Article

01607 ／うらかわちょう

Hokkaido 浦河郡

Urakawa Town

A mountain road saved about 50 minutes.

Nozuka Tunnel, Tenma Kaido

Photo by Highten31 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Building

The building that was Sekishinsha's officealso served as a public hall and village office.

According to the town's official site, the Sekishinsha Memorial Hall was newly built in 1888 as the Ogifushi branch office of Sekishinsha. In 1918 it was donated to Ogifushi Village and became a public hall, and from 1925 it served as the village office building. In 1954 it moved to its present site.

Newly built in 1888 as Sekishinsha's office
Used as Ogifushi Village Office from 1925

02 ／ Notable trees

A mizunara oak that escaped felling during land clearinghas a stone monument that seems to speak for the tree.

The Urakawa Tourism Association's guide to notable trees introduces the Ogifushi Pioneer Memorial Mizunara, which escaped felling when land was cleared after the Sekishinsha settlers arrived in 1882. A stone monument erected in 1983 is inscribed as if the tree itself were speaking.

The mizunara escaped felling during land clearing in 1882
Stone monument erected in 1983

03 ／ Votive plaques

Urakawa Shrine keeps ship votive plaquesoffered by merchant vessels.

The town's official "Urakawa Hyakuwa" records that Urakawa Shrine holds nearly fifty plaques and ema, not counting those from the Meiji era onward. A ship votive plaque from the merchant vessel Matsuo Maru, which called in 1839, appears to be the earliest by commoners, and shows a brightly colored cargo ship.

Nearly fifty plaques and ema, excluding Meiji and later
Matsuo Maru's 1839 ship plaque appears to be the earliest

Urakawa 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 2019)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 railway station in town; the Town Office is the gateway.

about 10,000 people
Rural district town

There is no JR Hokkaido station in the town, and the gateway is the Urakawa Town Office. Donan Bus runs the Pegasus express bus to Sapporo. The Urakawa Tourism Association cites a maritime climate that is cool in summer, mild in winter and light on snow, and says the town is also called the "Shonan of Hokkaido".

People living here: 12,074people
Area: 694.3km²
Households: 5,936households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 8 clinics

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

Children waiting for childcare: —7 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.

Urakawa Town in Japan42.168°N 142.768°E

Territory of Urakawa 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

36.8km

Shinhidaka Town, Samani Town, Hiroo Town, Taiki Town

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

Urakawa Town isthis kind of town.

01The 4,232 m Nozuka Tunnel carries Route 236, called Tenma Kaido, through the Hidaka Range, cutting about 50 minutes between Hidaka and Tokachi
02The Sekishinsha Memorial Hall is the office Sekishinsha built in 1888, later used as a public hall and village office building
03There is no station in town and the gateway is the Town Office; Urakawa Shrine keeps ship votive plaques and Ogifushi has a notable mizunara oak

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Urakawa Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes