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

Rumoi Subprefecture is a Subprefectures of Hokkaido, subprefecture of Hokkaido, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. As of 2011, it had a population of 52,627 and an area of . The population density of the subprefecture, 13 people per km2, is very low compared to the rest o ...

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 ...

. , 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 3,495 in 1,954 households, 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 9.5 people per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Mashike is located in the southern part of the Rumoi sub-prefecture on the coast of 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 ...

. It has a rugged terrain sandwiched between the ocean to the west and the mountains to the east, and most settlements are concentrated on the coast. However, the coast west of Beskari is lined with steep cliffs, and until the opening of

Japan National Route 231 National Route 231 is a national highway of Japan connecting Kita-ku, Sapporo and Rumoi, Hokkaido 290px, Rumoi city hall 290px, central Rumoi is a city in Rumoi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 18,132 ...

in 1981, it was an "island on land" with almost no means of transportation other than by boat. Parts of the town are within the borders of

Shokanbetsu-Teuri-Yagishiri Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park in Hokkaidō, Japan.List of Quasi-National Parks
' ...

Neighbouring municipalities

** Rumoi ** Ishikari ** Hokuryū ** Uryū ** Shintotsukawa

Climate

Mashike 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 ...

(Köppen ''Dfb'') characterized by cold summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Mashike is 5.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1330 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 19.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around -7.4 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Mashike is as shown below. The town is in a long period of sustained population loss.

History

Mashike began as a settlement by

Matsumae Domain file:Matsumae Nagahiro.jpg, 270px, Matsumae Nagahiro, final daimyo of Matsumae Domain The Matsumae Domain (松前藩), a prominent domain during the Edo period, was situated in Matsumae, Matsumae Island (Ishijima), which is currently known as M ...

for

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

and

salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

fishing in 1706. The area come under the control of

Kubota Domain was a Han (Japan), feudal domain in Edo period Japan, located in Dewa Province (modern-day Akita Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Kubota Castle in what is now the city of Akita, Akita, Akita and was thus also known as the . It was governe ...

in 1856. In November 1897, Mashike sub-prefecture was established. On July 1, 1900 Mashike was established under the first-class municipal system. The sub-prefecture office relocated to Rumoi in 1914.

Government

Mashike has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

town council of eight members. Mashike, as part of Rumoi sub-prefecture, contributes one member to the Hokkaidō Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Hokkaidō 10th district of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

The main economic activities of Mashike are

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

and

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing takes many forms, from grinding grain into raw flour, home cooking, and complex industrial methods used in the mak ...

Education

Mashike has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railways

Mashike was the terminus of the

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 ...

Rumoi Main Line The is a Japanese railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) which connects Fukagawa Station in Fukagawa, Hokkaido, Fukagawa and Ishikari-Numata Station in Numata, Hokkaido, Numata. Following the discontinuation ...

which ran from , but the section of the line between and was closed on 4 December 2016, owing to declining passenger use, and the town no longer has any passenger rail service.

Highways

Local attractions

Shokanbetsu-Teuri-Yagishiri Quasi-National Park is a quasi-national park in Hokkaidō, Japan.List of Quasi-National Parks
' ...

and Mt. Shokanbetsu (1491 meters). Camping facilities are available in the park. * Mashike's main distinction is the

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

brewery Kunimare, which is well known throughout Hokkaido. * Mashike has a small ski resort with only two lifts, although it is the biggest one in Rumoi District.

Mascot

Mashike's mascot is who is a shy sailor seagull. He is known to protect anyone (especially children). His get his energy from eating shrimp, cherries, apples and sake. His charm point is his eyes which allows him to sense any incoming danger. He is unveiled on July 1, 1990.

References

External links

*
Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mashike, Hokkaido Towns in Hokkaido Rumoi Subprefecture Mashike, Hokkaido Populated coastal places in Japan