is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

located in

Okhotsk Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was renamed from the earlier Abashiri Subprefecture on April 1, 2010. Abashiri Subprefecture was established in 1897. Etymology Abashiri Prefecture was named after the subprefectural offic ...

Hokkaido is Japan, Japan's Japanese archipelago, second largest island 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 from Honshu; th ...

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 n ...

. Abashiri is known as the site of the

Abashiri Prison is a prison in Abashiri, Hokkaido Prefecture that opened in 1890. The northernmost prison in Japan, it is located near the Abashiri River and east of Mount Tento. It holds inmates with sentences of less than ten years. Older parts of the prison ...

, a

Meiji-era The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization by ...

facility used for the incarceration of

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...

s. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the city's new maximum-security prison is still in use. As of 2008, the city 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 usi ...

of 40,333 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. Mathematicall ...

of 85.6 persons per km² (222 persons per sq. mi.). The total area is .

Etymology

There are various theories about the origin of the name 'Abashiri' and, because of that, the origin is unknown. All of those theories are based on the Kanji interpretation of the

Ainu language Ainu (, ), or more precisely Hokkaido Ainu, is a language spoken by a few elderly members of the Ainu people on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is a member of the Ainu language family, itself considered a language family isolate ...

. These are the following theories. * ''Apasiri'' (アパシリ) which is translated as "''leaking ground''". The reason behind this is that there was a cave, and water drops were falling inside like raindrops. * ''Cipasiri'' (チパシリ). The name is based on an Ainu legend of a bird. * ''Chipasiri'' (チパシリ). There used to be a white rock in the shape of a person wearing a hat on the south bank of

Lake Abashiri is a meromictic lake in Abashiri, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is located in Abashiri Quasi-National Park. The Abashiri and Memanbetsu Rivers flow into the lake. Water exits the lake through the Abashiri River again and flows to the Sea of Okhotsk. Hi ...

, and it is said that the Ainu worshiped it.

History

The origin of the city's name is not known for certain, but it is agreed that it was derived from an Ainu word. A few among several of the candidates include ''apa-siri'' (leakage/ground) and ''ci-pa-sir'' ("the land we discovered"). *March 1872: founded, being given the name of Abashiri District in Kitami Province. *1875: The village name is rewritten in kanji . *1902: Abashiri Village, Kitami Town, Isani Village, and Nikuribake Village, all in Abashiri District, merged to form Abashiri Town. *1915: Notoro Village, Mokoto Village merged. *1921: Memanbetsu Village (later Memanbetsu Town, merged into Ōzora in 2006) split. *1931: Boundary with Memanbetsu Town modified. *February 11, 1947: Higashimokoto Village (merged into Ōzora in 2006) split. Abashiri Town becomes Abashiri City. All of the territories of Ōzora used to be a part of Abashiri.

Geography

Abashiri is located in the eastern part of Okhotsk Subprefecture, about 50 kilometers east of Kitami. There are no tall mountains, but there are many hills. The

Abashiri River is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan. History Around 1000 years ago, the Okhotsk culture settled the river basin and moved inland. Remains from the Jōmon period have been found on the bottom of Lake Abashiri. Course The Abashiri River rises in Tsu ...

flows through the city and there are three lakes (

, Lake Notoro and Lake Tōfutsu) in the city as well. These lakes and Mount Tento belong to

Abashiri Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park in Japan.List of Quasi-National Parks
''Ministry o ...

Climate

The climate is

humid continental A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

with warm summer (

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

: ''Dfb'') as much of

, similar to the south coast of

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

. Despite its reputation for extreme cold, Abashiri is not actually the coldest major town in Japan, being less cold in the winter than

Obihiro is a city in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Obihiro is the only designated city in the Tokachi area. As of February 29, 2020, the city has an estimated population of 165,851. The next most populous municipality in Tokachi is the ...

and warmer in summer than Nemuro or

Kushiro is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. It serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island. Geography Mountains * Mount Oakan * Mount Meakan * Mount Akan ...

. Abashiri receives less precipitation than any other city in Japan because its location on the

drift ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "faste ...

-affected

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands ...

, which, however, causes Abashiri to receive less sunshine than the northeast coast since winter snowfall is heavier and

fog Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...

less confined to the summer months when the

Oyashio Current , also known as Oya Siwo, Okhotsk or the Kurile current, is a cold subarctic ocean current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise in the western North Pacific Ocean. The waters of the Oyashio Current originate in the Arctic Ocean an ...

is strongest. During the winter, when Lake Abashiri freezes over, fog becomes a common occurrence. Also, the harbor closes when it ices over.

Economy

Because of its short 130-day

growing season A season is a division of the year marked by changes in weather, ecology, and the amount of daylight. The growing season is that portion of the year in which local conditions (i.e. rainfall, temperature, daylight) permit normal plant growth. Whi ...

, the crops in the region, such as oats, potatoes, and beans, are required to be hardy. Hay is also grown for local cows, horses, and sheep. The sea is an important part of the community as well as the economy, as fishing, oysters, and seaweed are important means of livelihood.

Transportation

Air

Memanbetsu Airport is located in nearby Ōzora.

Rail

Abashiri is an important local port city and railway terminal (

Abashiri Station is a railway station in Abashiri, Hokkaido, Japan, operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), located. It is the main railway station in the city. Abashiri Station comes first in an alphabetical list of Japanese railway stations ( ...

). *

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 ...

Sekihoku Main Line is a railway line in Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) between in Asahikawa and Abashiri Station in Abashiri. The name comes from the first Kanji characters of and , names of ancient provinces along the li ...

: Yobito - Abashiri *

Senmō Main Line: Abashiri - Katsuradai - Masuura - Mokoto - Kitahama

Education

Universities

Tokyo University of Agriculture The , abbreviated as Nodai (農大, ''nōdai'') or Tokyo nodai (東京農大, ''Tōkyō nōdai''), is a private university of agriculture in Japan. There are three campuses: Setagaya, Atsugi, and Okhotsk (Abashiri). Outline Tokyo University ...

, Okhotsk campus

High schools

* Hokkaido Abashiri Minamigaoka High School * Hokkaido Abashiri Keiyo High School

Sister city

Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. It is the location of the head offices ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

, Canada - Each year many students participate in

student exchange A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, but do ...

programs between the two cities.

Sights

Hokkaido has a brewery called Abashiri which sells a range of beers, including ''Bilk'', a blend of beer and milk. Abashiri is also home to a flower garden with a wide range of flowers. In the winter, tourists visit the city to watch the

. File:Abashiri prison.jpg,

File:Ryuhyo abashiri oki.JPG,

Drift ice Drift ice, also called brash ice, is sea ice that is not attached to the shoreline or any other fixed object (shoals, grounded icebergs, etc.).Leppäranta, M. 2011. The Drift of Sea Ice. Berlin: Springer-Verlag. Unlike fast ice, which is "faste ...

off Abashiri File:AuroraII01.JPG, Abashiri's sightseeing ship &

icebreaker An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...

''Aurora II''

Museums

* Okhost Ryuhyo Museum

Culture

Mascot

Abashiri's mascot is . She is a plankton who the ability to gain flight with her cape. Her job is to protect everyone from criminal activities (such as terrorism and corruption), outbreak of warfare, natural disasters, health crisis (such as disease outbreaks) or anything that pose a risk to everyone's lives. She usually rests with her "nipopo" (totem pole) helmet and loves ingredients produced from the city. Her birthday is November 22.

References

External links

Official Website

Abashiri Prison Museum Official Website

Abashiri Tourist Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abashiri, Hokkaido Cities in Hokkaido Populated coastal places in Japan Port settlements in Japan