Obihiro, Hokkaidō

Obihiro 帯広
—  City  —
Flag
Location of Obihiro in Hokkaidō
Obihiro
Coordinates: 42°55′N 143°12′E / 42.917°N 143.2°E / 42.917; 143.2Coordinates: 42°55′N 143°12′E / 42.917°N 143.2°E / 42.917; 143.2
Country	Japan
Region	Hokkaidō
Prefecture	Hokkaidō
Government
- Mayor	Norihisa Yonezawa　(since April 2010)
Area
- Total	618.94 km2 (239 sq mi)
Population (August,31 2011)
- Total	168,546
- Density	275/km2 (712.2/sq mi)
Time zone	Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
City symbols
- Tree	White birch
- Flower	Fritillaria camschatcensis
- Bird	Lark
Phone number	0155-24-4111
Address	West 5 South 7-1, Obihiro-shi, Hokkaidō 080-8670
Website	City of Obihiro

Obihiro (帯広市, Obihiro-shi^?) is a city located in Tokachi, Hokkaidō, Japan. Obihiro is the only city in the Tokachi area. The next most populous municipality in Tokachi is the town of Otofuke, with less than a third of Obihiro's population. The city has approximately 500 foreign residents (as of 2008).^[1] The city contains the headquarters of the fifth division of the northern army of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. It also hosts the Rally Japan World Rally Championship-event.

In 2008, Obihiro was designated as a 'model environmental city' in Japan.^[2]

Geography and transportation

The Tokachi-Obihiro Airport is located to the southeast of downtown Obihiro, but is still within the city's borders. It takes 30 minutes by car or 40 minutes by bus from Obihiro Station to the airport. The next major airport nearby is New Chitose Airport. From Obihiro, it takes 2 hrs 30 mins to get New Chitose Airport by train and just over 3 hours to get there by car. Both airports have direct flights to and from Haneda Airport.

History

Obihiro was the area first settled by Benzō Yoda in May 1883. It became a city on April 1, 1933. In 1957 the villages of Taishō and Kawanishi merged with Obihiro, bringing it to its current size.

Memorial statue of Yoda in Obihiro

Historical timeline

1883: Benzō Yoda and his "Banseisha" pioneers arrive in Opereperekepu^[3]

1886: The Banseisha constructs the first road and two bridges

1892: Obihiro's first post office is built

1905: The Obihiro-Kushiro railway is completed

1914: First electric lights installed

1932: Midorigaoka Airport completed

1933: Obihiro becomes a municipality. Moriharu Watanabe is the first mayor

1945: Air-raid on Obihiro during World War II

1949: Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine constructed

1954: Emperor Hirohito visits Obihiro

1960: Ōtani Junior College is built

1966: Obihiro (railway) Station is built

1985: Obihiro no Mori speed skating rink constructed

1991: Hokkaido Obihiro Museum of Art is built

1993: Population reaches 170,000 people

1996: Tokachi Ōhashi Bridge is completed

2009: Indoor Speed Skating Facility Completed

Industry

Obihiro's businesses broken down by industry^[4]

Obihiro, along with most of Tokachi, has a large agricultural sector that revolves around large scale farming operations. Farms within the city have an average of approximately 24 hectares of arable land; exceeding the Hokkaidō average (17.41 ha) and the national average (1.57 ha). The main crops produced are wheat, potatoes, beets, and beans, but there has also been progress in the production of nagaimo (dioscorea opposita) and gobō (greater burdock); two of Tokachi's specialty products. The headquarters of 3 nationally renowned pastry companies (Rokkatei, Ryugetsu, and Cranberry) are also located in Obihiro.

Education

Obihiro has 26 public elementary schools and 15 public middle schools. It also has 5 Hokkaido high schools, 2 private high schools and 1 city high school. The Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine is the only university in Tokachi. Due to the decreasing birth rate in the area (and across the entire nation) some elementary schools are scheduled for closing by 2012.

Environment

Rivers

Obihiro is blessed to have one of Japan's most pristine rivers flowing through its city limits. Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has chosen Obihiro's Satsunai River as the cleanest Class A river in Japan 7 times since 1991.^[5] It is designated as a Class A River by the Japanese government due to its importance to environmental conservation and the national economy. In the Ainu language, Satnay means "dry river", and even today, most of its 82 km run is shallow. The city draws most of its drinking water from the Satsunai. The biggest pollutant in the river is nitrates from fertilizer run off from all the farming operations along the river's banks. The other major river in the city is the Tokachi River, but its water is not used for drinking as it has much higher pollution levels.

Forests

In 1974, a plan for the creation of an expansive city recreation space was initiated, and from 1975 to 2004 large groups of Obihiro citizens participated in "Tree Planting Festivals" (市民植樹祭). These actions have resulted in the creation of a new forest; the Obihiro no Mori (帯広の森).^[6] Recently, tree planting in the forest has been limited to small projects due to a lack of space to plant more trees.

Climate

Climate data for Obihiro, Japan (1971～2000)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	8.0 (46.4)	14.7 (58.5)	20.3 (68.5)	31.7 (89.1)	33.4 (92.1)	34.8 (94.6)	37.8 (100.0)	37.0 (98.6)	32.8 (91.0)	27.7 (81.9)	23.5 (74.3)	16.0 (60.8)	37.8 (100.0)
Average high °C (°F)	−2 (28.4)	−1 (30.2)	3.4 (38.1)	11.3 (52.3)	17.6 (63.7)	20.4 (68.7)	23.7 (74.7)	25.1 (77.2)	21.2 (70.2)	15.4 (59.7)	7.7 (45.9)	1.1 (34.0)	12.0
Average low °C (°F)	−13.9 (7.0)	−13.2 (8.2)	−6.9 (19.6)	0.2 (32.4)	5.4 (41.7)	10.0 (50.0)	14.5 (58.1)	16.2 (61.2)	11.6 (52.9)	4.3 (39.7)	−1.9 (28.6)	−8.9 (16.0)	1.5
Record low °C (°F)	−38.2 (−36.8)	−36 (−32.8)	−35.2 (−31.4)	−18.3 (−0.9)	−7.9 (17.8)	−1.9 (28.6)	1.3 (34.3)	2.1 (35.8)	−4.7 (23.5)	−10.6 (12.9)	−20.3 (−4.5)	−34.2 (−29.6)	−38.2 (−36.8)
Precipitation mm (inches)	42.3 (1.665)	30.7 (1.209)	49.6 (1.953)	60.5 (2.382)	80.1 (3.154)	85.9 (3.382)	94.4 (3.717)	139.2 (5.48)	139.8 (5.504)	91.7 (3.61)	68.2 (2.685)	40.3 (1.587)	920.4 (36.236)
Snowfall cm (inches)	63 (24.8)	40 (15.7)	48 (18.9)	10 (3.9)	2 (0.8)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	12 (4.7)	42 (16.5)	214 (84.3)
% humidity	70	68	66	69	79	83	82	79	73	68	68	73	73.2
Avg. snowy days	16.7	15.8	16.5	6.6	0.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	7.0	13.6	76.9
Sunshine hours	183.4	190.1	217.8	194.5	192.3	152.8	117.6	128.9	143.0	175.0	166.7	171.3	2,033.4
Source no. 1: Japan Meteorological Agency[7]
Source no. 2: Japan Meteorological Agency[8]

International sister cities

Obihiro has three international sister-cities:

• Seward, Alaska, United States - (1968)

While on a business trip in Alaska, a (former) teacher at Obihiro's Agricultural High School, Yasuhiko Ohzono, was asked by the mayor of Seward to create some sort of cultural exchange between the two cities. On March 21, 1967, the mayor of Obihiro sent a picture album and other materials to introduce the city to the mayor of Seward. The mayor of Seward sent a message, a coat of arms, and a medal; all of which were personally delivered by a member of the entourage of the U.S.-Japan Fishing Industry Negotiation Team in Japan at the time. Obihiro sends the Mayor of Seward a wooden carving of a bear. On January 31, 1968 the resolution made by the Seward City Council arrives. The City of Obihiro also created a resolution on March 27, 1968, the sister city agreement was signed by both sides, and exchange between the two cities began. Since the Obihiro Economic Observation Group visited Seward in September, 1971, there have been various exchanges between Seward and Obihiro. Both mayors and many citizens of both cities have participated in exchanges, and the high school student exchange program has been put on every year since the summer of 1973.

• Chaoyang, Liaoning, People's Republic of China - (2000)

Interaction between the two cities began with Chaoyang's Economic Observation Group Visit to Obihiro on May 30, 1985. In September that same year, Obihiro sent the 15 member Northeast China Friendship and Observation Group to Chaoyang. Since then various groups have made exchange visits, agricultural trainees have been received, and there has even been exchanges of craft projects between elementary students. Since 1987, administrative and agricultural trainees have made 13 visits. In addition, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) has been sending agricultural specialists to Chaoyang. At the end of October in 1999, the mayor of Obihiro at the time, Toshifumi Sunagawa, lead the Official Friendship Visit Group to Chaoyang, and he exchanged memos regarding the signing of a Friendship City Agreement. On November 17, 2000, the mayor of Chaoyang at the time, Daicao Wang, lead a delegation to Obihiro where a Friendship City Agreement was signed with the purpose of deepening interaction between the two cities across a wide range of fields, and to promote further friendship and peace between the two cities; not to mention China and Japan. The two cities have run a high school student exchange program since 2002.

• Madison, Wisconsin, United States - (2006)

Obihiro became sister cities with Madison in October 2006. The two cities have almost the same latitude, and have similar climates. The content of the sister-city relationship has been mainly various visits to Madison regarding the field of mental health, but since the official start of the relationship there have been various fact-finding missions to and from Madison. There was even a short visit to Obihiro by two Madison area students, in August 2007. Obihiro hopes to learn more about Madison agriculture, mental health systems and facilities, and about how the University of Wisconsin–Madison runs various programs and organizations that have helped make it the university it is today. For example, the Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine has shown interest in marketing ice cream and other dairy products as the Babcock Dairy does at UW–Madison.

Culture

Ban'ei horse racing

Ban'ei horses at Obihiro Racecourse

Obihiro is famous for the unique style of horse racing that takes place at the city's horse racetrack. Hokkaidō farmers in the 1900s had tug-of-war contests between their work horses to judge their strength and value. This gradually became a more formalized event and eventually became the racing we know today as Ban'ei horse racing. Rather than an oblong track, which most people think of when talking about horse racing, Obihiro's ban'ei track is a straight 200 m run with two hills. Large and powerful draft horses pull sleds that can weigh more than a ton while their rider whips them hard to make them go faster. The track and facilities were renovated in 2007 due to major efforts by the city government to increase the popularity of the races. One unique aspect of the track is that spectators can walk alongside the track as the horses struggle towards the finish line. Starting in 2006, the City of Obihiro has poured money into reviving this sport and considers it a part of the city's traditional culture.

Major festivals

Obihiro has three major festivals: the Flat Plain Festival, the Chrysanthemum Festival, and the Ice Festival.

The Flat Plain Festival (平原まつり, heigen matsuri^?)

Passing its 60th year in 2007, this festival spans 3 days in mid August during Obihiro's O-bon holiday season. The festival takes place on the downtown streets of Obihiro and includes a taiko drum performance that spans multiple city blocks with teams from all over Hokkaidō, an energetic night-time parade called Yume Furu Ya (夢降夜, "The night of raining dreams") which expresses hopes for a good harvest, and a 2 hour long O-bon dance that includes an open section for anyone to jump in and dance along with all the other groups who are competing for first prize.

The Chrysanthemum Festival (菊まつり, kiku matsuri^?)

Held every year around the end of October, this 6 day festival celebrates an important flower in the Japanese culture. This festival features thousands of chrysanthemums on display in Obihiro's Central Park (中央公園). In 2007, the festival will be held from October 30 to November 4.

The Ice Festival (氷まつり, kōri matsuri^?)

The cold weather and ice-caked roads of Obihiro can make it hard for people to go out and have fun in the winter, but this festival provides the residents of Obihiro and all of Tokachi to get out and enjoy the white snow of the season. There are fireworks and foodstands, and a pathway lined with various snow and ice sculptures. Some of the sculptures are of funny characters such as Anpanman, but other sculptures can be truly awe inspiring images of fantastic mythical figures.

Kita no Yatai

Kita no Yatai in Obihiro

The Kita no Yatai (北の屋台) is an alleyway of unique foodstands that is open all year-round, and offers foods from many different countries. Sitting on a small stool next to a complete stranger is far from awkward at the yatai. In fact, eating and drinking at the yatai is a rare opportunity to mix and mingle with people of all backgrounds, experience good food and good beverages of all types, and to just have a good time.

Food

Obihiro is famous for pork meat glazed in a special sauce on rice, which is called butadon (豚丼) and mutton, which is oddly named after Genghis Khan and called jingiskan (ジンギスカン). It is also famous for potatoes and dairy products, which are common produce in Tokachi.　Obihiro also claims to be the origin of a dish called Chuuka Chirashi. It is also known for its high quality turnips.

Major city facilities

Tokachi International Relations Center

The Tokachi International Relations Center (森の交流館・十勝, TIRC) was opened in 1996 and is quite an intriguing piece of architecture. The TIRC was created to facilitate international studies and events, academic study, and just general interaction between people of all different cultures and backgrounds. The creation of the TIRC played a large role in wooing the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to build the JICA Obihiro facility next-door, and many events are now coordinated between the various organizations housed in both buildings. The TIRC offers a library room, an all-purpose gymnasium, kitchen facilities, and a large indoor "winter garden" where people can sit and talk or study underneath flora that normally wouldn't grow all year-round in Obihiro. Two major events held here each year are the "Friends of the World" cookout, where over 2,000 people gather to enjoy various countries' foods cooked right before their eyes, and the "Mori no Halloween" party where over 1,000 costumed parents and children flock to the TIRC to celebrate a holiday not native to Japan.

JICA Obihiro International Centre

Tokachi International Relations Center

JICA Obihiro (Japan International Cooperation Agency/Obihiro International Centre) was established in April 1996 as a center for international cooperation activities in eastern Hokkaido. JICA carries out a variety of programmes to support the nation-building of developing countries through technical cooperation. In all, there are three organizations housed in the International Centre; Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan International Cooperation Center, and the Northern Regions Center.

Obihiro Zoo

Obihiro Zoo (おびひろ動物園) opened in 1963. Construction of a new monkey facility was completed in June, 2008. It cost approximately 266 million yen (2.66 million USD)^[9]

Obihiro Library

The new Obihiro public library was opened in 2006, and currently has over 300 English language books available.

Indoor ice-skating rink

An olympic size indoor ice-skating rink has been completed on the west side of Obihiro. Its construction was controversial due to its large price tag. The tentative budget for the project was the equivalent of US$30 million.^[10] It is the site for the Essent ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Championships 2010.^[11]

Notable people from Obihiro

• Nagisa Abe (actress)
• Tomo Furukawa (singer and artist)
• Manami Hino (Olympic Bobsledder)
• Jun Kasai (professional wrestler)
• Maya Sakura (Enka singer)
• Hiroyasu Shimizu (Olympic Speedskater)

References

1. ^ Hokkaido Prefectural Government: 2007-2008 Change in registered Foreigners (Japanese)
2. ^ Tokachi Mainichi: City gets Designation as Environmental Model City (Japanese)
3. ^ 観光・移住_帯広十勝を知ろう_語り継がれた帯広の歴史_帯広市 (History of Obihiro, Obihiro City web site, retrieved May 27, 2008)
4. ^ City of Obihiro: 2007 City Summary-Industry (Japanese)
5. ^ 国土交通省が行っている一級河川の水質調査において、平成3年から7回も清流日本一に選ばれている自慢の川である。
6. ^ City of Obihiro: Plans for the creation of the Obihiro no Mori near the Tokachi Airfield (Japanese)
7. ^ "平年値（年・月ごとの値）". Japan Meteorological Agency. http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/nml_sfc_ym.php?prec_no=20&prec_ch=%8F%5C%8F%9F%8Ex%92%A1&block_no=47417&block_ch=%91%D1%8DL&year=&month=&day=&elm=normal&view=. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
8. ^ "観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）". Japan Meteorological Agency. http://www.data.jma.go.jp/obd/stats/etrn/view/rank_s.php?prec_no=20&prec_ch=%8F%5C%8F%9F%8Ex%92%A1&block_no=47417&block_ch=%91%D1%8DL&year=&month=&day=&elm=rank&view=. Retrieved 2010-02-22. 
9. ^ Obihiro Zoo. "New Monkey House Under Construction" (in Japanese). City of Obihiro. http://www.city.obihiro.hokkaido.jp/zoo/shiiku_news.jsp. Retrieved 2008-03-31. "建設費　約2億6600万円 建設場所　リスザル舎跡 完成　平成20年6月予定" 
10. ^ "2007 Obihiro Construction Project Plans" (in Japanese) (pdf). City of Obihiro. 2007-04-02. pp. 7. http://www.city.obihiro.hokkaido.jp/mpsdata/web/246/012_kouzi0701.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-11. ^{[dead link]}
11. ^ "Obihiro replaces Helsinki as 2010 World Sprint Championship host". AIPS Magazine. http://www.aipsmedia.com/index.php?page=news&cod=2286&tp=n. Retrieved 2010-01-04. 

External links

• City of Obihiro Homepage (Japanese)
• City of Obihiro: What's Happening in Obihiro, an English language newsletter containing information about the city of Obihiro, local events, and living in Japan. (English)
• Obihiro Tourism Convention: Tourism website, an unfinished website with lots of tourist info about Obihiro. (English)
• Hokkaipedia article on Obihiro (English)
• NY Times article about Obihiro Ban'ei Horse Racing (English)
• JICA Obihiro (Japanese)
• NRC (English)
• JICE (English)