Obihiro, Hokkaidō Prefecture, Hokkaido Region, Japan

Geography | Transport : Road | History | Economy : Industry | Education : University : High | Rivers | Forests | Ban'ei horse racing | Major festivals | Kita no Yatai | Food | Sightseeing | Tokachi International Relations Center | JICA Obihiro International Centre | Zoo | Library | Indoor ice-skating rink | Events

🇯🇵 Obihiro (帯広市) is a city in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Obihiro is the only designated city in the Tokachi area. The city had approximately 500 foreign residents in 2008. 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 a "model environmental city" in Japan.

Geography The Tokachi-Obihiro Airport is located to the south of downtown Obihiro, but is still within the city's borders. It takes 50 minutes by car or 1 hour 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 4 hours to get there by car. Both airports have direct flights to and from Haneda Airport.

Transport: Road • Obihiro-Hiroo Expressway • National Route 38 • National Route 236 • National Route 241

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.

Historical timeline 1883: Benzō Yoda and his "Banseisha" pioneers arrive in Opereperekepu.

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 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.

Economy: Industry Obihiro, along with most of Tokachi, has a large agricultural sector that revolves around large scale farming operations. Farms within the boundaries of Obihiro have an average of approximately 24 hectares of arable land; exceeding the Hokkaido 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 polystachya) and gobō (Arctium lappa); 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 14 public middle schools. It also has five prefectural high schools, two private high schools, and one municipal 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.

Education: University • Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine.

Education: High Prefectural • Hokkaido Obihiro Hakuyo High School • Hokkaido Obihiro Sanjo High School • Hokkaido Obihiro Ryokuyo High School • Hokkaido Obihiro Agricultural High School • Hokkaido Obihiro Technical High School; Municipal • Hokkaido Obihiro South Commercial High School; Private • Obihiro Ohtani High School • Obihiro Kita High School.

Rivers Obihiro has 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, which joins the Tokachi River outside of town, as the cleanest Class A river in Japan seven times since 1991. 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 (51 mi) 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, 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). Recently, tree planting in the forest has been limited to small projects due to a lack of space to plant more trees.

Ban'ei horse racing Obihiro is famous for the unique style of horse racing that takes place at the city's horse racetrack. Hokkaido 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 Hokkaido, 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 were 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 depict fantastic mythical figures.

Kita no Yatai 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.

Food Obihiro is famous for pork meat glazed in a special sauce on rice, which is called butadon and mutton, which is called jingisukan, named after Genghis Khan. 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. Wild game, including venison and bear meat, is also eaten in Obihiro.

Sightseeing • Kōfuku Station, a closed station which remains a popular sightseeing attraction due its name meaning "happiness".

Tokachi International Relations Center The Tokachi International Relations Center (森の交流館・十勝, TIRC) was opened in 1996. It was created to facilitate international studies and events, academic study, and general interaction between people of different cultures and backgrounds. The establishment of the TIRC influenced the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in its decision to build the adjacent JICA Obihiro facility. Many events are now coordinated between the various organizations represented in buildings.

The TIRC offers a library room, an all-purpose gymnasium, kitchen facilities, and a large indoor "winter garden" of indoor flora. Two major events held here each year are the "Friends of the World Cookout", where over 2,000 people gather to cook and eat international food, and the "Mori no Halloween" party where over 1,000 costumed parents and children celebrate a holiday that is not native to Japan.

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

** 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 (US$2.66 million)

** 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 speed skating rink, Meiji Hokkaido-Tokachi Oval, 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. It was the site for the Essent ISU World Sprint Speed Skating Championships 2010.

Events Parts of the 2017 Asian Winter Games are hosted in Obihiro.

Asia/Tokyo/Hokkaido 
<b>Asia/Tokyo/Hokkaido</b>
Image: Adobe Stock ake1150 #87301262

Obihiro has a population of over 165,851 people. Obihiro also forms part of the wider Tokachi Subprefecture which has a population of over 354,147 people.

To set up a UBI Lab for Obihiro see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Obihiro has links with:

🇨🇳 Chaoyang, China 🇺🇸 Madison, USA 🇺🇸 Seward, USA
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license

Antipodal to Obihiro is: -36.8,-42.917

Locations Near: Obihiro 143.2,42.9167

🇯🇵 Otofuke 143.2,43 d: 9.3  

🇯🇵 Kitami 143.895,43.804 d: 113.5  

🇯🇵 Kushiro 144.383,42.983 d: 96.6  

🇯🇵 Asahikawa 142.369,43.771 d: 116.4  

🇯🇵 Iwamizawa 141.783,43.2 d: 119.4  

🇯🇵 Abashiri 144.267,44.017 d: 149.6  

🇯🇵 Chitose 141.65,42.817 d: 126.8  

🇯🇵 Eniwa 141.583,42.883 d: 131.8  

🇯🇵 Tomakomai 141.6,42.633 d: 134.3  

🇯🇵 Ebetsu 141.533,43.1 d: 137.1  

Antipodal to: Obihiro -36.8,-42.917

🇨🇱 La Reina -33.45,-33.45 d: 18922.7  

🇧🇷 Rio Grande -52.099,-32.041 d: 18208  

🇧🇷 Tubarão -49,-28.467 d: 18071.5  

🇧🇷 Criciúma -49.372,-28.678 d: 18072.5  

🇧🇷 Pelotas -52.341,-31.763 d: 18169.8  

🇧🇷 Viamão -51.023,-30.088 d: 18109.8  

🇧🇷 Gravataí -50.983,-29.933 d: 18098.5  

🇧🇷 Alvorada -51.079,-30.001 d: 18098.8  

🇧🇷 Cachoeirinha -51.083,-29.95 d: 18094.1  

🇧🇷 São José -48.617,-27.6 d: 18006.8  

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