Shibecha, Hokkaido

Shibecha is located approximately in the center of Kushiro Subprefecture. It is approximately 40 kilometers northeast of central Kushiro. It the sixth largest town and village in Japan in terms of geographical area. The Kushiro River flows north and south through the town. The Kushiro Wetlands are located in the south. Nishibetsudake, at 800 meters, is the highest point in the town.

More than 200 prehistoric ruins have been identified within the town limits, indicating that people have lived here since the Jōmon period. Records by Matsuura Takeshiro and others indicate that Ainu people lived in settlements in Tōro and Nishibetsu during the Edo period. The name comes from the Ainu language name for the area where the current town is located, "Sipetcha" (si-pet-cha) (large, river, bank).

The Kushiro Penal Colony, the predecessor to Abashiri Prison, opened in 1885. The town was also home to a county office, a headman's office, and a branch office of the Bank of Japan, and at one time rivaled the size of Kushiro. At its peak, the number of prisoners serving sentences reached nearly 2,000, and they were involved in projects such as building the Kushiro-Abashiri road, constructing the Kushiro Railway, and mining sulfur at Atosanupuri (Ioyama) in Kawayu. In 1887, Hokkaido's second railway was built between Shibecha and Ioyama to transport sulfur from Ioyama. Sulfur was transshipped in Shibecha and then transported by water to Kushiro, but over mining led to resource depletion and mining was discontinued within nine years.

In 1901, Kushiro Penal Colony was abolished, and its functions were transferred to Abashiri. The population plummeted, partly due to the separation of Teshikaga Village in 1903, but the town regained its vitality with the establishment of the Military Horse Replacement Unit on the former penal colony site in 1908. Kumaushi Village (熊牛村) was formed in 1923; it was renamed Shibecha in 1929. The War Horse Replacement Unit was abolished in 1945, and part of the grounds and buildings were converted into Shibecha High School, which opened shortly after the war, while the remaining grounds were converted into farmland and other uses. The large size of Shibecha High School's grounds is due to these historical circumstances. Shibecha was raised to town status on November 1, 1950. In 1953 a large fire in front of Shibecha Station destroyed 104 houses.

Shibecha has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral town council of 13 members. Shibecha, as part of Kushiro Subprefecture, contributes one member to the Hokkaidō Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the Hokkaidō 7th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.^[4]

The main industry of Shibecha is dairy farming. While the number of farm households has been decreasing year by year, the number of dairy cows has been increasing and dairy farms are becoming larger in scale. In recent years, tourism development has progressed, centered on Lake Tōro in the south, and the Kushiro Shitsugen Norokko trolley train on the Senmo Main Line operates between Kushiro Station and Tōro Station. Canoeing is available on Lake Tōro, and in winter, the Steam Locomotive Winter Wetlands operates between Kushiro Station and Shibecha Station.

Shibecha has four public elementary schools, two public middle schools, two public combined elementary/middle schools and one public high school.^[5] Kyoto University's Faculty of Agriculture Experimental Forest is located in Shibetsu.^[6]

JR Hokkaido - Senmō Main Line

■ Isobunnai - Shibecha - Kayanuma - Tōro

• Lake Tōro
• Kushiro Wetlands
• Hokuto Site, National Historic Site^[7]

• Nobukatsu Fujioka, revisionist educator
• Keiko Takahashi, actress

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  Shibecha railway station
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  Lake Tōro
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  Kottaro wetlands
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  Shibecha Museum
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  Hokuto Historic Relics Exhibition Hall

Kushiro's mascots is Milkcook (ミルクック, Mirukukku) and Kurobe Happy (ハッピーくろべえ, Happī Kurobe). They are bovines with a strong sense of justice.^[8]

• Milkcook is a mild-mannered dairy cow. She is a chef who can cook fast. She will moo if she fails to cook something good. As a result of her cooking skills, she promotes hospitality in the town while promoting the importance of milk. She became mascot in Spring 2006.
• Kurobe Happy is an optimistic bull who loves matsuris. He wears a blue happi. As a result of his fascination of festivals, he promotes events in the town while promoting the importance of beef. He became mascot during the 2011 Fall Matsuri.