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 Abashiri District, Abashiri Subprefecture (now

Okhotsk Subprefecture is a subprefecture of 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 named after the subprefectural office ...

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 ...

. 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 5,925 and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 37.26 persons per km². The total area was 159.02 km². On March 31, 2006, Memanbetsu was merged with the village of Higashimokoto (also from Abashiri District) to create the new town of Ōzora. Memanbetsu's name was derived from the Ainu "Memanpet" meaning "River with a spring"

Transportation

In the area of the former town,

Hokkaido Railway Company 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 ...

(JR Hokkaido) operates two stations along the

Sekihoku 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 ancient provinces along the lin ...

: *

Memambetsu Station is a railway station on the Sekihoku Main Line in Ōzora, Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). It is located at the southern end of Lake Abashiri. Lines Memambetsu Station is served by the Sekihoku Main Line from ...

Nishi-Memambetsu Station is a railway station in Ōzora, Hokkaidō, Japan, operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). It is the closest station to Memanbetsu Airport. Lines The Nishi-Memambetsu Station is served by the Sekihoku Main Line from to . Stati ...

Both are named after the former town.

Memanbetsu Airport is an airport in the Memanbetsu section of 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 opened in April 1985 ...

is named after the former town.

History

*1890 – Establishment of timber harvesting for the purpose of supplying the match manufacturing industry *1898 – Agriculture begins, bringing the first extensive settlement of the area *1912 – With the opening of Memambetsu station on the new railway line between Kitami and Abashiri large numbers of settlers begin arriving and a small village begins to develop *April 1921 – Memanbetsu is administratively separated from

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 cit ...

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 ...

and accorded official village status *April 1951 – Memanbetsu is accorded official town status *31 March 2006 – Memanbetsu Town is merged with Higashimokoto Village (also in Abashiri District) to form the new town of Ōzora

Climate

References

External links

Internet Archive of Memanbetsu's website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Memanbetsu, Hokkaido Dissolved municipalities of Hokkaido