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 ...

Iburi Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Geography Located in south-central Hokkaido, Iburi stretches East-West and North-South. Iburi covers an area of . Iburi borders Oshima Subprefecture to the West, Shiribeshi, Ishikari, an ...

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. Part of Shikotsu-Toya National Park, it is southwest of

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 ...

, west of

Tomakomai is a city and port in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the largest city in the Iburi Subprefecture, and the fourth largest city in Hokkaido. As of 31 July 2023, it had an estimated population of 167,372, with 83,836 households, an ...

and northeast of

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

. As of September 2016, the city has an estimated population of 49,523 and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area is 212.11 km². The city office is in Horobetsu. The town of Noboribetsu is at the mouth of the Noboribetsu river and is therefore a much narrower area.

Geography

The mountains dominate the west and north while the plains dominate around five km within the coastline. There are three towns along the Pacific Ocean: from northeast to southwest, Noboribetsu, Horobetsu and Washibetsu. These ''betsu'' are derived from "river" in the

Ainu language Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu (), is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isola ...

. Noboribetsu is on the Noboribetsu River. Horobetsu and Washibetsu are on the Iburi-horobetsu River and the Washibetsu River respectively.

Origin of name

The name, Noboribetsu, derives from an Ainu word, ''nupur-pet,'' which means dark-colored river; the kanji , meaning "climbing different", are used for their phonetic value only, and have no relation to the original meaning.

Climate

History

*1919: Horobetsu village was founded. *1951: Horobetsu village became Horobetsu town. *1961: Horobetsu town renamed to Noboribetsu town. *1970: Noboribetsu town became Noboribetsu city.

Education

High school

* Hokkaido Noboribetsu Seiryo High School ( 登別市立西陵中学校)

Secondary school

* Hokkaido Noboribetsu Akebi Secondary School ( 北海道登別明日中等教育学校)

Transportation

Muroran Main Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Oshamambe Station in Oshamambe, Hokkaido, Oshamambe and Iwamizawa Station in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, Iwamizawa, approximately paralleling the coast of Ibu ...

: Washibetsu – Horobetsu – Tomiura – Noboribetsu * Hokkaido Expressway: Noboribetsu-Muroran IC – Tomiura PA – Noboribetsu-Higashi IC * Route 36

Sightseeing

6 km inland from Noboribetsu City in the river valley is the smaller town of . The town has a range of

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

for bathing as well as other hot springs formed from different minerals for scenic viewing, and is also known for its bear park. Noboribetsu-onsen is one of many well-known resorts in Japan, with many hotels and

ryokan A is a type of traditional Japanese inn that typically features ''tatami''-matted rooms, communal baths, and other public areas where visitors may wear nemaki and talk with the owner. Ryokan have existed since the eighth century A.D. du ...

, and is the largest "hot spring town" in Hokkaido. There is also the Noboribetsu Marine Park Nixe, the largest aquarium in Hokkaido. Noboribetsu bear park

Sister cities

International

* Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality, Denmark *

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

, United States *

Guangzhou Guangzhou, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Canton or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, southern China. Located on the Pearl River about nor ...

, Guangdong, China

Domestic

Shiroishi, Miyagi is a Cities of Japan, city in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 33,330 and a population density of 120 persons per km2 in 14,242 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Shiroishi is in southern Miy ...

Sister cities of Noboribetsu
/ref> *

Ebina, Kanagawa is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 141,276 and a population density of 5300 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Ebina is located approximately 50 kilometers from centr ...

Notable people from Noboribetsu

* Yukie Chiri, Ainu transcriber and translator of

Yukar () are Ainu sagas that form a long rich tradition of oral literature. In older periods, the epics were performed by both men and women; during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when Ainu culture was in decline, women were generally the most sk ...

(Ainu epic tales) *

Toma Ikuta is a Japanese actor. Ikuta is known for his roles in ''Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'', '' Honey & Clover'', '' Sensei!'', '' Maō'' and ''Ouroboros''. He also stars in feature films, notably '' Hanamizuki'', '' Ningen Shikkaku'' and ''Brain Man'' ...

, Japanese actor (''

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e , also known by the abbreviation IkePara, is a Teen drama, teen Romantic comedy, romantic-comedy Japanese television drama planned by Hiroyuki Gotō for Fuji TV and Kyodo TV, based on Hana-Kimi, the ''shōjo'' manga series of the same title by ...

'', '' Honey & Clover'', ''

Sensei! is a Japanese romantic drama film directed by Takahiro Miki and based on the manga series of the same name written by Kazune Kawahara. Plot Second year high school student and archery enthusiast Hibiki Shimada has never felt romantic love all he ...

'', ''

Ouroboros The ouroboros or uroboros (; ) is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent symbolism, snake or European dragon, dragon Autocannibalism, eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via Egyptian mythology, ancient Egyptian iconogra ...

'', '' Hanamizuki'' and '' Ningen Shikkaku'') *

Masayuki Kono is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is working as a freelancer. He is best known for his time in Wrestle-1, where he is a former two-time Wrestle-1 Champion. Career All Japan Pro Wrestling (2003–2005) Kon ...

, Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

* Kazuki Kushibiki, Japanese

football player 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 ...

* Samizu Matsuki, artist, classical realism painting, drawing, emigre. * Takashi Narita, former

volleyball player {{short description, none This is a list of lists of volleyball players, and of notable examples in fiction. Lists of notable players * List of international volleyball players * List of American beach volleyball players * List of Chinese volleyb ...

* Rina Sumioka, Japanese female singer-songwriter 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 *

Yoshida Brothers The are Japanese shamisenist musicians who have released several albums on the Domo Records label. The two brothers are performers of the traditional Japanese music style of Tsugaru-jamisen which originated in northern Japan. They debuted in 19 ...

, Japanese

shamisen The , also known as or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually b ...

ist musicians

References

External links

Official Website

noboribetsu-spa
Cities in Hokkaido Spa towns in Japan Noboribetsu, Hokkaido {{Hokkaido-geo-stub