1.Oketo, Hokkaido | ||||||
Oketo (置戸町, Oketo-chō) is a town located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The name Oketo is derived from the original Ainu name for the tributary entering the Tokoro River. "O-ket-un-nai" means the river at whose mouth there are drying/stretching frames for animal skins.As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 3,042 and a population density of 5.8 persons per km². The total area is 527.54 km². Oketo was originally a logging community, and is currently involved in farming as well. Popular crops include potatoes, white flower beans and beets. Dairy farming and cattle farming are also practiced. Oketo was the tug-of-war champion of Japan for a number of years in the 1960s. That tradition of showing strength continues today in the Ningen Banba festival which is held in July every year. During the Ningen Bamba, teams of 5 or 7 men pull sleds of logs over man-made hills to the finish line. | ||||||
population:2,674人 area:527.27km2 | ||||||
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1.Tokoro River | ||||||
Tokoro River (常呂川, Tokoro-gawa) is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan. The Tokoro River, which has its source in Mt. Mikuni (alt. 1,541 m), flows through Oketo and Kunneppu towns and into the Sea of Okhotsk from Kitami City.[1] Many white-tailed eagles and Steller’s sea eagles that have been designated as protected species by the national government are observed in its basin. A colony of purple azalea designated as a natural monument by the Hokkaido government and a forest of large-diameter Japanese elm trees along the Muka River, which flows parallel to the Tokoro River, are symbols of the region. At the Tokoro River Estuary Site, relics, remains of pit-dwellings and tomb pits from the Jomon era have been found.[2] | ||||||
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