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 ...

in Ishikari Subprefecture,

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.

History

Ebetsu was settled originally by Japanese people in 1871, who came from the

Miyagi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

. In 1878, tondenhei began moving into the area. When the

Meiji Government The was the government that was formed by politicians of the Satsuma Domain and Chōshū Domain in the 1860s. The Meiji government was the early government of the Empire of Japan. Politicians of the Meiji government were known as the Meiji ...

, in 1878, designated Hokkaido as part of Japan, settlers began to flood the area. Ebetsu earned township status in 1916 and city status in 1954. During the 1960s and 1970s, a burgeoning population in

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

caused the population in Ebetsu to concurrently boom. In 1991, the city reached 100,000 people. The name Ebetsu is derived from the Ainu name of the Chitose River which flows into the Ishikari River in the city. According to John Batchelor in his "An Ainu-English Dictionary" (chapter 1, section V: Place Names Considered) the Ainu language name was E-pet or "

humour Humour (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) or humor (American English) is the tendency of experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement. The term derives from the humorism, humoral medicine of the ancient Gre ...

river" based on its murky colour.

Demographics

As of July 31, 2023, the city 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 118,764, with 56,325

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

s, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 634 persons per km². The total area is 187.38 km².

Geography and transportation

The majority of commercial Ebetsu is on or immediately surrounding Route 12 (runs north-south through town). The northern limits of town are delineated by the

Ishikari River The , at long, is the third longest in Japan and the longest in Hokkaidō. The river drains an area of , making it the second largest in Japan, with a total discharge of around per year. It originates from Mount Ishikari in the Daisetsuzan ...

, the southern sub-city of Oasa by Ebetsu's boundary with Sapporo. It bounds the city limits of Kitahiroshima, Iwamizawa, Nanporo, Tōbetsu, and Shinshinotsu. Ebetsu is about 16 km from downtown

. It is accessed by the Dō-Ō Expressway, by Chūō or JR Hokkaidō bus lines, or by the Asahikawa-Hakodate train line that approximately follows Route 12 through town (at Ōasa, Nopporo, Takasago, and Ebetsu stations), joining with the northwest-southeast running main line that extends from Chitose Airport to Sapporo Station in Shinsapporo (New Sapporo, a district of larger metropolitan Sapporo). The extensive Nopporo Forest State Park (the world's largest park of virgin forest on level ground) is behind Ebetsu's Rakunō Gakuen University (the first university in Ebetsu, founded in 1949), encompassing 2015 hectares of preserved forest. Because of Ebetsu's location approximately in the middle of the Ishikari Plain (Sapporo city is the southwestern extent), it is known for having wind year-round.

Climate

The 10-year average temperature for Ebetsu is 7.1 degrees Celsius. The hottest and coldest temperatures, respectively, ever recorded are and .

Sister cities

Sister city

* Gresham, Oregon, United States (since 1977)

Friendship city

* Tosa, Kōchi, Japan (since 1978)

Education

Universities

* Hokkaido Information University * Hokushō University * Rakunō Gakuen University * Sapporo Gakuin University

High schools

Public

* Hokkaido Ebetsu High School * Hokkaido Nopporo High School * Hokkaido Ooasa High School

Private

* Ritsumeikan keisho High School * Towanomori San-ai High School

Mascot

Ebetsu's mascot is . He is a yellow flightless bird that resembled a young rooster who loves to be petted. His head is unusually square. Because of this, he is nicknamed . He may looked sad because of his tears (which is his charm point), he is actually happy. Whenever something wonderful happens (e.g. farmers working hard, witnessing children, falling leaves, etc.), he will shed tears for joy. He is known for carrying a grain ear. He likes locally grown wheat. When he was first revealed back in 2011, he was genderless. He is originally an unofficial mascot until it is chosen by the local tourism association to represent the city.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebetsu, Hokkaido Cities in Hokkaido