Horonobe 幌延町 | |
|---|---|
 Horonobe town hall | |
 Flag  Emblem | |
 Location of Horonobe inHokkaido (Sōya Subprefecture) | |
 | |
  Horonobe Location in Japan | |
| Coordinates:45°1′5″N141°50′59″E / 45.01806°N 141.84972°E /45.01806; 141.84972 | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Hokkaido |
| Prefecture | Hokkaido (Sōya Subprefecture) |
| District | Teshio |
| Area | |
• Total | 574.1 km2 (221.7 sq mi) |
| Population (January 31, 2025) | |
• Total | 2,036 |
| • Density | 3.546/km2 (9.185/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
| City hall address | 1-1 Miyazonocho, Horonobe-cho, Teshio-gun, Hokkaido 098-3207 |
| Climate | Dfb |
| Website | Official website |
| Symbols | |
| Flower | Sakura |
| Tree | Sakhalin spruce |
Horonobe-cho (幌延町,Horonobe-chō) is atown located inSōya Subprefecture,Hokkaido,Japan. As of 31 January 2025[update], the town had an estimatedpopulation of 2,036 in 1,499 households, and apopulation density of 3.5 people per km2.[1] The total area of the town is 574.1 km2 (221.7 sq mi). The word "Horonobe" originates fromPoro-Nup. InAinu language,poro means large andnup mean grassland, thus meaning a large uncultivated land.
Horonobe is located is located in the mid-west of the Soya region, on theSea of Japan coast. The mouth of theTeshio River, Hokkaido's second longest river, is at the southwestern end of the town, and the river forms the town's border with neighboring Teshio Town to the southwest. Inland, there is the Sarobetsu Plain, a vast marshland that was once a lagoon that was turned into a sea by long-term sedimentation, and plains where the marshland has been turned into farmland and pastureland throughland reclamation. Most of the eastern part, except for along the Monkanbetsu River, is mountainous and hilly forests, and much of this is the Teshio Research Forest ofHokkaido University.
The 45th parallel north crosses the town from east to west. Similarly, the45th parallel north passes through the towns of Nakatonbetsu and Esashi. The 142nd meridian east also passes through the town, and these two lines intersect in the mountainous and hilly area in the eastern part of the town.
Horonobe has aHumid continental climate (KöppenDfb) characterized by cold summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Horonobe is 6.3 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1069 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 19.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around -7.4 °C.[2]
| Climate data for 幌Horonobe（2006 - 2020） | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 38.4 (1.51) | 26.4 (1.04) | 33.4 (1.31) | 39.5 (1.56) | 59.5 (2.34) | 62.7 (2.47) | 108.9 (4.29) | 129.5 (5.10) | 132.4 (5.21) | 113.0 (4.45) | 99.0 (3.90) | 64.1 (2.52) | 892.1 (35.12) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 13.0 | 10.0 | 8.9 | 7.4 | 9.4 | 9.0 | 8.3 | 9.8 | 12.1 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 15.3 | 130.3 |
| Source 1:Japan Meteorological Agency | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:気象庁[3] | |||||||||||||
Per Japanese census data, the population of Horonobe is as shown below. The town is in a long period of sustained population loss.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 4,852 | — |
| 1950 | 5,881 | +21.2% |
| 1960 | 7,438 | +26.5% |
| 1970 | 5,073 | −31.8% |
| 1980 | 4,253 | −16.2% |
| 1990 | 3,327 | −21.8% |
| 2000 | 2,835 | −14.8% |
| 2010 | 2,672 | −5.7% |
| 2020 | 2,371 | −11.3% |
During theEdo period, the area of Horonobe was part off the territory of theMatsumae Domain. The village of Horonobe was established inTeshio Province in 1878, but at that time was a village in name only, as there were no inhabitants. In 1899, 15 households fromFukui Prefecture joined the three households with 13 people who had settled in the area the previous year. The population grew to 1297 people in 292 households by 1909. Horonobe was raised to town status on September 1, 1960. In 2010, the town of Horonobe was transferred fromRumoi Subprefecture toSōya Subprefecture.
Horonobe has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral town council of eight members. Horonobe, as part of Soya sub-prefecture, contributes one member to the Hokkaidō Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of theHokkaidō 10th district of thelower house of theDiet of Japan.
The main industries of Horonobe are dairy farming and reindeer ranching. Historically, field farming was centered on potato cultivation, which had unstable harvests due to climate change, but the town gradually shifted to pasture and dairy farming. The town is home to the Horonobe Factory of Snow Brand Megmilk Co., Ltd. (formerly Snow Brand Milk Products Co., Ltd.), which processes and manufactures butter and skim milk powder using raw milk produced in various parts of northern Hokkaido. Other than this, many people work in construction, transportation, retail, food and beverage, and service industries. Forestry was also historically a major industry, but due to reduced demand caused by an increase in low-cost imported timber, the industry is now moribund. Reindeer ranching started in 1989, and is now a tourist attraction.
In October 2000, with the help of local government andNEDO,[4] the Horonobewind power generation project came into existence.[4] Wind turbines were installed on trial-run basis along the 3.1 km coastline. Since February 2003, there are 28 turbines working in full capacity, with an individual output of 750 kW. In total its estimated that the wind turbines in Horonobe-chō generate 50 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually, and this is supplied toHokkaido Electric Power Company for distribution. This electricity is equivalent to annual electric consumption of about 10,000 Japanese households.
Since 1998, theJapan Atomic Energy Agency started planning an underground research laboratory at Honorobe to be able to conduct tests on the suitability of sedimentary rock for use as adeep geological repository for Japan's spentnuclear fuel (a similar research facility in crystalline rock is also being constructed at Mizunami in Gifu Prefecture).[5] Excavation began in 2003, and is scheduled for completion in 2017.[5][6] A possibility of making a geologicalcarbon capture and storage (CCS) site is also under consideration at Honorobe.
Horonobe has one public elementary school and one public junior high school operated by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Hokkaidō Board of Education.
Some speciality microbes have been discovered in the subsurface environment. These are listed below:
Horonobe's mascots areHorobe (ホロベー) andBlupy (ブルピー,Burupī).
Media related toHoronobe, Hokkaidō at Wikimedia Commons
|  | |||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
.svg){kind=logo}
