Haboro, Hokkaido


Haboro is a town located in Rumoi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.
As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 7,338. The total area is 472.49 km². The town administers the two islands of Yagishiri and Teuri.
Haboro was officially designated a town in 1921. The villages of Teuri and Yagishiri were merged into Haboro in 1955 and 1959, respectively.

Etymology

The name of the town is from the Ainu language, but of uncertain origin. Haboro may have originated with the Ainu language word hapuru, meaning "a soft sound", or haporopetsu, meaning "the basin of a large river".
In Japanese, the name of the town is written with ateji, or kanji characters used to phonetically represent native or borrowed words. The first,, means "feather" or "wings", and the second,, means "curtain" or "cloth".

Geography

Haboro faces the Sea of Japan. Much of the area of the town is within the Teshio Mountains, and much of the town is protected as a national forest. Mount Pisshiri is the highest point in the city at. Two rivers cross the town: the Haboro and the Chikubetsu.

Islands

The municipality of Haboro includes two sparsely populated islands in the Sea of Japan.
Haboro has a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. Precipitation is high throughout the year; the months from August to December are wetter than the rest of the year.

Transportation

Rail

Haboro was originally connected to other areas of Hokkaido by rail. The Japanese National Railways Haboro Line extended 141.1 km between Rumoi and Horonobe. Construction on the line dated to 1927, but it was discontinued in 1987 with establishment of JR Hokkaido during the privatization of Japanese National Railways.

Highway

Haboro is crossed by National Route 232, a national highway of Japan that ranges across western Hokkaido between Wakkanai and Rumoi. Teuri and Yagishiri have a single road surrounding the island.

Ferry

The islands of Yagishiri and Teuri are served by ferry from the Port of Haboro.

Port of Haboro

The Port of Haboro was established in March 1953. It is administered by the town.

Schools

High schools