Article

01514 ／えさしちょう

Hokkaido 枝幸郡

Esashi Town

Likely Tohoku swords, in seaside graves.

Menashidomari, warabite swords

Photo by VKaeru (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Kitami Kamui Cape

Called “Cape of the Gods” in Ainu,it falls within a national scenic site.

On the coast of Menashidomari in Esashi Town, the town gives the Ainu name as Kamui Etu (Cape of the Gods). The national Place of Scenic Beauty Pirikanoka includes a cape of the same name, Kamui Etu. The Esashi Tourism Association says the gravel road under the lighthouse follows the former Kohin-hoku Line, closed in 1985.

Ainu name: Kamui Etu (Cape of the Gods)
1968: part of Kita-Okhotsk Prefectural Natural Park
Cape of the same name within Pirikanoka

02 ／ Eclipse and Dr. Todd

Friendship from an eclipse watchbecame the village library’s start.

On August 9, 1896, the American team of David Todd observed a solar eclipse at Esashi. Clouds defeated the observation, but a town bulletin records that the village library, opened with donated books as “Hokkaido’s first public library,” was born of that exchange.

August 9, 1896: eclipse observed
Observation failed in cloud
Library opened with donated books (town bulletin)

03 ／ Hilltop lookout

From a summit 172 m up,the town and the sea spread out.

Hilltop lookout in Esashi Town — Photo by Zoro kengo (CC BY-SA 4.0)

From the lookout on the summit, the town says, you can take in the Sea of Okhotsk, deep green mountains and the town of Esashi at once. A “Bell of Hope” is on the roof.

172 m above sea level
Sea, mountains and town in view
“Bell of Hope” on the roof

Esashi Town from the sky

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

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot September 2024)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／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

No station; two towns made one.

about 8,000 people
Rural district town

There is no railway station in the town, which was formed on March 20, 2006 by merging the old Esashi Town and Utanobori Town. The town lists Soya Bus services from Sapporo (about 5 hours 30 minutes) and from Asahikawa (about 3 hours 30 minutes).

People living here: 7,565people
Area: 1,115.62km²
Households: 3,515households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 3 clinics

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

Population from 2010 onward (municipal boundary changed).2006-03-20 に新設合併（歌登町）。2010年調査から市域が変わっている。

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 5 municipalities.

Esashi Town in Japan44.939°N 142.581°E

Territory of Esashi 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

53.5km

Nakatonbetsu Town, Bifuka Town, Oumu Town, Otoineppu Village, Hamatonbetsu Town

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

Esashi Town isthis kind of town.

01The Menashidomari Site finds, a set from the Okhotsk culture period, are a national Important Cultural Property, 319 items designated. All six warabite swords among the ironwork were grave goods, thought to have been made in the northern half of the Tohoku region
02The town has Kitami Kamui Cape, called Cape of the Gods in Ainu, a library said to have begun in the friendship from an eclipse watch, and a 172 m lookout over the Sea of Okhotsk
03The town has no railway station; it was formed in 2006 by merging old Esashi and Utanobori, and the town lists Soya Bus services from Sapporo and Asahikawa

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Esashi Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes