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 Yūfutsu (Iburi) District,

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 ...

. As of 2004, 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 3,727 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 6.82 persons per km². The total area is 546.48 km². On March 27, 2006, Hobetsu was merged into the expanded town of Mukawa (鵡川町 ''Mukawa-chō''). Train service has been discontinued to this town, although it can be accessed via the public bus system. By car, Hobetsu is located approximately 30 to 40 minutes north of Mukawa along Route 74.

Recreation

The town features a dinosaur museum, Earth Experience Hall, and historic home. A small park near the Mukawa River, a small park off the main road, and larger park in the north of the town feature dinosaur sculptures. Public bathrooms can be accessed at all of the town's parks. However, only the bathroom at the park off the main road can be accessed year-round. A local

park golf is a form of golf played in a park that was invented in Makubetsu, Hokkaido, Japan in 1983. Aesthetically, it resembles a sport somewhere between golf and croquet. The competitive object of the game is to hit the ball into a hole with a club in ...

course is another recreational center available to the public. A town ski hill and speed skating rink are available for use during the Winter season. Both are free of charge. Farther along Route 74, Hobetsu's northern area, ''Inasato'', features an

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

and seasonal camp ground.

Climate

Population

The overall population of the Hobetsu area has faced a decline in recent years. In 1995 the population was 4,114 people, with a total of 1,557 households. In 2000, the population declined to 3,965, while the number of households remained at 1,557. The 2005 population was 3,837, while the number of households increased to 1,656.

Employment

As of 2006, the workforce in the Hobetsu area totaled 1,981 people. The following figures indicate the different types of employment within the overall workforce, and the number of people employed. Official Business: 135
Real Estate: 2
Service: 522
Circulation of Money & Insurance: 12
Wholesale Trade & Retail: 217
Transportation & Communication: 80
Electricity, Gas, Thermal Supply & Aqueduct: 4
Production: 100
Construction: 302
Mining: 12
Forestry: 112
Farming: 483

Land Usage

The 2006 Handbook does not distinguish between Hobetsu or Mukawa regarding land usage. The areas of Hobetsu (546.48 km²), and Mukawa (166.43 km²) total to 712.91 km². Of this total area, the land usage is divided into the following categories:''Mukape: Mukawa Town Condition and Facilities Handbook: 2006'', Mukawa: Hobetsu Seiwa Gakuen, 2006. (19) Housing Site: 5.39 km²
Wilderness: 9.75 km²
Mixed-breed Area: 9.93 km²
Ranch: 13.64 km²
Fields with Crops: 18.9 km²
Rice Fields: 38.51 km²
Swamp: 0.09 km²
Forest: 517.81 km²
Other: 98.89 km²

Annual Expenditure

As with the proceeding information, the following comes from the Mukawa 2006 Handbook. The following information regarding the 2005, or Heisei 17, town expenditures does not consider Mukawa and Hobetsu separately. Monetary amounts are expressed in the style of the Mukawa Handbook; 億 equals one hundred million, 万 equals ten thousand, and 円 is the symbol for the Japanese Yen. Hygienic (衛生費): 9億2,530万円 (10.1%)
Intersection Bond (公債費): 16億399万円 (17.6%)
National Welfare (民生費): 16億5,138万円 (18.2%)
General Affairs (総務費): 14億7,607万円 (16.2%)
Engineering Works (土木費): 8億6,944万円 (9.5%)
Education (教育費): 6億8,774万円 (7.6%)
Commercial (商工費): 2億7,896万円 (3.1%)
Agriculture, Forestry & Marine Products (農林水産費): 3億5,302万円 (9.4%)
Fire Fighting (消防費): 5億8,283万円 (6.4%)
National Assembly (議会費): 1億4,210万円 (1.6%)
Others: 1,988万円 (0.3%)
Total: 90億8,891万円

References

External links

Town website
in Japanese Dissolved municipalities of Hokkaido {{Coord, display=title