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

Tokachi Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, 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 t ...

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 ...

Rekifune River and downtown Taiki Hokkaido from the air - 2020 10 18

Etymology

The name of the town comes from the Ainu word for "place where many trees grow."

History

Japanese prospectors began searching for gold in Taiki in the 1630s. Tadataka Ino surveyed the surrounding area in 1800, and Takeshiro Matsuura led an exploratory expedition in 1858. Taiki was initially organized as a county within the newly created prefecture of

in August 1869. Taiki Village was created in October 1928 and elevated to town status in April 1951. Railway service to Taiki began in 1930 and continued until 1987.

Geography

Taiki has a total area of 815.67 km²; its highest point is 1,794m above sea level. The town is located between the

Hidaka Mountains The are 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 ...

to the west and 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 east, with the Rekifune River passing through the town center.

Climate

Governance

Mascot

Taiki's mascot is . She is a bright and gentle cosmos flower fairy. She usually ends her sentences with "pi" (ぴ). Her dream is to join

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into o ...

. Her birthday is October 1.

Demographics

As of the 2020 census, the town had a

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 5,420, a decline of 318 from the previous census in 2015. The total number of households grew from 2,534 to 2,593 over the same time period.

Economy

The Taiki economy has historically been driven by agriculture, forestry, and fishing. Taiki is a dairy hub for the Tokachi region, and Megmilk Snow Brand operates a large dairy plant in Taiki. The town hosts the rocket launch site for

Interstellar Technologies , or IST, is a Japanese private spaceflight company aiming to eventually build a launch vehicle for smallsats under 100 kg. It is a rocket spacelaunch company developing the (also Momo, etc.) sounding rocket and the orbital launch ve ...

, the Taiki Aerospace Research Field (Hokkaido Spaceport), which is a

facility. Bansei Onsen, a natural hot spring bath facility, operates on the Pacific coast of Taiki.

Infrastructure

Taiki's main transport connections are the Obihiro-Hiroo Expressway, which as of 2023 terminates in Taiki, Japan National Route 336 to

Kushiro is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. Located along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean, it serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. History An ...

and Hiroo, and

Japan National Route 236 is a national highway connecting Obihiro, Hokkaido and Urakawa, Hokkaido in Japan. Route description *Length: *Origin: Obihiro, Hokkaido *Terminus: Urakawa, Hokkaido (Terminates at junction with Route 235 and National Route 336 *Major cit ...

Obihiro is a Cities of Japan, city in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Obihiro is the only designated city in the Tokachi Subprefecture, Tokachi area. As of July 31, 2023, the city had an estimated population of 163,084. The next most populou ...

and

Urakawa is a List of towns in Japan, town located in Hidaka Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of 1 October 2020, the town has an estimated population of 12,074 and a population density, density of 17 persons per km2. The total area is 694.24 km2. ...

. The closest airport is Tokachi-Obihiro Airport. Taiki Station was a stop on the JNR Hiroo Line between Obihiro and Hiroo until the closure of the line in 1987. The town currently has no rail service. Tokachi Bus provides bus service to Obihiro and Hiroo. The

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct ...

operates a training facility in Taiki.

Education

Taiki is home to the prefectural Taiki Senior High School, and the town-run Taiki Junior High School and Taiki Elementary School.

Notable people

Takafumi Horie is a Japanese entrepreneur who founded Livedoor, a website design operation that grew into a popular internet portal. After being arrested and charged with securities fraud in 2006, he severed all connections with the company. His trial began ...

, internet entrepreneur, relocated to Taiki in 2015. * Momoka Horikawa, Olympic speed skater * Teruhiro Sugimori, Olympic speed skater

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taiki, Hokkaido Towns in Hokkaido Tokachi Subprefecture