Akkeshi, Hokkaido

Akkeshi (厚岸町) is a town located in Kushiro Subprefecture, Hokkaido. As of April 30th, 2024, it has a population of 8,276, and an area of 734.82 km2. Lake Akkeshi is a Ramsar Site.

History

 * Edo period – Was a penal colony for the Matsumae-han.
 * 1900 – 4 towns and 7 villages combine, forming the town of Akkeshi.
 * 1917 – Inauguration of Akkeshi Railway Station.
 * 1935 - Japanese composer Akira Ifukube received the first prize for his first orchestral work 'Japanese Rhapsody' in an international contest for young composers promoted by Alexander Tcherepnin.
 * 1955 – The south half of the former Ota Village merges with Akkeshi.

Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Akkeshi has declined in recent decades.

Sights
Shinryu, the northern part of the town is linked to Honcho, the southern part, by a bridge offering a scenic view of the lagoon which separates both parts. The length of the bridge is 456 m.

Kokutai-ji is a Buddhist temple in Honcho which was founded in 1802. It is one of the oldest and most important temples of Hokkaido. The temple is operated by Rinzai school, one of three sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism. Missionary activities to convert the Ainu started here in 1804.

Traffic connections
Akkeshi is about 50 km east of Kushiro on the east coast of Hokkaido. The town is on Nemuro Sen railway line and can be reached by train from Kushiro and Nemuro several times a day. The railway station is in Shinryu. The nearest airport is in Kushiro.

Mascot
Akkeshi's mascot is Umiemon (うみえもん). He is a yōkai samurai from the sea. His chonmage is stylized like a sea urchin, his eyebrows resembles kelp, his nose is like the Japanese littleneck clam and his ears are like Sakhalin surf clams. His hakama is armored with scallops. The sode (spaulders) on his hakama resembled oysters. His weapon is the saury (when he wields it, it acts like a katana to give a powerful slap to his adversaries).