Article

01585 ／あびらちょう

Hokkaido 勇払郡

Abira Town

A farewell SL freight arrived at Oiwake.

Oiwake Station, last SL

Photo by Mister0124 (CC BY-SA 4.0)

01 ／ Health forest

Shika Park's woods lie within what the towncalls Japan's oldest health reserve forest.

The town says that in 1902 the forest in today's Shika Park was designated Japan's oldest health reserve forest. The reason it was kept is unknown, and the town notes a theory that the coming railway hub was a factor.

Designated 1902
Town calls it Japan's oldest
Urban park in Oiwake

02 ／ Cheese plant origin

In 1933, the town says, large-scalecheese making began in Toasa.

According to the town, in 1933 the Hokkaido Dairy Sales Cooperative Federation made cheese on a large scale in the Toasa district, a first in Japan. The town is said to be the birthplace of the dedicated cheese factory, and a wooden silo was built there in the early Showa era.

1933, in Toasa district
Hokkaido Dairy Sales Cooperative Federation
Wooden silo, early Showa

03 ／ Locomotive depot

Where two railway lines met at Oiwake,over 60 locomotives were once stationed.

The town says Oiwake was a hub moving coal toward Muroran, and at its peak a large depot held more than 60 locomotives. D51 320 at the roadside station's railway museum became a component of the Japan Heritage Tanteko story in 2019.

Over 60 locomotives at peak
Muroran and Yubari lines met
D51 320 certified 2019

Abira Town from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

20111974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

2011 (shot FY2011)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（年度別空中写真（2011年度）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

A town of four stations, formed by two merged towns.

about 7,000 people
Rural district town

The town says four JR stations on the Muroran Main Line and Sekisho Line lie within it. Hayakita and Oiwake merged in 2006 to form Abira, and the town office is in Hayakita. The town introduces skunk cabbage and cherry blossoms in spring and rapeseed fields in early summer.

People living here: 7,340people
Area: 237.16km²
Households: 3,451households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 5 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —2 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 4 municipalities.

Abira Town in Japan42.763°N 141.818°E

Territory of Abira Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

25.0km

Atsuma Town, Chitose City, Tomakomai City, Yuni Town

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Abira Town isthis kind of town.

01On December 24, 1975, a coal freight train hauled by D51 241 arrived inside Oiwake Station, and the town records that steam locomotives vanished from all JNR main lines; it calls Oiwake the last place the SL farewell train ran
02The town says Shika Park's woods were designated Japan's oldest health reserve forest in 1902, and that large-scale cheese making began in Toasa in 1933, giving it the title birthplace of the cheese factory
03Oiwake depot held over 60 locomotives at its peak, and D51 320 is a Japan Heritage Tanteko component; the gateway to the town is Hayakita Station on the JR Muroran Main Line

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Abira Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes