Kushiro

This article is about the city. For the town, see Kushiro, Hokkaido (town). For the district, see Kushiro District, Hokkaido. For the subprefecture, its same name, see Kushiro Subprefecture.

Kushiro (釧路市, Kushiro-shi) is a city in Kushiro Subprefecture on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. Located along the coast of the North Pacific Ocean, it serves as the subprefecture's capital and it is the most populated city in the eastern part of the island.

Kushiro 釧路市
City
Top：Kushiro Wetland Park 2nd left：Nusamai Bridge, 2nd right：Lake Akan and Mount Oakan 3rd left：Kushiro Ramen, 3rd right：Port of Kushiro
Flag Emblem
Location of Kushiro in Hokkaido (Kushiro Subprefecture)
Kushiro Location in Japan
Coordinates: 42°59′N 144°23′E
Country	Japan
Region	Hokkaido
Prefecture	Hokkaido (Kushiro Subprefecture)
Government
• Mayor	Hidenori Tsuruma
Area
• Total	1,362.90 km2 (526.22 sq mi)
Population  (January 31, 2024)
• Total	157,288
• Density	120/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	7-5 Kuroganechō, Kushiro-shi, Hokkaido 085-8505
Website	www.city.kushiro.lg.jp
Symbols
Flower	Nasturtium
Mascot	Rin-chan (りんちゃん)
Tree	Syringa reticulata

History

An Imperial decree in July 1899 established Kushiro as an open port for trading with the United States and the United Kingdom.^[1]

Kushiro had been an important port because it is more reliably ice-free during winter than alternative Russian Far East warm-water ports such as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky or other ports in Hokkaido such as Hakodate, which occasionally freeze for short periods due to the lower salinity of the Sea of Japan. For this reason, Kushiro was considered a valuable target for the Tsars during the Russo-Japanese Wars. Its importance grew during the 1920s with the growth of commercial fishing, for which its reliable freedom from ice reduced costs.^[2]

In addition to its port, Kushiro is serviced by Kushiro Airport with flights from Honshu and by the Ōzora limited express train service, which runs six times per day to the main population centres in the west of Hokkaido.

In July 1945 the city of Kushiro was bombed by American naval aircraft; hundreds of people, mostly civilians, were killed.^[3] Following the Invasion of the Kuril Islands in August 1945, Kushiro was favoured by the Russians as the eastern cornerstone of a border between an American-occupied south and a Soviet-occupied north-coupled with Rumoi as the western cornerstone. However, these plans were cancelled after pressure by US President Harry S. Truman.^[4][5][6][7]

On October 11, 2005, the town of Akan, from Akan District, and the town of Onbetsu, from Shiranuka District, was merged into Kushiro. The town of Shiranuka now lies between the two sections of Kushiro.

In 2008, the city had an estimated population of 189,539 and a total area of 1,362.75 km² (526.16 sq mi), giving a population density of 140 persons per km² (363 persons per sq. mi.).

Kushiro was one of the many Japanese cities to receive a Peace Pagoda. Built by the monks and nuns of the Buddhist order Nipponzan Myohoji, it was inaugurated in 1959.

Kushiro was accorded city status on August 1, 1922. It is the sister city of Burnaby, British Columbia; Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia; and Kholmsk, Russia.^[8]

• 1869: Kusuri becomes Kushiro.
• 1900: Kushiro becomes a First Class Municipality as Kushiro Town.
• 1920: Kushiro Town becomes Kushiro-ku. Kushiro Village (now Town) splits off.
• 1922: Kushiro-ku becomes Kushiro City.
• 1949: Tottori-cho was merged into Kushiro City.
• 2005: The old city of Kushiro City, Akan Town, and Onbetsu Town merged was expanded city of Kushiro City.

Geography

Train passing through Kushiro Wetlands, in Hokkaido, Japan

Kushiro Marsh

Central business district of Kushiro City

City central

Mountains

• Mount Akan-Fuji
• Mount Meakan
• Mount Oakan

Rivers

• Akan River
• Kushiro River
• Shitakara River

Lakes

• Lake Akan
• Lake Harutori
• Lake Panketō
• Lake Penketō
• Lake Shunkushitakara

National Parks

• Akan National Park
• Kushiro-shitsugen National Park

Climate

Kushiro has a humid continental climate (Dfb) but its winter temperatures are less severe than those of inland East Asia at the same latitude. Its port is the most reliably ice-free throughout winter in all of Hokkaido, due to the lack of indentation in the coastline and absence of large inflows of cold fresh water nearby. It is also markedly sunnier than the extremely gloomy Kuril Islands to its north, being sheltered by Hokkaido's mountains from the heavy snowfalls produced on the Sea of Japan side by the Aleutian Low. It receives only a third as much snowfall as Sapporo and almost twice as much sunshine as the Kuril Islands are estimated to. Its daytime summer temperatures are noticeably cooler than in the interior, sheltered coastal areas and the south coast of Hokkaido.

Climate data for Kushiro/Kenebetsu weather station, 14m amsl (WMO identifier: 47418) 1991−2020 normals, extremes 1910−present
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	7.6 (45.7)	7.9 (46.2)	15.9 (60.6)	23.5 (74.3)	28.0 (82.4)	32.4 (90.3)	33.5 (92.3)	31.1 (88.0)	29.6 (85.3)	23.7 (74.7)	18.7 (65.7)	16.1 (61.0)	33.5 (92.3)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−0.2 (31.6)	−0.1 (31.8)	3.3 (37.9)	8.0 (46.4)	12.6 (54.7)	15.8 (60.4)	19.6 (67.3)	21.5 (70.7)	20.1 (68.2)	15.1 (59.2)	8.9 (48.0)	2.5 (36.5)	10.6 (51.1)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−4.8 (23.4)	−4.3 (24.3)	−0.4 (31.3)	4.0 (39.2)	8.6 (47.5)	12.2 (54.0)	16.1 (61.0)	18.2 (64.8)	16.5 (61.7)	11.0 (51.8)	4.7 (40.5)	−1.9 (28.6)	6.7 (44.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−9.8 (14.4)	−9.4 (15.1)	−4.2 (24.4)	0.7 (33.3)	5.4 (41.7)	9.5 (49.1)	13.6 (56.5)	15.7 (60.3)	12.9 (55.2)	6.1 (43.0)	−0.3 (31.5)	−7.0 (19.4)	2.8 (37.0)
Record low °C (°F)	−28.3 (−18.9)	−27.0 (−16.6)	−24.8 (−12.6)	−14.1 (6.6)	−4.6 (23.7)	−0.4 (31.3)	3.3 (37.9)	5.4 (41.7)	−2.2 (28.0)	−6.9 (19.6)	−15.2 (4.6)	−25.7 (−14.3)	−28.3 (−18.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	40.4 (1.59)	24.8 (0.98)	55.9 (2.20)	79.4 (3.13)	115.7 (4.56)	114.2 (4.50)	120.3 (4.74)	142.3 (5.60)	153.0 (6.02)	112.7 (4.44)	64.7 (2.55)	56.6 (2.23)	1,080.1 (42.52)
Average snowfall cm (inches)	32 (13)	27 (11)	31 (12)	7 (2.8)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	0 (0)	4 (1.6)	26 (10)	127 (50)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.5 mm)	6.4	5.6	8.1	9.8	11.3	10.2	11.5	11.8	11.8	8.7	8.0	7.7	110.8
Average relative humidity (%)	67	69	71	77	80	87	88	87	84	76	69	67	77
Mean monthly sunshine hours	186.7	183.1	200.8	182.2	177.5	126.8	118.9	117.6	143.9	177.0	167.6	175.6	1,957.6
Percentage possible sunshine	65	63	55	45	39	27	25	28	39	53	58	62	47
Average ultraviolet index	1	2	3	5	7	8	8	7	5	3	2	1	4
Source 1: Japan Meteorological Agency,[9] (December record high)[10]
Source 2: Weather Atlas (UV)[11]

Climate data for Kushiro Airport weather station, 94.8m amsl (WMO identifier: 47489) 1985−2015 dewpoints
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average dew point °C (°F)	−11 (12)	−10 (14)	−6 (21)	−1 (30)	5 (41)	10 (50)	15 (59)	17 (63)	13 (55)	6 (43)	−2 (28)	−8 (18)	2 (36)
Source: Time and Date[12]

Graphs are temporarily unavailable due to technical issues. See or edit raw graph data.

Education

Universities

National

• Hokkaido University of Education, Kushiro Campus

Public

• Kushiro Public University of Economics

Colleges

National

• National Institute of Technology, Kushiro college

Private

• Kushiro junior College

High schools

Public

• Hokkaido Akan High School (Municipal)
• Hokkaido Kushiro Commercial High School
• Hokkaido Kushiro Hokuyo High School
• Hokkaido Kushiro Konan High School
• Hokkaido Kushiro Koryo High School
• Hokkaido Kushiro Meiki High School
• Hokkaido Kushiro Technical High School

Private

• Bushukan High School
• Ikegami Gakuen High School, Kushiro Campus

Transportation

Airways

Airport

• Kushiro Airport

Railways

Conventional lines

Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaidō)

• Nemuro Main Line : Chok- Onbetsu - (Shiranuka, Hokkaido) - Otanoshike - Shin-Otanoshike - Shin-Fuji - Kushiro - Higashi-Kushiro - Musa
• Senmō Main Line : Higashi-Kushiro

Japan Freight Railway Company (JR Freight)

• Nemuro Main Line: Kushiro Freight Terminal

Taiheiyō Coal Services

• Rinkō Line

Roads

Expressways

• Dōtō Expressway
• Kushiro Sotokan Road

Japan National Route

• National Route 38
• National Route 44
• National Route 240
• National Route 241
• National Route 274
• National Route 391

Bus

Local bus

Operates both city, suburban, and intercity routes

• Akan Bus
• Kushiro Bus

Seaways

Seaport

• Port of Kushiro

• 
  Kushiro Airport
• 
  Kushiro Station
• 
  Kushiro-nishi IC
• 
  Port of Kushiro

Sightseeing

Local attractions

• Itsukushima Jinja
• Kushiro Wetland Park
• Kushiro City Museum
• Lake Akan
  • Lake Akan Kotan
• Manabot Nusamai
  • Kushiro City Museum of Art
• Moshiriya Chashi (Castle)
• Tottori Jinja

• 
  Lake Akan
• 
  Lake Akan Kotan
• 
  Manabot Nusamai
• 
  Tottori Jinja

Culture

Kushiro Ice Arena

Rin-chan, the city's mascot

Sports

Ice hockey

Ice hockey is one of the most popular winter sports in Kushiro. In addition to several leagues devoted to amateur play of all ages, Kushiro is home to the Asia League Ice Hockey Nippon Paper Cranes, three time Asia League Champions.

Kushiro and many other cities are interested in hosting bandy teams.^[13] On January 8, 2017, the township of Akan hosted the first national championship,^[14] although the size of the field was a smaller version than the official rules for a bandy field. In January 2018, the first championship on a full-sized field took place in Shintoku, with participation from three teams, including FACEOFF Kushiro.^[15] The national team for women is based in Kushiro and made its World Championship debut in 2020.^[16]

• East Hokkaido Cranes (Asia League Ice Hockey)
• Kushiro Bears (Women's Japan Ice Hockey League)
• Daishin (Women's Japan Ice Hockey League)

The Kushiro Ice Arena is the city's biggest stadion for ice hockey, figure skating and shorttrack.^[17]

Speed skating

The Yanagimachi Speed Skating Rink hosted the 2003 World Junior Speed Skating Championships and several Japanese Championships. It has an asphalt inline speed skating track on the middle field.

Mascot

Kushiro's mascot is Rin-chan (りんちゃん). She is a gentiana triflora flower (though she represents all flowers) from Onbetsu. Her favourite drink is milk.^[18]

External relations

Kushiro Tourism and International Relations Center

Sister cities

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in Japan

International

Sister cities

City	Country	State	since
Burnaby	Canada	British Columbia	1965
Kholmsk	Russia	Sakhalin Oblast	1975

Partner cities

City	Country	State	since
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky	Russia	Kamchatka Krai	1998

Domestic

Sister cities

City	Prefecture	region	since
Yuzawa	Akita	Tōhoku region	October 4, 1963
Tottori	Tottori	Chūgoku region	October 4, 1963
Okayama	Okayama	Chūgoku region	October 9, 1980

Partner cities

City	Prefecture	region	since
Yachiyo	Chiba	Kantō region	1982
Izumi	Kagoshima	Kyushu region	August 22, 1989
Tsuru	Yamanashi	Chūbu region	September 1, 1992
Naka (Naka District)	Tokushima	Shikoku region	September 2, 2006

Sister ports

Port of Kushiro's sister ports are:

• Port of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States (since 1984)
• Port Stephens, New South Wales, Australia (since 1994)^[19]

Notable people

• Kazuhiko Chiba, footballer
• Yutaka Fukufuji, ice hockey goaltender
• Yukinobu Hoshino, manga artist
• Akira Ifukube, composer
• Keisuke Itagaki, manga artist
• Saori Kitakaze, sprinter
• Satoshi Kon, anime film director
• Luna H. Mitani, visual artist
• Hiromi Nagakura, photographer
• Maki Nomiya, singer (Pizzicato Five)
• Shinji Somai, film director
• Aina Takeuchi, ice hockey defenseman
• Kazuro Watanabe, astronomer