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 ...

Iburi Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Geography Located in south-central Hokkaido, Iburi stretches East-West and North-South. Iburi covers an area of . Iburi borders Oshima Subprefecture to the West, Shiribeshi, Ishikari, ...

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. Part of Shikotsu-Toya National Park, it is southwest of

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

, west of

Tomakomai is a city and port in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the largest city in the Iburi Subprefecture, and the fourth largest city in Hokkaido. As of 29 February 2012, it had an estimated population of 174,216, with 83,836 house ...

and northeast of

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

. As of September 2016, the city has an estimated population of 49,523, and a population density of 230 persons per km². The total area is 212.11 km². The city office is in Horobetsu. The town of Noboribetsu is at the mouth of the Noboribetsu river and is therefore a much narrower area.

Geography

The mountains dominate the west and north while the plains dominate around five km within the coastline. There are three towns along the Pacific Ocean: from northeast to southwest, Noboribetsu, Horobetsu and Washibetsu. These ''betsu'' are derived from "river" in 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 ...

. Noboribetsu is on the Noboribetsu River. Horobetsu and Washibetsu are on the Iburi-horobetsu River and the Washibetsu River respectively.

Origin of name

The name, Noboribetsu, derives from an

Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East *Ainu languages, a family of languages **Ainu language of Hokkaido **Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands **Sakhalin Ainu la ...

word, ''nupur-pet,'' which means dark-colored river; the kanji , meaning "climbing different", are used for their phonetic value only, and have no relation to the original meaning.

Climate

History

*1919: Horobetsu village was founded. *1951: Horobetsu village became Horobetsu town. *1961: Horobetsu town renamed to Noboribetsu town. *1970: Noboribetsu town became Noboribetsu city.

Education

High school

* Hokkaido Noboribetsu Seiryo High School ( 登別市立西陵中学校)

Secondary school

* Hokkaido Noboribetsu Akebi Secondary School ( 北海道登別明日中等教育学校)

Transportation

* Muroran Main Line: Washibetsu – Horobetsu – Tomiura – Noboribetsu *

Hokkaido Expressway 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 ...

: Noboribetsu-Muroran IC – Tomiura PA – Noboribetsu-Higashi IC * Route 36

Sightseeing

6 km inland from Noboribetsu City in the river valley is the smaller town of . The town has a range of

onsen In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

for bathing as well as other hot springs formed from different minerals for scenic viewing, and is also known for its bear park. Noboribetsu-onsen is one of many well-known resorts in Japan, with many hotels and ryokan, and is the largest "hot spring town" in Hokkaido. Noboribetsu bear park

Twin cities

International

* Faaborg-Midtfyn Municipality, Denmark *

Saipan Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...

, United States *

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Guangdong Provinces of China, province in South China, sou ...

, Guangdong, China

Domestic

Shiroishi, Miyagi is a city in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 33,330 and a population density of 120 persons per km2 in 14,242 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Shiroishi is in southern Miyagi Prefectu ...

Sister cities of Noboribetsu
/ref> *

Ebina, Kanagawa is a city located in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan., the city had an estimated population of 136,312 and a population density of 5100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Ebina is located approximately 50 kilometers from centr ...

Notable people from Noboribetsu

Yoshida Brothers The are Japanese shamisenist musicians who have released several albums on the Domo Records label. The two brothers are performers of the traditional Japanese music style of Tsugaru-jamisen which originated in northern Japan. They debuted in 199 ...

, Japanese

shamisen The , also known as the or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usua ...

ist musicians * Masayuki Kono, Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

and former

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

Takashi Narita (born October 6, 1969 in Noboribetsu, Hokkaidō) is a former volleyball player from Japan, who played as a setter for the Japan men's national volleyball team, Men's National Team in the 1990s. He competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelon ...

, former volleyball player * Toma Ikuta, Japanese actor ('' Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'', ''

Honey & Clover is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chica Umino. It was serialized in Takarajimasha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Cutie Comic'' from 2000 to 2001, before being transferred to Shueisha's ''josei'' (aimed at younger adu ...

'', '' Sensei!'', '' Ouroboros'', ''

Hanamizuki is a 2010 Japanese romance drama film inspired by the lyrics of a love song of the same name by Yo Hitoto. The film is directed by Nobuhiro Doi, and its script was written by Noriko Yoshida. The film spans the ten-year period from 1996 to 2006, a ...

'' and '' Ningen Shikkaku'') * Rina Sumioka, Japanese female singer-songwriter and

J-pop J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the ...

idol * Yukie Chiri, Ainu transcriber and translator of Yukar (Ainu epic tales). * Kazuki Kushibiki, Japanese

football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ...

, Pokémon Coordinator *

Samizu Matsuki Samizu Matsuki (March 16, 1936 – August 4, 2018) was a Japanese artist and educator. She won the Gold Medal at the 1970 First New York International Art Show, the Grand Prix at the 1971 Locust Valley Art Show on Long Island, New York, and the Aw ...

Artist,

classical realism Classical Realism is an artistic movement in the late-20th and early 21st century in which drawing and painting place a high value upon skill and beauty, combining elements of 19th-century neoclassicism and realism. Origins The term "Cla ...

painting, drawing, emigre.

References

External links

Official Website

noboribetsu-spa
Cities in Hokkaido Spa towns in Japan {{Hokkaido-geo-stub