is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in Hidaka Subprefecture,

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 Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. 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 Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

to the South and the Hidaka Mountains 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 is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 21,415, and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

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 by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

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 ...

. 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 monarch, monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or emperor, empress, and the term papal family describes the family of ...

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 House of Japan, Imperial Family, and the keeping of the Privy Seal of Japan, Privy Seal and State Seal of Japan. From around the 8th century ...

. 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. *Kobune-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 landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

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

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

(Japan) * Mima,

Tokushima Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

(Japan) * Sumoto,

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

References

External links

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