kushiro Koryo High School Hokkaido Kushiro Koryo High School (北海道釧路湖陵高等学校, ''Hokkaidō Kushiro Koryō Kōtō Gakkō'') is a high school in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan, founded in 1912. Hokkaido Kushiro High School is one of high schools administrated b ...

* Hokkaido Kushiro Konan High School * Hokkaido Kushiro Meiki High School * Hokkaido Kushiro Commercial High School * Hokkaido Kushiro Technical High School * Hokkaido Kushiro Hokuyo High School * Hokkaido Akan High School (Municipal)

Private

* Bushukan High School * Ikegami Gakuen High School, Kushiro Campus

Transportation

Airways

Airport

* Kushiro Airport

Railways

Conventional lines

; Hokkaido Railway Company（JR Hokkaidō） * Nemuro Main Line :

Chok CHOK (1070 AM) is a Canadian radio station, licensed to Sarnia, Ontario and owned by Blackburn Radio. The station broadcasts a country format with local news, talk and sports. CHOK also has an FM translator, CHOK-1-FM, broadcasting at 103.9&nb ...

- Onbetsu - (

Shiranuka, Hokkaido is a town located in Kushiro Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September, 2013, it has an estimated population of 8,910, and an area of 773.74 km². The population has fallen significantly in recent years. Etymology It is believed tha ...

) - Otanoshike - Shin-Otanoshike - Shin-Fuji - Kushiro - Higashi-Kushiro - Musa *

Senmō Main Line The is a Japanese railway line in Hokkaido, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Higashi-Kushiro Station in Kushiro and Abashiri Station in Abashiri. The name comes from and . In 2008, a dual-mode vehicle was tested on p ...

: Higashi-Kushiro ; Japan Freight Railway Company（JR Freight） * Nemuro Main Line：

Kushiro Freight Terminal is a passenger train station of Hokkaido Railway Company in Kushiro, Hokkaido, 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 bord ...

; Taiheiyō Coal Services * Rinkō Line

Roads

Expressways

Dōtō Expressway The is a Two-lane freeway, 2-laned national Expressways of Japan, expressway in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is owned and operated by East Nippon Expressway Company. It forms the middle section of the . Overview The expressway is connects the east of ...

Kushiro Sotokan Road The is a two-lane expressway, two-lane national Expressways of Japan, expressway in Kushiro Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of July 2019, it connects the city Kushiro, Hokkaido, Kushiro to the adjacent Kushiro (town), town that bears the same n ...

Japan National Route

* * * * * *

Seaways

Seaport

*Port of Kushiro File:Kushiro airport01.JPG, Kushiro Airport File:Kushiro Station 20140808.jpg, Kushiro Station File:Kushiro-nishi Interchange.jpg, Kushiro-nishi IC File:Kushiro Fisherman's Wharf EGG and MOO01n.jpg, Port of Kushiro

Sightseeing

Local attractions

* Kushiro Wetland Park *

Kushiro City Museum is a registered museum in Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan. The Museum's predecessor institution, the , began as an exhibition room at the offices of the local water board in 1936, before moving to a department store, then from 1949 to the relocated ...

* Lake Akan ** Lake Akan Kotan *Manabot Nusamai **Kushiro City Museum of Art *

Moshiriya Chashi The site of in Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan, is that once occupied by the Ainu fortified chashi of Moshiriya. Occupying an elevated site, it is said to have been constructed during the Hōreki era (1751–1764) by the Ainu chieftain . It is one of ...

（

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

） *

Itsukushima Jinja is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" ''torii'' gate. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005)"''Itsukushima-jinja''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 407. It is in the city of Hatsuk ...

*Tottori Jinja File:New Akan Hotel.jpg, Lake Akan File:Ainu Kotan Akan Kushiro Hokkaido Japan22s.jpg, Lake Akan Kotan File:Manabot Nusamai Kushiro Hokkaido Japan02n.jpg, Manabot Nusamai File:鳥取神社.jpg, Tottori Jinja

Culture

Sports

;Ice hockey Ice hockey is one of the most popular winter sports in Kushiro. In addition to several leagues devoted to amateur play of all ages, Kushiro is home to the

Asia League Ice Hockey Asia League Ice Hockey ( ja, アジアリーグアイスホッケー; ko, 아시아리그 아이스하키) or ALIH (AL) is an association which operates a professional ice hockey league based in East Asia, with teams from Japan, South Korea, and ...

Nippon Paper Cranes The were an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Kushiro City in Hokkaidō, Japan. History The club was founded as Jūjō Paper Kushiro Ice Hockey Club in 1949. They adopted the new name Nippon Paper Cranes in 1993 when Jūjō Paper and Sany� ...

, three time Asia League Champions. : Kushiro and many other cities are interested in hosting

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

teams. On January 8, 2017, the township of Akan hosted the first national championship, although the size of the field was a smaller version than the official rules for a bandy field. In January 2018, the first championship on a full-sized field took place in Shintoku, with participation from three teams, including FACEOFF Kushiro. The national team for women is based in Kushiro and made its World Championship debut in 2020. * East Hokkaido Cranes（

） *Kushiro Bears（

Women's Japan Ice Hockey League The Women's Japan Ice Hockey League (WJIHL, ) is the premier women's ice hockey league in Japan. Also known by the nickname Smile League () or Smile Japan League, it was founded in 2012 by the Japan Ice Hockey Federation and is contested in addi ...

） *Daishin（

） The Kushiro Ice Arena is the city's biggest stadion for ice hockey, figure skating and shorttrack. ;Speed skating The Yanagimachi Speed Skating Rink hosted the 2003 World Junior Speed Skating Championships and several Japanese Championships. It has an asphalt inline speed skating track on the middle field.

Notable people

Kazuhiko Chiba is a Japanese footballer. He currently plays for the J2 League club Albirex Niigata. Club statistics ''Updated to 5 May 2021''. 1Includes Japanese Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and J. League Championship. National team statistics Hono ...

, footballer * Yutaka Fukufuji, ice hockey goaltender * Yukinobu Hoshino, manga artist *

Akira Ifukube was a Japanese classical and film music composer, best known for his works on the ''Godzilla'' franchise. Biography Early years in Hokkaido Akira Ifukube was born on 31 May 1914 in Kushiro, Japan as the third son of a police officer Toshimi ...

, composer * Keisuke Itagaki, manga artist * Saori Kitakaze, sprinter * Satoshi Kon, anime film director *

Luna H. Mitani Luna H. Mitani (born December 22, 1963, in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Japan) is a Japanese-American artist. He works in the fields of painting and pen & ink drawing. After traveling through more than 33 countries in Europe including England and Ireland, ...

, visual artist * Hiromi Nagakura, photographer * Maki Nomiya, singer ( Pizzicato Five) * Shinji Somai, film director *

Aina Takeuchi is a Japanese ice hockey defender. International career Takeuchi was selected for the Japan women's national ice hockey team in the 2014 Winter Olympics. She played in all five games, recording one assist. Takeuchi also played for Japan in t ...

, ice hockey defenseman *

Kazuro Watanabe is a Japanese amateur astronomer and prolific discoverer of minor planets. He was born in Hokkaidō, Japan and is a member of the ''Astronomical Society of Japan'' as well as of the ''Oriental Astronomical Association''. Through publications ...

, astronomer

Mascot

Kushiro's mascot is . She is a gentiana triflora flower (though she represents all flowers) from Onbetsu. Her favourite drink is milk.

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kushiro, Hokkaido Cities in Hokkaido Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan