Mukawa, Hokkaido
Encyclopedia
is a town
located in Yūfutsu District
, Iburi
, Hokkaidō
, Japan
.
On March 27, 2006 the towns of Hobetsu
and Mukawa (鵡川町), both from Yūfutsu District
merged to create new town of Mukawa. The new town was given the same name as the former town of Mukawa, but in hiragana
, instead of former kanji
name.
As of January 2008, the town (including the Hobetsu area) has an estimated population
of 10,207 (5,012 men, 5,195 women) with a total of 4,565 households. The total area is 166.43 km².
Mukawa is situated on the southern coast of Hokkaidō
, bordering the Pacific Ocean
. It can be accessed via train from Tomakomai. By car, the town is approximately 1/2 hour east of Tomakomai along Route 235.
The town is famed for shishamo
, a small fish that is hung on bamboo poles. Shishamo are currently included in the Mukawa town sign. The shishamo are harvested during the Fall season. During this season the town holds a number of shishamo themed events, including a town race in October and Shishamo Matsuri in November.
A large community center in the town features an indoor swimming pool, exercise room, hotel, onsen
, cafe, restaurant, and lecture hall. During the late Summer, an O-Bon matsuri is held near the town community center.
Official Business: 161
Service: 880
Real Estate: 10
Circulation of Money & Insurance: 32
Wholesale Trade & Retail: 550
Transportation & Communication: 178
Electricity, Gas, Thermal Supply & Aqueduct: 10
Production: 349
Construction: 602
Mining: 21
Fishing: 70
Forestry: 28
Farmers: 991
Unclassified: 2
Housing Site: 5.39 km²
Wilderness: 9.75 km²
Mixed-breed Area: 9.93 km²
Ranch: 13.64 km²
Fields with Crops: 18.9 km²
Rice Fields: 38.51 km²
Swamp: 0.09 km²
Forest: 517.81 km²
Other: 98.89 km²
Towns of Japan
A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...
located in Yūfutsu District
Yufutsu District, Hokkaido
is a district divided between Iburi and Kamikawa Subprefectures.-Towns and villages:*Iburi**Abira **Atsuma**Mukawa*Kamikawa**Shimukappu-History:...
, Iburi
Iburi Subprefecture
is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan.- Geography :Located in south-central Hokkaido, Iburi stretches East-West and North-South. Iburi covers an area of . Iburi borders Oshima subprefecture to the West, Shiribeshi, Ishikari, and Sorachi subprefectures to the North, and Hidaka subprefecture to the...
, Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
On March 27, 2006 the towns of Hobetsu
Hobetsu, Hokkaido
was a town located in Yūfutsu District, Iburi, Hokkaidō, Japan.On March 27, 2006 Hobetsu was merged into the expanded town of Mukawa ....
and Mukawa (鵡川町), both from Yūfutsu District
Yufutsu District, Hokkaido
is a district divided between Iburi and Kamikawa Subprefectures.-Towns and villages:*Iburi**Abira **Atsuma**Mukawa*Kamikawa**Shimukappu-History:...
merged to create new town of Mukawa. The new town was given the same name as the former town of Mukawa, but in hiragana
Hiragana
is a Japanese syllabary, one basic component of the Japanese writing system, along with katakana, kanji, and the Latin alphabet . Hiragana and katakana are both kana systems, in which each character represents one mora...
, instead of former kanji
Kanji
Kanji are the adopted logographic Chinese characters hanzi that are used in the modern Japanese writing system along with hiragana , katakana , Indo Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet...
name.
As of January 2008, the town (including the Hobetsu area) has an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 10,207 (5,012 men, 5,195 women) with a total of 4,565 households. The total area is 166.43 km².
Mukawa is situated on the southern coast of Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, bordering the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. It can be accessed via train from Tomakomai. By car, the town is approximately 1/2 hour east of Tomakomai along Route 235.
The town is famed for shishamo
Shishamo
is a saltwater fish about 15 centimeters in length. It is slim and resembles a willow leaf; the Japanese name, shishamo, is derived from the Ainu name for the same fish, susam, which is supposed to be derived from a compound of Ainu susu "willow" + ham "leaf", hence its name in kanji...
, a small fish that is hung on bamboo poles. Shishamo are currently included in the Mukawa town sign. The shishamo are harvested during the Fall season. During this season the town holds a number of shishamo themed events, including a town race in October and Shishamo Matsuri in November.
A large community center in the town features an indoor swimming pool, exercise room, hotel, onsen
Onsen
An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth...
, cafe, restaurant, and lecture hall. During the late Summer, an O-Bon matsuri is held near the town community center.
Population Statistics
In recent years, Mukawa has faced an overall decline in population. In 1995, there were 7,853 people and 2,786 households. In 2000, the population declined to 7,232 people with 2,744 households, and by 2005 the population had declined to 6,765 people and 2,698 households. These numbers do not include the population of Mukawa's Hobetsu area.Workforce
As of the 2006, as total of 3,884 people are employed in Mukawa (excluding the workforce of Hobetsu). The working population is broken into different categories depending on occupational type and the number of workers, as shown below.:Official Business: 161
Service: 880
Real Estate: 10
Circulation of Money & Insurance: 32
Wholesale Trade & Retail: 550
Transportation & Communication: 178
Electricity, Gas, Thermal Supply & Aqueduct: 10
Production: 349
Construction: 602
Mining: 21
Fishing: 70
Forestry: 28
Farmers: 991
Unclassified: 2
Land Usage
The 2006 Handbook does not distinguish between Hobetsu or Mukawa regarding land usage. The areas of Hobetsu (546.48 km²), and Mukawa (166.43 km²) total to 712.91 km². Of this total area, the land usage is divided into the following categories:Housing Site: 5.39 km²
Wilderness: 9.75 km²
Mixed-breed Area: 9.93 km²
Ranch: 13.64 km²
Fields with Crops: 18.9 km²
Rice Fields: 38.51 km²
Swamp: 0.09 km²
Forest: 517.81 km²
Other: 98.89 km²
Annual expenditure
As with the proceeding information, the following comes from the Mukawa 2006 Handbook. The following information regarding the 2005, town expenditures does not consider Mukawa and Hobetsu separately. The unit of currency is millions of yen.| Hygienic | 925.30 | (10.1%) |
| Bond | 1,603.99 | (17.6%) |
| Public Welfare | 1,651.38 | (18.2%) |
| General Affairs | 1,476.07 | (16.2%) |
| Civil Works | 869.44 | (9.5%) |
| Education | 687.74 | (7.6%) |
| Commercial | 278.96 | (3.1%) |
| Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries | 353.02 | (9.4%) |
| Fire Fighting | 582.83 | (6.4%) |
| Town Assembly | 142.10 | (1.6%) |
| Others | 19.88 | (0.3%) |
| Total | 9,088.91 | (100%) |
Annual Income
The following information for the 2005 income is also from the Mukawa 2006 Handbook, and as with the annual expenditure, Mukawa and Hobetsu are considered as a unified area. The unit of currency is millions of yen.| Town Bond | 1,535.30 | (16.6%) |
| Tax Allocated to Local Governments | 4.340.38 | (46.8%) |
| Town Tax | 882.07 | (9.5%) |
| Prefecture Subsidy | 516.10 | (5.6%) |
| Earnings | 528.44 | (5.7%) |
| National Treasury Disbursement | 361.89 | (3.9%) |
| Rent & Commission | 386.97 | (2.0%) |
| Estate Revenue | 102.87 | (1.1%) |
| Beginning Balance | 200.12 | (2.2%) |
| Transfer of Money | 135.02 | (1.4%) |
| Others | 479.15 | (5.2%) |
| Total | 9,268.94 | (100%) |
External links
- Town website in Japanese