280px, Tōma Caves 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 Kamikawa 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 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 6,119 in 3033 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 30 people per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Tōma is located on the eastern edge of the Kamikawa Basin, and the mountainous area to the east of the town continues into the Daisetsuzan mountain range. 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 ...

flows along the border with Pippu Town, and its tributary, the Ushishube River, flows through the town.

Neighbouring municipalities

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 ...

** Pippu ** Aibetsu ** Kamikawa

Demographics

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

History

The area of Tōma was part of Matsumae Domain in the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

. In 1893, 400 '' tondenhei'' soldier/settlers colonized the area. In 1906 the second-class village of Tōma was established. It became a first-class village in 1919 and was raised to town status in 1958.

Government

Tōma 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 ten members. Tōma, collectively with the other municipalities of Kawakami sub-prefecture, contributes three members to the Hokkaidō Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Hokkaidō 6th 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 primary industry, centered on rice farming, is the main industry. In addition roses, chrysanthemums, cucumbers, and tomatoes are also cultivated. Local specialties include densuke watermelons (でんすけスイカ) known throughout Japan, and ''imazuri mai'' rice, voted "Most Delicious Rice In Hokkaido 7 Years In A Row". Watermelon-flavored soft-serve ice cream, ramen noodles, senbei and more are available year-round at the town's Roadside Station or ''Michi no Eki'' (道の駅), located on National Route 39. The Tōma Town Forestry Association, which is responsible for managing private forests in the town, is responsible for management, operation, and lumbering, and is also working to promote local production and consumption by using timber produced in the town for public facilities and subsidizing the use of timber produced in the town for private homes.

Education

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

Transportation

Railways

JR Hokkaido - Sekihoku Main Line : -

Highways

Local attractions

In the late 1990s, the town government embarked on a campaign to make Tohma the number one "sports town" in Japan. While bubble-era funding eventually dried up, a number of first rate sports facilities and tourist attractions are still in operation today. Among these are a campground, large children's obstacle course, tennis courts, soccer, baseball and softball fields, park golf course, ski slope (beginner level with 1 rope lift only) and sports center. In addition, the town is also home to the Papillion Chateau insect museum, the Tōma Shōnyūdō Limestone Cave (one of the few in Hokkaido), and Healthy Chateau, a medium-sized hot spring.

Culture

Mascot

Tōma's mascot is . He is a green dragon. Because he is based on a local legend, he resides at the Toma Limestone Cave.

References

External links

*
Official Website
Towns in Hokkaido Tōma, Hokkaido {{Hokkaido-geo-stub