is 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

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, an ...

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 ...

. In March 2017, the town had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 4,659, and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 12 persons per km². The total area is 404.56 km². The annual town festival is in mid-July, and is called "Inaka Matsuri" or "Country Festival". It is a two-day affair that starts in the main section of town with a parade featuring the Atsuma Dance and continuing the next day with performances at the Atsuma Dam. There is a surfing beach nearby where the annual "Hama Matsuri" or "Beach Festival" in early-August.

Geography

Atsuma has several rivers of which the most prominent is the Atsuma River. It is dammed in the northern area of town and continues down through the center of town and empties into the ocean near the ferry terminal and the Tomato-Atsuma Power Station.

Neighbouring municipalities

* Abira * Mukawa *

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 31 July 2023, it had an estimated population of 167,372, with 83,836 households, an ...

* Yūbari * Yuni

Climate

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Atsuma has declined over the past half-century.

History

In the middle of the 12th century,

Northern Fujiwara The Northern Fujiwara (奥州藤原氏 ''Ōshū Fujiwara-shi'') were a Japanese noble family that ruled the Tōhoku region (the northeast of Honshū) of Japan during the 12th century as their own realm.

supposedly had its trading post in Atsuma. On 6 September 2018, Atsuma was the town hardest hit by the

2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the moment magnitude scale struck Iburi Subprefecture in southern Hokkaido, Japan, on 6 September 2018 at 3:08 a.m. JST. The earthquake's epicenter was near Tomakomai and occurred at a depth of . The Japan ...

. It caused landslides that killed several of the town's residents when their homes were buried. A revitalization effort organized by the town since 2018 has attracted new residents, leading to an increase of the town's population.

Education

Atsuma currently has a high school, called the Hokkaido Atsuma High School (北海道厚真高等学校, ''Hokkaidō Atsuma Kōtōgakkō''). The town also has two junior high schools and two elementary schools.

Transportation

Railway

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

Hidaka Main Line The is a railway line in Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), between Tomakomai Station in Tomakomai and Samani Station in Samani, running along the coast of Hidaka Subprefecture. Services on the 116.0 ...

: Hama-Atsuma

Highways

Hidaka Expressway The is a partially tolled expressway in Iburi Subprefecture and Hidaka Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The expressway connects Hidaka to the Dō-Ō Expressway. It is owned and operated by partially by the East Nippon Expressway Company and the ...

Seaport

* Tomakomai East Port Shubun Ferry terminal (A

Shin Nihonkai Ferry is a marine transportation company based in Japan. Shin Nihonkai Ferry collaborated with Mitsubishi Shipbuilding in demonstrating the first successful sea voyage using an unmanned, fully autonomous navigation system on 17 January 2022, ferr ...

operates two ferries daily)

References

External links

*
Official Website
Towns in Hokkaido Atsuma, Hokkaido {{Hokkaido-geo-stub