Hiroo, Hokkaido

Hiroo 広尾町
Town
Panorama view of downtown Hiroo and Pacific Ocean, from Maruyama Park
Flag Emblem
Location of Hiroo in Hokkaido (Tokachi Subprefecture)
Hiroo Location in Japan
Coordinates: 42°17′N 143°19′E
Country	Japan
Region	Hokkaido
Prefecture	Hokkaido (Tokachi Subprefecture)
District	Hiroo
Area
• Total	596.14 km^2 (230.17 sq mi)
Population  (September 30, 2016)
• Total	7,182
• Density	12/km^2 (31/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
Climate	Dfb
Website	www.town.hiroo.hokkaido.jp

Hiroo (広尾町, Hiroo-chō) is a town located in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.

As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 7,182 and a density of 12 persons per km². The total area is 596.14 km².

Hiroo is recognized as the only place in Japan to be designated as a "Santa-Land" from the municipal government of Oslo, Norway.

History

Hiroo was established as a county in 1869, and was upgraded to a village in 1926 and to a town in 1946.^[1]

Railway service to Hiroo began in 1932 and ended in 1987.^[1]

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami resulted in a 2.8m tsunami striking Hiroo, causing over 1 billion yen in damage.^[1]

Climate

Although cold for its latitude and coastal position, the humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) of Hiroo is moderated by East Asian standards. Summers are cooled by the ocean and cloudy weather, whereas the influence of the Siberian landmass drops temperatures in winter. Due to the ice-free nature of the ocean, Hiroo stays narrowly above freezing during days, whereas nights regularly drop beneath −10 °C (14 °F).

Climate data for Hiroo, Hokkaido (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1958−present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	10.1 (50.2)	12.6 (54.7)	17.9 (64.2)	26.8 (80.2)	35.8 (96.4)	33.3 (91.9)	34.8 (94.6)	35.1 (95.2)	33.7 (92.7)	25.6 (78.1)	21.5 (70.7)	16.2 (61.2)	35.8 (96.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−0.3 (31.5)	0.0 (32.0)	4.0 (39.2)	9.9 (49.8)	14.6 (58.3)	16.5 (61.7)	20.1 (68.2)	22.1 (71.8)	20.3 (68.5)	15.5 (59.9)	9.4 (48.9)	2.6 (36.7)	11.2 (52.2)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−4.2 (24.4)	−3.9 (25.0)	0.1 (32.2)	5.2 (41.4)	9.8 (49.6)	12.7 (54.9)	16.6 (61.9)	18.6 (65.5)	16.6 (61.9)	11.3 (52.3)	5.2 (41.4)	−1.3 (29.7)	7.2 (45.0)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−9.2 (15.4)	−9.1 (15.6)	−4.4 (24.1)	0.9 (33.6)	5.8 (42.4)	9.8 (49.6)	14.1 (57.4)	15.9 (60.6)	13.1 (55.6)	6.8 (44.2)	0.6 (33.1)	−5.8 (21.6)	3.2 (37.8)
Record low °C (°F)	−21.2 (−6.2)	−22.1 (−7.8)	−20.2 (−4.4)	−11.6 (11.1)	−2.6 (27.3)	1.0 (33.8)	4.0 (39.2)	8.4 (47.1)	1.6 (34.9)	−4.1 (24.6)	−11.6 (11.1)	−17.2 (1.0)	−22.1 (−7.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	71.6 (2.82)	59.9 (2.36)	95.1 (3.74)	111.3 (4.38)	162.4 (6.39)	149.2 (5.87)	166.2 (6.54)	217.7 (8.57)	262.6 (10.34)	194.2 (7.65)	127.7 (5.03)	91.4 (3.60)	1,709.3 (67.29)
Average snowfall cm (inches)	83 (33)	70 (28)	63 (25)	16 (6.3)	1 (0.4)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	5 (2.0)	60 (24)	298 (118.7)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	7.3	7.4	8.9	9.0	10.1	8.8	10.7	11.7	11.4	10.5	10.2	8.9	114.9
Average snowy days	8.9	8.4	9.0	2.4	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.9	7.7	37.5
Average relative humidity (%)	64	65	66	70	77	87	89	88	82	74	65	63	74
Mean monthly sunshine hours	166.1	162.3	186.1	181.8	173.1	126.7	108.3	113.9	134.5	164.5	149.2	149.4	1,815.9
Source 1: JMA[2]
Source 2: JMA[3]

Culture

Mascots

Sata-chan and Tree-kun, the town's mascots

Hiroo's mascots are Sata-chan (さーたちゃん) and Tree-kun (ツリーくん, Tsurī-kun).^[4][5]

• Sata-chan is a girl who wanted to become a successor to Santa Claus as she is one of his granddaughters. However, she must know Hiroo first and then various cities/towns/villages and countries. She birthday is October 26 (Ironically, her birthday is six days away from Halloween). She was unveiled in 2013 before becoming one of the mascots of the town on 12 November 2014. She resides in Hiroo Santa Land. She is designed by a first grader at Hiroo Elementary School.
• Tree-kun is a Christmas tree. He is unveiled in 1995. He joins Sata-kun to search for Bell-kun (ベルくん, Beru-kun) who is missing for years. He resides in Daimaruyama Forest Park. As Sata-chan's assissant, he is in charge of collecting energy.

Economy

The Port of Tokachi, located in Hiroo, is a major shipping port for the Tokachi area. Customs facilities opened at the port in 1999, and a Marubeni-led consortium opened Hokkaido's largest feed terminal facility at the port in 2010.^[1]

Transportation

Hiroo's primary transport connections are Japan National Route 236 and Japan National Route 336. It is the planned terminus of the Obihiro-Hiroo Expressway, which currently ends in the town of Taiki. There is scheduled bus service to Obihiro (2 hours) and Sapporo (4.5 hours).^[6]

The closest airport is Tokachi-Obihiro Airport, about one hour away by car. The airport has multiple daily flights to Tokyo-Haneda.^[6]

Hiroo was connected to Obihiro by rail until 1987, but currently has no rail service. The closest railway stations are Obihiro Station and Samani Station, each of which are two hours away by car or bus.^[6]

Notable people from Hiroo

• Ichiro Nakagawa, politician
• Yoshio Nakagawa, politician
• Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi, former sumo wrestler

References

1. "町の沿革 | 町の紹介". 広尾町 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-08-05.
2. 観測史上1～10位の値（年間を通じての値）. JMA. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
3. 気象庁 / 平年値（年・月ごとの値）. JMA. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
4. "さーたちゃん紹介". Hiroo.
5. "広尾サンタランドには可愛いマスコットがいます". Hiroo Santa Land.
6. "交通アクセス | 町の紹介". 広尾町 (in Japanese). Retrieved 2023-08-05.

External links

• Media related to Hiroo, Hokkaidō at Wikimedia Commons
• Official Website Archived 2011-05-26 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)
• Santa Land Hiroo (in Japanese)