is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

located in central

Sorachi Subprefecture is a Subprefectures of Hokkaido, subprefecture of Hokkaido, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. As of 2004, its estimated population is 373,736 and its area is 6,558.26 km2. Geography Cities 10 cities are located in Sorachi Subprefecture: Town ...

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 ...

. The name comes from 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 isola ...

but the meaning is uncertain; possibly it means "mountain ridge" or "cliff". As of January 2024, the city has a population of 8,709 people living in 5,333 households. The total area is 129.88 km². The city was once a prosperous coal-mining city, its population reaching 59,430 in 1960. The population has been gradually declining. There have been efforts to create tourism around the city's coal mining heritage and other sights in order to strengthen the local economy. Other than that, there are also hot springs and campsites.

History

*1891 - Settlement begins. *1918 - Moshiri Coal Mine opens. *1922 - Second-class municipality Akabira Village split off of first-class municipality

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

. *1929 - Akabira becomes a First-Class municipality. *1937 - Shōwa Denkō Toyosato Mine opened. *1938 - Sumitomo Coal Mine, Hokkaido Coal Mine Railroad and Akama Coal Mine opened. *1943 - Akabira Village becomes Akabira Town. *July 1, 1954 - Akabira Town becomes Akabira City. *1967 - Shōwa Denkō Toyosato Mine closed. *1969 - Moshiri Coal Mine closed. *1973 - Akama Coal Mine closed. *1994 - Sumitomo Coal Mine closed. *2003 - Mid-Sorachi Merger Committee established. *2007 - A major elementary school in Akabira closed down. It once had about 5000 students but has dropped rapidly after the closure of the coal mines. *2008 - Hokkaido provides the city with a low-interest loan to support the city *February 28, 2015 -

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for number of snowmen made in an hour (2036) for the filming of the drama ''Fuben na Benriya'' ("Inconvenient Handyman").

Geography

Akabira is located in the central region of the

jurisdiction. The Sorachi River flows through the city limits from east to west. Originally, development stretched from

(歌志内) to Mojiri (茂尻), but now is an urban region along the Sorachi River.

Mountains

* Mt. Irumukeppu (イルムケップ山) * Mt. Akabira (赤平山) * Mt. Kamui (神威岳)

Rivers

* Sorachi River (空知川) * Horokura River (幌倉川) * Akamazawa River (赤間沢川) * Katsura River (桂川)

Neighborhoods

* Akabira (赤平) * Izumachi (泉町), Blocks 1-4 * Erumuchō (エルム町) * Oomachi (大町), Blocks 1-4 *North Bunkyōchō (北文京町), Blocks 1-5 *Kyowachō (共和町) *Saiwaichō (幸町), Blocks 1-7 *Sakuragichō (桜木町), Blocks 1-5 *Shōwachō (昭和町), Blocks 1-6 *Sumiyoshichō (住吉町) *Toyookachō (豊丘町), Blocks 1-3 *Toyosato (字豊里) *Nishikimachi (錦町), Blocks 1-3 *West Toyosatochō (西豊里町) *West Bunkyōchō (西文京町), Blocks 1-5 *East Oomachi (東大町), Blocks 1-3 *East Toyosatochō (東豊里町) *East Bunkyōchō (東文京町), Blocks 1-4 *Hyakkochō East (百戸町東), Blocks 1-5 *Hyakkochō West (百戸町西), Blocks 1-6 *Hyakkochō North (百戸町北) *Hiragishikatsurachō (平岸桂町) *Hiragishishinkōchō (平岸新光町), Blocks 1-9 *Hiragishinakamachi (平岸仲町), Blocks 1-6 *Hiragishihigashimachi (平岸東町), Blocks 1-6 *Hiragishinishimachi (平岸西町), Blocks 1-6 *Hiragishiminamimachi (平岸南町) *Hiragishiakebonochō (平岸曙町), Blocks 1-6 *Hōeichō (豊栄町), Blocks 1-5 *Horookachō (幌岡町) *Honchō (本町), Blocks 1-3 *Misonochō (美園町), Blocks 1-5 *Miyashitachō (宮下町), Blocks 1-5 *Mojiri (茂尻) *Mojiriasahimachi (茂尻旭町), Blocks 1-3 *Mojirikasugachō (茂尻春日町), Blocks 1-3 *Mojirisakaemachi (茂尻栄町), Blocks 1-5 *Mojirishinkasugachō (茂尻新春日町), Blocks 1-2 *Mojirishinmachi (茂尻新町), Blocks 1-5 *Mojirichūōchō South (茂尻中央町南), Blocks 1-6 *Mojirichūōchō North (茂尻中央町北), Blocks 1-2 *Mojirihonchō (茂尻本町), Blocks 1-4 *Mojirimiyashitachō (茂尻宮下町) *Mojirimotomachi South (茂尻元町南), Blocks 1-5 *Mojirimotomachi North (茂尻元町北), Blocks 1-6 *Wakakichō East (若木町東), Blocks 1-9 *Wakakichō West (若木町西), Blocks 1-6 *Wakakichō South (若木町南), Blocks 1-5 *Wakakichō North (若木町北), Blocks 1-8

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Akabira has declined precipitously in recent decades.

Transportation

Nemuro Main Line is a railway line in Hokkaido. Following the closure of the Furano-Shintoku section on 1 April 2024 the line is operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) in two sections, being Takikawa to Furano and Shintoku to Nemuro (including O ...

: Akabira - Moshiri - Hiragishi

Education

Junior high school

* Akabira junior high school

Elementary schools

* Akama elementary school * Toyosato elementary school * Mojiri elementary school

In popular culture

A climactic scene in the 2021 Academy Awards winning film Drive My Car was shot in Akabira, leading to interest from visitors.

Friendship cities

Kaga, Ishikawa is a city located in southwestern Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 67,793 in 29054 households, and a population density of 290 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Kaga is located in ...

(since 1995)Friendship cities of Akabira
/ref> *

Samcheok Samcheok (; ) is a city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. To the west are the Taebaek Mountains, which form a high flat plain of more than 1,000 meters, and to the east the coastal plain slopes sharply. Samcheok borders Donghae in the north, ...

, Gangwon,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

(since 1997) *

Miluo City Miluo () is a county-level city in Hunan province, China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yueyang. The city is located on the northeast of the province and on the eastern bank of the Xiang River, it is to the north of th ...

Hunan Hunan is an inland Provinces of China, province in Central China. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the Administrative divisions of China, province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to the east, Gu ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(since 1999)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akabira, Hokkaido Cities in Hokkaido Akabira, Hokkaido