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 Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of

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. Located along the coast of the

North Pacific Ocean North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' ...

, it serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island.

History

An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Kushiro as an open port for trading with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Kushiro had been an important

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

because it is more reliably ice-free during winter than alternative

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

warm-water ports such as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky or other ports in Hokkaido such as

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

, which occasionally freeze for short periods due to the lower

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

of the Sea of Japan. For this reason, Kushiro was considered a valuable target for the

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

s during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

s. Its importance grew during the 1920s with the growth of commercial fishing, for which its reliable freedom from ice reduced costs. In addition to its port, Kushiro is serviced by Kushiro Airport with flights from

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 ...

and by the '' Ōzora'' limited express train service, which runs six times per day to the main population centres in the west of Hokkaido. In July 1945 the city of Kushiro was bombed by American naval aircraft; hundreds of people, mostly civilians, were killed. Following the Invasion of the Kuril Islands in August 1945, Kushiro was favoured by the Russians as the eastern cornerstone of a border between an American-occupied south and a Soviet-occupied north-coupled with Rumoi as the western cornerstone. However, these plans were cancelled after pressure by US President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

. On October 11, 2005, the town of Akan, from Akan District, and the town of Onbetsu, from Shiranuka District, was merged into Kushiro. The town of Shiranuka now lies between the two sections of Kushiro. In 2008, 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 189,539 and a total area of , giving 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 140 persons per km² (363 persons per sq. mi.). Kushiro was one of the many Japanese cities to receive a Peace Pagoda. Built by the monks and nuns of the Buddhist order Nipponzan Myohoji, it was inaugurated in 1959. Kushiro was accorded city status on August 1, 1922. It is the sister city of

Burnaby Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...

, British Columbia; Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia; and Kholmsk, Russia. *1869: Kusuri becomes Kushiro. *1900: Kushiro becomes a First Class Municipality as Kushiro Town. *1920: Kushiro Town becomes Kushiro-''ku''.

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 ...

Village (now Town) splits off. *1922: Kushiro-''ku'' becomes Kushiro City. *1949: Tottori-cho was merged into Kushiro City. *2005: The old city of Kushiro City, Akan Town, and Onbetsu Town merged was expanded city of Kushiro City.

Geography

Mountains

* Mount Akan-Fuji * Mount Meakan * Mount Oakan

Rivers

* Akan River * Kushiro River * Shitakara River

Lakes

* Lake Akan * Lake Harutori * Lake Panketō * Lake Penketō * Lake Shunkushitakara

National Parks

* Akan National Park * Kushiro-shitsugen National Park

Climate

Kushiro has a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(''Dfb'') but its winter temperatures are less severe than those of inland East Asia at the same latitude. Its port is the most reliably ice-free throughout winter in all of Hokkaido, due to the lack of indentation in the coastline and absence of large inflows of cold

fresh water Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salt (chemistry), salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include ...

nearby. It is also markedly sunnier than the extremely gloomy

Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

to its north, being sheltered by Hokkaido's mountains from the heavy snowfalls produced on the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it ...

side by the Aleutian Low. It receives only a third as much snowfall as

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 ...

and almost twice as much sunshine as the Kuril Islands are estimated to. Its daytime summer temperatures are noticeably cooler than in the interior, sheltered coastal areas and the south coast of Hokkaido. ''Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues. See or edit raw graph data.''

Education

Universities

National

Hokkaido University of Education is a national public university administered by the government of Japan. It has five campuses in Hokkaido, Japan. The main campus is on the outskirts of Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido. Hokkaido University of Education, Sapporo (HUES) is the la ...

, Kushiro Campus

Public

* Kushiro Public University of Economics

Colleges

National

* National Institute of Technology, Kushiro college

Private

* Kushiro junior College

High schools

Public

* Hokkaido Akan High School (Municipal) * Hokkaido Kushiro Commercial High School * Hokkaido Kushiro Hokuyo High School * Hokkaido Kushiro Konan High School * Hokkaido Kushiro Koryo High School * Hokkaido Kushiro Meiki High School * Hokkaido Kushiro Technical High School

Private

* Bushukan High School * Ikegami Gakuen High School, Kushiro Campus

Transportation

Airways

Airport

* Kushiro Airport

Railways

Conventional lines

; Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaidō) * Nemuro Main Line :

Chok CHOK (1070 kHz, "CHOK 103.9 FM & 1070 AM") is a Canadian commercial radio station, licensed to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, and owned by Blackburn Radio. The station broadcasts a country music format with local all-news radio, talk radio and s ...

- Onbetsu - ( Shiranuka, Hokkaido) - Otanoshike - Shin-Otanoshike - Shin-Fuji -

- Higashi-Kushiro -

Musa Musa may refer to: Places *Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam province, Iran * Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran * Musa Kalayeh, Gilan province, Iran * Abu M ...

* Senmō Main Line : Higashi-Kushiro ; Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight) * Nemuro Main Line: Kushiro Freight Terminal ; Taiheiyō Coal Services * Rinkō Line

Roads

Expressways

Dōtō Expressway * JP Expressway E38

Kushiro Sotokan Road

Japan National Route

* * * * * *

Bus

Local bus

Operates both city, suburban, and intercity routes * Akan Bus * Kushiro Bus

Seaways

Seaport

*Port of Kushiro File:Kushiro airport01.JPG, Kushiro Airport File:Kushiro Station 20140808.jpg, Kushiro Station File:Kushiro-nishi Interchange.jpg, Kushiro-nishi IC File:Kushiro Fisherman's Wharf EGG and MOO01n.jpg, Port of Kushiro

Sightseeing

Local attractions

* Itsukushima Jinja * Kushiro Wetland Park * Kushiro City Museum * Lake Akan ** Lake Akan Kotan *Manabot Nusamai **Kushiro City Museum of Art * Moshiriya Chashi (

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

) *Tottori Jinja File:New Akan Hotel.jpg, Lake Akan File:Ainu Kotan Akan Kushiro Hokkaido Japan22s.jpg, Lake Akan Kotan File:Manabot Nusamai Kushiro Hokkaido Japan02n.jpg, Manabot Nusamai File:鳥取神社.jpg, Tottori Jinja

Culture

Sports

;Ice hockey

Ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

is one of the most popular winter sports in Kushiro. In addition to several leagues devoted to amateur play of all ages, Kushiro is home to the

Asia League Ice Hockey Asia League Ice Hockey (; ) or ALIH (AL) is an association which operates a professional ice hockey league based in East Asia, with teams from Japan, South Korea, and formerly China and Russia. The league is headquartered in Japan. At the end of ...

Nippon Paper Cranes, three time Asia League Champions. : Kushiro and many other cities are interested in hosting

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 ...

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

. In January 2018, the first championship on a full-sized field took place in Shintoku, with participation from three teams, including FACEOFF Kushiro. The national team for women is based in Kushiro and made its

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

debut in 2020. * East Hokkaido Cranes (

) *Kushiro Bears ( Women's Japan Ice Hockey League) *Daishin ( Women's Japan Ice Hockey League) The Kushiro Ice Arena is the city's biggest stadion for ice hockey, figure skating and shorttrack. ;Speed skating The Yanagimachi Speed Skating Rink hosted the 2003 World Junior Speed Skating Championships and several Japanese Championships. It has an asphalt

inline speed skating Roller speed skating is the roller sport of racing on inline skates. The sport may also be called ''inline racing'' or ''speed skating'' by participants. Although it primarily evolved from racing on traditional roller skates, the sport is simila ...

track on the middle field.

Mascot

Kushiro's mascot is . She is a gentiana triflora flower (though she represents all flowers) from Onbetsu. Her favourite drink is milk.

External relations

Sister cities

International

;Sister cities ;Partner cities

Domestic

;Sister cities ;Partner cities

Sister ports

Port of Kushiro's sister ports are: * Port of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States (since 1984) * Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia (since 1994)

Notable people

* Kazuhiko Chiba, footballer * Yutaka Fukufuji, ice hockey goaltender * Yukinobu Hoshino, manga artist * Akira Ifukube, composer * Keisuke Itagaki, manga artist * Saori Kitakaze, sprinter * Satoshi Kon, anime film director * Luna H. Mitani, visual artist * Hiromi Nagakura, photographer * Maki Nomiya, singer ( Pizzicato Five) * Shinji Somai, film director * Aina Takeuchi, ice hockey defenseman * Kazuro Watanabe, astronomer

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kushiro, Hokkaido Cities in Hokkaido Port settlements in Japan Populated coastal places in Japan