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

Sorachi Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, 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 J ...

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 ...

. As of September 2016, the city had 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 14,260 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 16 persons per km². The total area is 865.02 km².

History

Ashibetsu was once a prosperous

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

city, its population exceeding 70,000 at its peak, but its population has fallen since the closing of the coal mines. *1893 - Satō Denjirō (originally from

Yamagata Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Yamagata Prefecture has a population of 1,079,950 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 9,325 km² (3,600 sq mi). Yamagata Prefecture borders Akita Prefecture to the nor ...

) founds Ashibetsu. *1897 - Nae

Village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

(now Sunagawa City) and part of Takikawa Village (now City) split off to form

Utashinai is a city located in Sorachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is Japan's smallest city by population. History It was formerly a prosperous coal mining city, but has declined greatly since the closing of the coal mines. The population hit a ...

Village. *1900 - Ashibetsu Village split off of Utashinai Village. *1906 - Ashibetsu becomes a Second Class Municipality. *1917 - Kuhara Mining Industry Yuya Ashibetu Coal Mine opened. *1923 - First Class Municipality. *1924 - Mitsubishi Mining Industry Ashibetsu Coal Mine opened. *1935 - Meiji Mining Industry Meiji-Kamiashibetsu Coal Mine opened. *1938 - Ashibetsu-Takane Colliery Takane Mining Station opened. *1941 - Ashibetsu Village becomes Ashibetsu Town. *1943 - Mitsui-Ashibetsu Mining Industry Mitsui-Ashibetsu Coal Mine opened. *1953 - Ashibetsu Town becomes Ashibetsu City. *1963 - Meiji Mining Industry Meiji-Kamiashibetsu Coal Mine closed. *1964 - Mitsubishi Mining Industry Ashibetsu Coal Mine closed. *1967 - Ashibetsu-Takane Colliery Takane Mining Station closed. *1969 - Yuya Mining Industry Yuya Ashibetu Coal Mine closed. *1992 - Mitsui-Ashibetsu Mining Industry Mitsui-Ashibetsu Coal Mine closed. *1991 - Canadian World Park opened. *1997 - Canadian World business failure (to become a municipal park).

Geography

Ashibetsu is in the northern part of

Yūbari Mountains is a mountain range of Hokkaidō, Japan. Part of this range is protected by the . Geology The Yūbari Mountains continue the north–south line begun by the Teshio Mountains. The mountains are the result of the collision between the Kurile I ...

Mount Ashibetsu is a mountain located on the border between Ashibetsu and Furano, Hokkaidō, 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 bor ...

is south of the city.

Name

There are two theories about the origin of "Ashibetsu". In both theories the name means Ashibetsu River, which flows through the city. * "as pet", the river that flows in a shrub * "hasi pet", the standing river

Locations of interest

*The Hokkaido Kannon is the third-tallest statue in Japan and is the tenth-tallest in the world. It was considered the tallest statue in the world when it opened in 1989 at , holding the world record until 1991.

Neighbourhoods

* Asahimachi (旭町) * Asahimachi Yuya (旭町油谷) * Ashibetsu (芦別) * Fukuzumichō (福住町) * Higashiraijōchō (東頼城町) * Honchō (本町) * Horonai (幌内) * Izumi (泉) * Kamiashibetsuchō (上芦別町) * Kawagishi (川岸) * Kita 1 Jōhigashi (北1条東) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) * Kita 2 Jōhigashi (北2条東) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) * Kita 3 Jōhigashi (北3条東) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) * Kita 4 Jōhigashi (北4条東) * Kita 5 Jōhigashi (北5条東) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) * Kita 6 Jōhigashi (北6条東) * Kita 1 Jōnishi (北1条西) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) * Kita 2 Jōnishi (北2条西) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) ** 3 chōme (3丁目) * Kita 3 Jōnishi (北3条西) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) ** 3 chōme (3丁目) * Kita 4 Jōnishi (北4条西) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) ** 3 chōme (3丁目) ** 4 chōme (4丁目) * Kita 5 Jōnishi (北5条西) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) ** 3 chōme (3丁目) ** 4 chōme (4丁目) ** 5 chōme (5丁目) * Kita 6 Jōnishi (北6条西) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) ** 3 chōme (3丁目) ** 4 chōme (4丁目) ** 5 chōme (5丁目) * Kita 7 Jōnishi (北7条西) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) ** 3 chōme (3丁目) ** 4 chōme (4丁目) ** 5 chōme (5丁目) ** 6 chōme (6丁目) * Koganechō (黄金町) * Minami 1 Jōhigashi (南1条東) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) * Minami 2 Jōhigashi (南2条東) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) ** 3 chōme (3丁目) * Minami 3 Jōhigashi (南3条東) ** 1 chōme (1丁目) ** 2 chōme (2丁目) ** 3 chōme (3丁目) * Minami 1 Jōnishi (南１条西) * Nakanookachō (中の丘町) * Nishiashibetsuchō (西芦別町) * Nokananchō (野花南町) * Raijōchō (頼城町) * Rokusenchō (緑泉町) * Shinjōchō (新城町) * Takanechō (高根町) * Takisatochō (滝里町) * Tokiwa (常磐) * Tokiwachō (常磐町) * Toyooka (豊岡) * Toyookachō (豊岡町)

Climate

Education

University

Seisa University is a private distance learning university with headquarters in Ashibetsu, Hokkaido, 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 ...

College

* Kitanippon Automobile Technical College

High schools

Public

* Hokkaido Ashibetsu High School

Private

* Seisa Kokusai High School

Transportation

Nemuro Main Line is a railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), connecting Takikawa Station in Takikawa and Nemuro Station in Nemuro, including Obihiro and Kushiro. Higashi-Nemuro is the most easterly situated station on ...

: Ashibetsu - Kami-Ashibetsu - Nokanan * Route 38

Sister city

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Hokkaido