Hamatonbetsu, Hokkaido

Hamatonbetsu (浜頓別町, Hamatonbetsu-chō) is a town located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 3,841 and a density of 9.6 persons per km². Hamatonbetsu is in a long period of sustained population loss.[1] The total area is 401.56 square kilometres (155.04 sq mi).[2] Hamatonbetsu's claim to fame is its freshwater Lake Kutcharo, a world-famous wetlands area home to thousands of swans making their winter migration from northern Siberia to the southern climate of Japan.

Hamatonbetsu

浜頓別町
Town
Hamatonbetsu town hall
Flag
Chapter seal
Location of Hamatonbetsu in Hokkaido (Sōya Subprefecture)
Hamatonbetsu
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 45°7′N 142°22′E
CountryJapan
RegionHokkaido
PrefectureHokkaido (Sōya Subprefecture)
DistrictEsashi
Area
 • Total401.56 km2 (155.04 sq mi)
Population
 (September 30, 2016)
 • Total3,841
 • Density9.6/km2 (25/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+9 (JST)
Websitewww.town.hamatonbetsu.hokkaido.jp

Education

Hamatonbetsu has one local high school and a junior high school, as well as a kindergarten and nursery school within the town limits. The Hamatonbetsu Board of Education also oversees four additional elementary schools and another junior high school. Shanai Elementary School, Toyokanbetsu Elementary School, Usotan Elementary School, Shimotombetsu Elementary School, and Shimotombetsu Junior High School are all included.

The town of Hamatonbetsu participates in the JET Programme.

Economy

Hamatonbetsu's local economy depends mainly on dairy farming and a sea harvest of salmon, scallops, and crab.

Within the town there are several local businesses including a cell phone/glasses shop, an ACOOP grocery store, two Seicomart convenience stores, two gas stations, a handful of restaurants and a number of home goods-amenities stores. There is also a park golf course and an onsen on the edge of Lake Kutcharo.

Transportation

Hamatonbetsu does have its own bus terminal but if you want to take a train, one may take the bus 1.5 hours to Otoineppu station to the South.

References
  1. 人口推移 [Population Change] (in Japanese). Hamatonbetsu, Hokkaido: Town of Hamatonbetsu. 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-10.
  2. "浜頓別（町）" [Hamatonbetsu]. Nihon Daihyakka Zensho (Nipponika) (in Japanese). Tokyo: Shogakukan. 2013. OCLC 153301537. Archived from the original on 2007-08-25. Retrieved 2013-09-06.
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