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

Tokachi Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan corresponding to the old province of Tokachi.Rowthorn, Chris. (2009) ''Japan,'' p. 641 As of 2004, its estimated population is 360,802 and its area is 10,830.99 km2. Tokachi-Obihiro Airpor ...

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 ...

. It is located on the edge of the Tokachi Plain at an altitude of above sea level. As of September 2016, the town has 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 2,528 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 4.2 persons per km². The total area is 608.81 km².

Climate

Rikubetsu is ranked as Japan's coldest area. Daily mean temperature in January is , the average low temperature in the end of January and beginning of February are below , which are the coldest in Japan.

Mascots

Rikubetsu's mascots are and . *Shibare-kun is a Siberian boy from the Amur River area. He sailed to Japan through the trails of drift ice. He carries a thermometer to remind everyone that Rikubetsu is Japan's coldest place. *Tsurara-chan is a Canadian girl. She flew to Japan through the path of the aurora borealis. Her goal is to prevent climate change.

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rikubetsu, Hokkaido Towns in Hokkaido