is 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

Sōya Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Its population is estimated to be 77,500 as of July 31, 2004 and its area is . It is the northernmost subprefecture of Japan. Wakkanai Airport is located in Wakkanai. Rishiri Airport is locate ...

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 district and town both cover the island of the same name:

Rebun Island is an island in the Sea of Japan off the northwestern tip of Hokkaidō, Japan. The island sits off the coast of Hokkaidō. Rebun stretches from north to south and from east to west. The island covers approximately . Rebun Island is located ...

. Rebun Island is famous for its alpine flowers.

Geography

The town covers the entire area of

in 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 ...

. Rebun is located approximately from

Wakkanai ' meaning "cold water river" is a city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture. It contains Japan's northernmost point, Cape Sōya, from which the Russian island of Sakhalin can be seen. As of ...

on mainland Hokkaido and northwest of

Rishiri Island is a high island in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan. Administratively the island is part of Hokkaido Prefecture, and is divided between two towns, Rishiri and Rishirifuji. The island is formed by the cone-shaped extinct vol ...

. The entire island is part of the

Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park is a national park on the Rishiri Island, Rebun Island, and a coastal area from Wakkanai to Horonobe at the north-western tip of Hokkaidō, Japan. Areas of the park cover . The park is noted for its alpine flora and views of volcanic mountains ...

. Lake Kushu and Mount Rebun (Rebun's highest point) are located in the town. Rebun is well known for its 300 species of alpine flowers, some of which are endemic to the island. For this it has earned the moniker the ''island of flowers''. Such flowers include: .

Climate

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Rebun has declined in recent decades.

Arts and culture

Rebun hosts a flower festival every year.

Mascot

Rebun's mascot is who is a Rebun lady's slipper orchid (a type of the large-flowered cypripedium orchid species). As a flower, its gender is unknown, but its feelings are gentle and calm. It is known to like nature. Its heart (its charm point) is actually the seed of happiness from fourteen different native flowers. However, it will not tolerate anyone harming nature (especially seedlings). If damage is done to nature, its heart will stop beating. It was unveiled in September 2012.

Airspace violations

With its location in the far north of Japan, Rebun has been the site of the most

violations of Japanese airspace Violations of Japanese airspace have occurred on a number of occasions. There have been 39 cases from 1967 to 2017. The vast majority have involved Soviet aircraft during the Cold War, or Russian aircraft afterwards. There have been several prom ...

. From 1967 to 2017 14 of the 39 violations of Japanese airspace have been near Rebun. This is the most of any location in Japan. They were all by either Soviet aircraft during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

or by Russian aircraft after 1991.

Sister cities

* Ohasama, Iwate (Currently

Hanamaki is a Cities of Japan, city in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 94,691, and a population density of 100 persons per km², in 37,773 households. The total area of the city is . Hanamaki is famous as the birthplace ...

) *

Yutaka, Hiroshima was a town located in Toyota District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 2,706 and a density of 192.19 persons per km2. The total area was 14.08 km2. On March 20, 2005, Kure, along with the tow ...

(Currently

Kure is a port and major shipbuilding city situated on the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. With a strong industrial and naval heritage, Kure hosts the second-oldest naval dockyard in Japan and remains an important base for the Japan M ...

)

References

External links

* *
Official Website
Towns in Hokkaido {{Hokkaido-geo-stub