is a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

Hokkaido Prefecture is the second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

, Japan. It was renamed from the earlier Abashiri Subprefecture on April 1, 2010. Abashiri Subprefecture was established in 1897.

Etymology

Abashiri Prefecture was named after the subprefectural office in

Abashiri is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the ...

. However, the area was more commonly referred to as the , as it faces the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...

, and the name Abashiri was changed to the more commonly used Okhotsk during the administrative redivision of Hokkaido's 14 subprefectures to 9 subprefectural bureaus in April, 2010. The sea is named for the port of Okhotsk, itself named for the Okhota, whose name is derived from the Even word ''окат'' (okat) meaning "river".

Geography

Etymology

Geography

Municipalities

Mergers

References

External links