was 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 Akan District,

Kushiro Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Kushiro is home to a population of red-crowned cranes, estimated in 2022 to number about 1,900. Geography Municipalities Mergers History *November, 1897: Kushiro Subprefecture estab ...

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 ...

. As of September 30, 2004, it had an estimated population of 6,518 and an area of 739.25 km². The name comes from an Ainu word meaning "Eternal" or "unchanging". On October 11, 2005, Akan, along with the town of Onbetsu (from Shiranuka District), was merged into the expanded city of

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 ...

. On January 8, 2017, the township of Akan hosted the first national championship in

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two team sport, teams wearing Ice skates#Bandy skates, ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The playin ...

, although the size of the field was a smaller version than the official rules for a

bandy field A bandy field or bandy rink is a large ice rink used for playing the team winter sport of bandy. Being about the size of a football pitch, it is substantially larger than an ice hockey rink. History Originally, bandy was played on naturally froz ...

History

In 1887, the main town hall for Akan District was established. In 1923, Akan became a second-class municipality. In 1937, it and Tsurui

Village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

split off. In 1940, Akan became a first-class municipality. In 1957, Akan Village became Akan Town. On October 11, 2005, Akan was merged into the expanded Kushiro City.

References

External links

Kushiro official website
Dissolved municipalities of Hokkaido {{Hokkaido-geo-stub