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 ...

located in

Sorachi Subprefecture is a Subprefectures of Hokkaido, subprefecture of Hokkaido, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. As of 2004, its estimated population is 373,736 and its area is 6,558.26 km2. Geography Cities 10 cities are located in Sorachi Subprefecture: Town ...

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 1 October 2020, the city has 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 8,040, and the

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 27 persons per km².

Geography

The total area is 302.64 km². It is bordered on three sides by mountains, and on its east side is the man-made Lake Katsurazawa.

History

Mikasa is one of the birthplaces of the mining and railroad industries in Hokkaido, and the Hokkai Bon song was invented there. Though in the past it flourished due to its natural abundance of coal, the mines have largely closed down and this has caused the population of the city to fall rapidly. Quite a few fossil specimens have also been collected there, particularly ammonites and the prehistoric marine reptile '' Yezosaurus mikasaensis'', both of which can be viewed at the city's natural history museum. *1906 - Mikasayama village was founded. *1942 - Mikasayama village became Mikasa town. *1957 - Mikasa town became Mikasa city.

Education

High school

* Hokkaido Mikasa High School

Transportation

Dō-Ō Expressway runs through west of the city, connecting the city to

Asahikawa is a Cities of Japan, city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a Core cities of Japan, core city since April 1, 2000. The city i ...

and

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 ...

via Mikasa IC. There are no rail services in the city.

Agriculture

Notable local products include

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

, musk melon,

cucumber The cucumber (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the family Cucurbitaceae that bears cylindrical to spherical fruits, which are used as culinary vegetables.plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

, and wine.

Culture

Mascot

Mikasa's mascot is . He is a 84,000,000-year-old yellow dinosaur.

Personalities

* Tadashi Kawamata (b. 1953), artist

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control Cities in Hokkaido