Betsukai, Hokkaido


Betsukai is a town located in Nemuro Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. As of April 30, 2017, the town has an estimated population of 15,179, and an area of 1,320.15 km2. The town is primarily agricultural, with numerous dairy farms. It comprises a part of the agricultural region referred to as "Milk Land Hokkaido".
WWW betsukai.jp

Overview

Located on the eastern edge of Hokkaido, Betsukai faces the Kuril Islands across the Notsuke Peninsula. Its total area is the third largest among all towns in Japan, the ninth largest among all municipalities in Japan, and the fifth largest in all of Hokkaido. It has the largest habitable land area in the country.
The town is composed of gently sloping hills with pastures carved out of the wilderness stretching across nearly the entire area. When viewed from above, large sections of the town appear in a checkerboard pattern due to forested windbreaks that protect animals from the region's occasional harsh weather.
Various settlements are located throughout the town, including Betsukai, Nakanishibetsu, Nakashunbetsu, Nishishunbetsu, Nishishunbetsu-Ekimae, Kamishunbetsu, Kamifuren, Honbetsukai, and Odaito. The town hall is located in the town center of the main Betsukai urban area.
The southwest of the town contains the Ministry of Defense's Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Betsukai Garrison and the Yausubetsu Training Area, which together cover 17,192 hectares. The town has hosted artillery training relocated from across Prefectural Route 104 in Kin, Okinawa. Several times a year, large-scale live-fire exercises are conducted there by the U.S. military.

History

The earliest settlement in the area was along the eastern coast, where fishing was the main livelihood. From the late Meiji 30s, settlers began moving inland, where field crop farming became the main activity.
On April 1, 1923, six villages, including the former Betsukai Village, merged to form a new Betsukai Village, which corresponds to the present-day area of Betsukai Town. The village office was originally located in the Honbetsukai coastal district, but was relocated in 1933 to present-day Betsukai as the inland population increased.
From the early Shōwa period, agriculture gradually shifted from crop farming to dairy farming, though development was slowed by the vast size of the land. In 1956, with financing from the World Bank, the Konsen Pilot Farm method was introduced, enabling mechanized land development. In 1973, construction of new dairy farming villages began, laying the foundation for the extensive dairy farming region that exists today.
The village was elevated to town status in 1971.

Etymology

The name Betsukai is said to derive from the Ainu words pet-kai or pet-kaye, referring to the winding course of the Nishibetsu River at its mouth in the Honbetsukai area, where the original village office was located. The present-day Betsukai district was originally called Nishibetsu, from the Ainu nu-us-pet, but was renamed after the office relocation.
Both Betsukai and Bekkai were historically used as pronunciations of the town name. In 1971, when the village became a town, the official reading was standardized as Betsukai. However, on March 10, 2009, the then-mayor declared at a town assembly that both readings are acceptable. In official contexts such as government documents, broadcasts, and road signs, the form Betsukai continues to be used.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Betsukai has declined in recent decades.

Mascot

Betsukai's mascot is Ryoushi-kun whose real name is Ryoushi Betsukai. He is a bull that looks like a cow. He is a fisherman, and a milk farmer. His friends are Hotatetchi, Ebumaru, Milkchi, Sakezo, Asarin, Hocki and Shiratori-san. He was unveiled on 30 June 2013.

Notable people