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

Hidaka Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. The west side of the Hidaka mountains occupies most of the area. Hidaka is sparsely populated and has many of Hokkaido's natural resources. The governmental office is located in Urakawa. Hi ...

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 ...

. Shinhidaka is the most populous town, and the economic center of Hidaka Subprefecture.

History

The river valleys of what is now Shinhidaka were occupied by the Ainu. From the 19th century, people from Japan began to settle in the region. On March 31, 2006, the town of Mitsuishi merged with the town of Shizunai to create the new town of Shinhidaka.

Geography

Shinhidaka is in southeastern Hokkaido, between the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

to the South and the

Hidaka Mountains is a mountain range in southeastern Hokkaido, Japan. It runs from Mount Sahoro or Karikachi Pass in central Hokkaidō south, running into the sea at Cape Erimo. It consists of folded mountains that range from in height. Mount Poroshiri is ...

to the North. Several rivers rise in the mountains and empty into the sea, including the Shizunai River and the Mitsuishi River. Shinhidaka has total area of 1,147.74 km².Official Home Page of Shinhidaka
, last access 30 May 2008. Its highest location is Mount Kamuiekuuchikaushi () at 1,979.4 m (6,494 ft).

Climate

Demographics

As of November 2021, 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 21,415, 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 18.7 persons per km².

Transportation

Rail

Shinhidaka was served by the

JR Hokkaido 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 ...

Hidaka Main Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Tomakomai Station in Tomakomai and Samani Station in Samani, running along the coast of Hidaka Subprefecture. Services on the 116.0 km ...

. However, no services have operated between and since January 2015, due to storm damage. Plans to restore this section of the line have been abandoned, due to declining passenger use and very high maintenance costs and the section will be officially closed on 1 April 2021 to be replaced by a bus service. Stations in Shinhidaka: - - - - - -

Arts and culture

, literally, ''road 20 ken () in width'', is an avenue lined with trees and a major tourist attraction of the town. The road was created for a visit of the

Imperial Family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pap ...

to the nearby Niikappu horse ranch in 1903. The ranch is under the jurisdiction of the

Imperial Household Agency The (IHA) is an agency of the government of Japan in charge of state matters concerning the Imperial Family, and also the keeping of the Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century AD, up until the Second World War, it ...

. It took five years to transplant trees from the local mountains to create the avenue. It was finished in 1916. Shinhidaka holds a cherry blossom festival yearly in May at the road in Shizunai ward.

Mascots

Shinhidaka's mascots are and . They are superhero siblings. *Kobuman is from Mitsuishi. He is usually active in events. He became mascot on 2 February 2013. *Kobume-chan became mascot on 10 August 2017. Like her brother, she is also usually active in events.

Sister cities

* Lexington,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

(United States)Lexington Sister Cities Commission
, last access 20 October 2014 *

Minamiawaji is a city in the southern part of Awaji Island in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 45,489 kn 19856 households, and a population density of 200 persons per km².The total area of the city is . Geography The cit ...

Hyōgo Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and has a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to the southeast, an ...

(Japan) * Mima,

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

(Japan) * Sumoto,

(Japan)Shinhidaka - Overview of the Town
last access 6 May 2016

References

External links

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