Teshio 天塩町
Town
Teshio town hall
Flag Seal
Location of Teshio inHokkaido (Rumoi Subprefecture)
Teshio Location in Japan
Coordinates:44°53′17″N141°44′43″E / 44.88806°N 141.74528°E /44.88806; 141.74528
Country	Japan
Region	Hokkaido
Prefecture	Hokkaido (Rumoi Subprefecture)
District	Teshio
Area
• Total	353.56 km2 (136.51 sq mi)
Population  (December 31, 2024)
• Total	2,642
• Density	7.473/km2 (19.35/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	1466-113, Shin-Eidori 8-chome, Teshio-gun, Teshio-cho, Hokkaido 098-3398
Climate	Dfb
Website	Official website
Symbols
Bird	Poecile montanus
Flower	Rosa rugosa
Tree	Prunus sargentii

Teshio (天塩町,Teshio-chō) is atown located inRumoi,Hokkaido,Japan. As of 31 December 2024^[update], the town had an estimatedpopulation of 2,642 in 1,444 households, and apopulation density of 7.5 people per km².^[1] The total area of the town is 353.56 km² (136.51 sq mi).

Teshio is located in the northernmost part of Rumoi jurisdiction in northern Hokkaido, surrounded by the left bank of the downstreamTeshio River. The central town area, where the town hall is located, is at the mouth of the river, and the hamlet of Onobunai is located alongJapan National Route 40.

• Hokkaido
  • Enbetsu
  • Horonobe
  • Nakagawa

Teshio has aHumid continental climate (KöppenDfb) characterized by warm rainy summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The average annual temperature in Teshio is 6.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1176 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 20.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around -5.2 °C.^[2]

Per Japanese census data, the population of Teshio is as shown below. The town is in a long period of sustained population loss.

The mouth of the Teshio River was an excellent port due to a natural breakwater formed by a sand spit that developed long into the Sarobetsu Plain, and it was blessed with abundant natural resources from the sea and mountains, so akotan was built by theAinu people as long as 3000 years ago and it became a key anchorage and trading point. WhenMatsumae Domain advanced into the area in the earlyEdo period, it became a trading place between the Ainu and Japanese, and later a guard post was established. During theMeiji period, an agricultural land development project was carried out to also serve as a defense for the north, and many pioneers from theTohoku andHokuriku regions settled here. The area also became a collection point for timber cut from the forests of the Teshio River Basin and the timber industry flourished with the establishment of branches of timber wholesalers. The population increased with the arrival of people engaged in the fishing ofherringsalmon, andtrout, shipping companies, and various commercial and industrial businesses, and various administrative facilities such as the county office, police, and forestry office were also established, and the area flourished as one of the core cities in northern Hokkaido. The area was also the first area in Hokkaido where moderncommercial whaling was carried out, and it is said that large whales such asgray whales andhumpback whales were once seen in large numbers along the coast. The village of Teshio was established in 1878 and raised to town status in 1880. In the postwar period, like other towns and villages in northern Hokkaidō, depopulation has progressed due to the outflow of population to large cities following the collapse of the herring fisheries and decline of the forestry industries.

Teshio has amayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and aunicameral town council of nine members. Teshio, as part of Rumoi 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 local economy of Teshio is centered oncommercial fishing,dairy farming, agriculture and forestry. The town has the largest catch ofshijimi clams in Hokkaidō from the Teshio Rive,

Teshio 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.

After the closure of theJapan National Railway Teshio Line in 1987, the town has not had any passenger rail service. The closest train stations areHoronobe orOnoppunai on theJR HokkaidoSōya Main Line.

• National Route 40
• National Route 232

• Homer, Alaska, USA since 1984
• Tomari, Russia since 1992.^[5]

Teshio's mascot isTeshio Kamen (てしお仮面) who is a superhero basket clam. He is given a "te" (天)-shaped badge to symbolize his honor by people especially children and the elderly. He uses his index finger to send signals.^[6]

• Media related toTeshio, Hokkaidō at Wikimedia Commons
• Official Website(in Japanese)

• Towns in Hokkaido
• Rumoi Subprefecture
• Populated coastal places in Japan

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• CS1 Japanese-language sources (ja)
• CS1 uses Japanese-language script (ja)
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• Pages using infobox settlement with potentially too many maps
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• Articles containing potentially dated statements from December 2024
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