Muroran, Hokkaidō

Muroran 室蘭
—  City  —
Flag
Location of Muroran in Hokkaidō (Iburi)
Muroran
Coordinates: 42°19′N 140°58′E / 42.317°N 140.967°E / 42.317; 140.967Coordinates: 42°19′N 140°58′E / 42.317°N 140.967°E / 42.317; 140.967
Country	Japan
Region	Hokkaidō
Prefecture	Hokkaidō (Iburi)
Government
– Mayor	Takeshi Aoyama (since May 2011)
Area
– Total	80.65 km2 (31.1 sq mi)
Population (March 2008)
– Total	96,724
– Density	1,210/km2 (3,133.9/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	Japanese Rowan
- Flower	Azalea
- Bird	Coal Tit
- Fish	Rockfish
Phone number	0143-22-1111
Address	1-2 Saiwaichō, Muroran-shi, Hokkaidō 051-8511
Website	Muroran City

Muroran (室蘭市, Muroran-shi^?) is a city and port located in Iburi, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture.

As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 96,724 and a density of 1,210 people per km². The total area is 80.65 km².

History

The origin of Muroran's name is derived from the Ainu word "Mo Ruerani" that means "the bottom of a little slope". The little slope, in front of the former Senkai Temple in Sakimori-cho, is noted in connection with the name of Muroran.

In the late 16th century, the Muroran region came under the administration of the Matsumae clan. Muroran was developed as a trading post between the Ainu and the Matsumae clan people.

In 1892, the Port of Muroran was opened for the wooden bridge construction at Kaigan (former Tokikaramoi); at the same time, the main road began construction from Hakodate to Sapporo as the first step of Hokkaidō Colonization Plan.

With the opening of a ship route from Muroran to Mori and railroad extension to Iwamizawa, Muroran's municipality was started on August 1, 1922 as the core of the major land and sea traffic in the pioneer era of Hokkaidō. Since then, Muroran has been developing as an important transportation hub and a center of the steel industry. This unfortunately earned the town's industrial plants by a bombardment by some of the newest American battleships in July of 1945, in the closing days of World War II.

Today, there are large cement factories, steel mills, oil refineries, and shipyards clustered around the port of Muroran.

Climate

Muroran features an oceanic climate, a climate type that is very rare in Japan. Despite it being located on Hokkaido, Muroran typically does not see the very cold winters that the majority of the island is known for. Muroran does experience significant snowfall in the course of the year, averaging roughly 210 cm (83 inches) of snow per year. Summers in Muroran are mild by Japanese standards, not nearly as hot as summers in other Japanese cities. Average high temperatures in August, the city’s warmest month, is around 24 C. Winters in the city are noticeably drier than summers, with its driest month (February) seeing on average about 1/5 of the precipitation as its wettest month (August).

Climate data for Muroran (1981-2010)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	0.3 (32.5)	0.5 (32.9)	3.9 (39.0)	9.5 (49.1)	14.3 (57.7)	17.5 (63.5)	20.9 (69.6)	23.4 (74.1)	21.1 (70.0)	15.7 (60.3)	8.9 (48.0)	2.9 (37.2)	11.58 (52.84)
Average low °C (°F)	−4.2 (24.4)	−4.1 (24.6)	−1.5 (29.3)	2.9 (37.2)	7.2 (45.0)	11.5 (52.7)	15.8 (60.4)	18.5 (65.3)	15.4 (59.7)	9.6 (49.3)	3.3 (37.9)	−1.8 (28.8)	6.05 (42.89)
Precipitation mm (inches)	54.9 (2.161)	43.0 (1.693)	48.2 (1.898)	75.1 (2.957)	101.3 (3.988)	107.5 (4.232)	165.1 (6.5)	192.8 (7.591)	164.4 (6.472)	93.0 (3.661)	75.2 (2.961)	64.4 (2.535)	1,184.9 (46.65)
Snowfall cm (inches)	65 (25.6)	56 (22)	36 (14.2)	8 (3.1)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	8 (3.1)	38 (15)	211 (83.1)
% humidity	70	71	72	75	79	87	90	88	81	72	69	69	76.9
Avg. snowy days	28.7	24.9	20.2	4.8	0.1	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7	11.0	24.1	114.5
Sunshine hours	89.7	121.9	181.6	194.2	194.1	156.5	128.0	143.0	167.8	170.2	105.0	74.4	1,726.4
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency

Scenic spots

• Hakucho Bridge (白鳥大橋) spans the Port of Muroran and is the largest suspension bridge in eastern Japan. Hakucho means swan.

• Itanki Beach is a popular hang out for swimming and surfing during the summer months. The beach is very wide with fine brown sand.

Muroran holds eight specific scenic sights called Muroran-Hakkei(室蘭八景). The most famous of them is:

• The Earth Cape (地球岬, chikyū misaki^?) has a white lighthouse and panoramic blue ocean. Peregrin falcons can be spotted during the season.

• 

  A view of Muroran

• 

  Chikyu Misaki

• 

  Chikyu Misaki in winter

Transportation

Muroran has an extensive network of public transportation. The JR trainline has five stops in Muroran, starting from Higashi Muroran and ending in downtown Muroran, and can be used to access both Hakodate to the South West, and Sapporo to the North East.

Education

Muroran houses one of the most prominent Marine Biology institutes in Japan, the Institute of Algological Research of Hokkaido University.

• Muroran Institute of Technology (national university)
• Bunka Women's University Muroran Junior College
• Muroran Ohtani High School
• Muroran Shimizugaoka High School
• Muroran Sakae High School

Famous people

• Natsumi Abe - singer, actress. Hello! Project soloist. former Morning Musume member.
• Asami Abe - singer, actress. Younger sister of Abe Natsumi.
• Kaori Iida - singer. Hello! Project soloist. former Morning Musume member.

Sister cities

• Shizuoka, since 1976
• Knoxville, Tennessee, since 1991
• Joetsu, since 1995

External links

• (Japanese) Muroran official website
• (English) English page in Official site