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 ...

Kushiro Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Kushiro is home to a population of red-crowned cranes, estimated in 2022 to number about 1,900. Geography Municipalities Mergers History *November, 1897: Kushiro Subprefecture estab ...

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 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (, ) is a city and the administrative center of Kamchatka Krai, Russia. It is located in the Far East of the country and lies along the coast of Avacha Bay by the Pacific Ocean, nearby Khalaktyrskoye Lake. As of the 202 ...

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 The Invasion of the Kuril Islands () was the World War II Soviet military operation to capture the Kuril Islands from Japan in 1945. The invasion, part of the Soviet–Japanese War, was decided on when plans to land on Hokkaido were abandoned. ...

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 Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...

, 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 A Peace Pagoda is a Buddhist stupa: a monument to inspire peace, designed to provide a focus for people of all races and creeds, and to help unite them in their search for world peace. Most, though not all, peace pagodas built since World War II ...

. 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;

, 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,

Town, and Onbetsu Town merged was expanded city of Kushiro City.

Geography

Mountains

* Mount Akan-Fuji *

Mount Meakan is an active stratovolcano located in Akan National Park in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the tallest mountain in the Akan Volcanic Complex. The volcano consists of nine overlapping cones that grew out of the Akan caldera, on the shores of Lake Akan ...

Mount Oakan is a stratovolcano located in Akan National Park in Hokkaidō, Japan. Geography and geology Mount Oakan sits in the Akan caldera northeast of Lake Akan. The volcano rises some above the surrounding terrain. The top of the volcano is above se ...

Rivers

Akan River is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan. Course The Akan River rises from Lake Akan, above sea level. The lake formed when the Akan River was dammed by an eruption of Mount Oakan some 6000 years ago. The river exits the lake at ''Takiguchi'' as a water ...

Kushiro River is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan. It is in length and has a drainage area of . The Kushiro originates from Lake Kussharo and flows south across the Kushiro Plain. The river is joined by two tributaries, the Kuchoro River () and the Setsuri Ri ...

* Shitakara River

Lakes

Lake Akan is a lake in Kushiro, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is located in Akan National Park and is a Ramsar Site. History Volcanic activity formed the lake some 6,000 years ago, when a lava dam was formed. The lake used to have a clarity of 8–9 meters in t ...

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

National Parks

Akan National Park is a national park located on the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. Along with Daisetsuzan National Park, these are the two oldest national parks in Hokkaidō. The park was established December 4, 1934. Akan is an area of volcanic craters and forests ...

* 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 The Aleutian Low is a semi-permanent low-pressure system located near the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea during the Northern Hemisphere winter, driven by warm sea water compared to cooler land. It is a climatic feature centered near the Aleu ...

. 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 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 ...

(JR Hokkaidō) *

Nemuro Main Line is a railway line in Hokkaido. Following the closure of the Furano-Shintoku section on 1 April 2024 the line is operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) in two sections, being Takikawa to Furano and Shintoku to Nemuro (including O ...

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 , or , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It provides transportation of cargo nationwide throughout Japan. Its headquarters are in Shibuya, Tokyo near Shinjuku Station. The Japan Railways Group was foun ...

(JR Freight) *

: 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 is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" ''torii''.Louis-Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric (2005)"''Itsukushima-jinja''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 407. It is in the cit ...

* Kushiro Wetland Park * Kushiro City Museum *

** 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,

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 The were an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Kushiro City in Hokkaidō, Japan. History The club was founded as Jūjō Paper Kushiro Ice Hockey Club in 1949. They adopted the new name Nippon Paper Cranes in 1993 when Jūjō Paper and Sanyō K ...

, 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

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 The East Hokkaido Cranes () were a professional ice hockey team based in Kushiro, Hokkaido, Kushiro, Japan. They played their home games at the Kushiro Ice Arena. History The East Hokkaido Cranes formed in April 2019, as a Phoenix club (sports), ...

(

) *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 In 1971, the International Skating Union, ISU congress decided to hold a World Junior Speed Skating Championships. After two test-championships (1972 and 1973), where only a boys' competition was held in the 1972 edition, the first official cham ...

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 The Port of New Orleans is a significant transport hub located in Louisiana, United States. It serves as an embarkation point for cruise passengers and Louisiana’s sole international container port. The port generates $100 million in revenue a ...

, 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 was a Japanese composer. He is best known for composing several entries in the Godzilla (franchise), ''Godzilla'' franchise as well as developing the Godzilla, titular monster's roar. Biography Early years in Hokkaido Akira Ifukube was born o ...

, composer * Keisuke Itagaki, manga artist * Saori Kitakaze, sprinter *

Satoshi Kon was a Japanese film director, animator, screenwriter and manga artist from Sapporo, Hokkaido, and a member of the Japanese Animation Creators Association (JAniCA). He was a graduate of the Graphic Design department of the Musashino Art Univer ...

, anime film director * Luna H. Mitani, visual artist * Hiromi Nagakura, photographer *

Maki Nomiya is a Japanese singer and musician. She is known as the . Maki released her first solo album in 1981, and worked through the 1980s as the lead vocalist of the new wave band . In 1991, she became the lead singer of the band Pizzicato Five. When t ...

, singer (

Pizzicato Five Pizzicato Five (formerly typeset as Pizzicato V and sometimes abbreviated to P5)Yang Jeff, Dina Can, Terry Hong, (1997) ''Eastern Standard Time'' pg 277 New York: Mariner Books was a Japanese pop band formed in Tokyo in 1984 by multi-instrum ...

) * Shinji Somai, film director *

Aina Takeuchi is a Japanese ice hockey defender. International career Takeuchi was selected for the Japan women's national ice hockey team in the 2014 Winter Olympics. She played in all five games, recording one assist. Takeuchi also played for Japan in ...

, 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