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Rebun, Hokkaido

Coordinates: 45°18′N 141°3′E / 45.300°N 141.050°E / 45.300; 141.050
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rebun
礼文町
Town
Kafuka Port in Rebun
Kafuka Port in Rebun
Flag of Rebun
Official seal of Rebun
Location of Rebun in Hokkaido
Location of Rebun in Hokkaido
Rebun is located in Japan
Rebun
Rebun
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 45°18′N 141°3′E / 45.300°N 141.050°E / 45.300; 141.050
CountryJapan
RegionHokkaido
PrefectureHokkaido
DistrictRebun District
Area
 • Total81.33 km2 (31.40 sq mi)
Population
 (September 30, 2016)
 • Total2,651
 • Density33/km2 (84/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address558-5 Aza Tonnai, Ōaza Kafuka-mura, Hokkaidō
097-1201
ClimateDfb
Websitewww.town.rebun.hokkaido.jp
Symbols
BirdJapanese robin
FlowerLeontopodium discolor (ezo-usuyuki-sō)
TreeJuniperus chinensis

Rebun (礼文町, Rebun-chō) is a town located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The district and town both cover the island of the same name: Rebun Island. Rebun Island is famous for its alpine flowers.

Geography

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The town covers the entire area of Rebun Island in the Sea of Japan. Rebun is located approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Wakkanai on mainland Hokkaido and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) northwest of Rishiri Island. The entire island is part of the Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park. Lake Kushu and Mount Rebun (Rebun's highest point) are located in the town.

Rebun is well known for its 300 species of alpine flowers, some of which are endemic to the island. For this it has earned the moniker the island of flowers.[1] Such flowers include: Cypripedium macranthum Sw. var. rebunense (Kudo) Miyabe et Kudo (Rebun atsumori-sō).

Climate

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Climate data for Rebun, 2003–2020 normals, extremes 2004–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 6.9
(44.4)
6.7
(44.1)
11.0
(51.8)
17.4
(63.3)
20.8
(69.4)
24.6
(76.3)
29.9
(85.8)
30.5
(86.9)
29.0
(84.2)
22.3
(72.1)
15.5
(59.9)
10.9
(51.6)
30.5
(86.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −2.7
(27.1)
−2.1
(28.2)
1.7
(35.1)
6.6
(43.9)
11.6
(52.9)
15.9
(60.6)
20.4
(68.7)
22.6
(72.7)
20.5
(68.9)
13.9
(57.0)
6.1
(43.0)
−0.3
(31.5)
9.5
(49.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) −4.6
(23.7)
−4.3
(24.3)
−0.4
(31.3)
4.1
(39.4)
8.5
(47.3)
12.8
(55.0)
17.3
(63.1)
19.7
(67.5)
17.4
(63.3)
11.2
(52.2)
3.6
(38.5)
−2.4
(27.7)
6.9
(44.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −6.5
(20.3)
−6.4
(20.5)
−2.4
(27.7)
1.8
(35.2)
6.0
(42.8)
10.3
(50.5)
14.9
(58.8)
17.3
(63.1)
14.5
(58.1)
8.4
(47.1)
1.2
(34.2)
−4.5
(23.9)
4.6
(40.2)
Record low °C (°F) −15.8
(3.6)
−17.1
(1.2)
−9.6
(14.7)
−5.7
(21.7)
0.2
(32.4)
4.0
(39.2)
8.1
(46.6)
10.9
(51.6)
5.8
(42.4)
−1.1
(30.0)
−11.4
(11.5)
−13.4
(7.9)
−17.1
(1.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 73.4
(2.89)
51.6
(2.03)
44.1
(1.74)
49.2
(1.94)
79.7
(3.14)
84.6
(3.33)
101.0
(3.98)
138.6
(5.46)
131.1
(5.16)
100.4
(3.95)
98.4
(3.87)
91.5
(3.60)
1,043.6
(41.09)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 17.9 14.4 10.9 8.7 9.7 9.6 7.5 8.9 10.5 11.6 12.9 16.2 138.8
Mean monthly sunshine hours 47.5 72.2 153.8 192.7 170.4 125.9 126.5 154.2 186.7 159.6 82.0 42.5 1,514.3
Source 1: JMA[2]
Source 2: JMA[3]

Demographics

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Per Japanese census data,[4] the population of Rebun has declined in recent decades.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
2000 3,856—    
2010 3,078−20.2%
2020 2,509−18.5%

Arts and culture

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Rebun hosts a flower festival every year.[5]

Mascot

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Atsumon, the town's mascot

Rebun's mascot is Atsumon (あつもん), who is a Rebun lady's slipper orchid (a type of the large-flowered cypripedium orchid species). As a flower, its gender is unknown, but its feelings are gentle and calm. It is known to like nature. Its heart (its charm point) is actually the seed of happiness from fourteen different native flowers. However, it will not tolerate anyone harming nature (especially seedlings). If damage is done to nature, its heart will stop beating. It was unveiled in September 2012.[6]

Airspace violations

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With its location in the far north of Japan, Rebun has been the site of the most violations of Japanese airspace. From 1967 to 2017 14 of the 39 violations of Japanese airspace have been near Rebun. This is the most of any location in Japan. They were all by either Soviet aircraft during the Cold War or by Russian aircraft after 1991.

Sister cities

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References

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  1. ^ Hunt, Paul (1988). "Rishiri-san". Hiking in Japan: An Adventurer's Guide to the Mountain Trails (First ed.). Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd. pp. 191–192. ISBN 0-87011-893-5.
  2. ^ 観測史上1~10位の値(年間を通じての値). JMA. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  3. ^ 気象庁 / 平年値(年・月ごとの値). JMA. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  4. ^ Rebun population statistics
  5. ^ Bisignani, J. D. (December 1993). "Dohoku-Northern Hokkaido". In Taran March (ed.). Japan Handbook (Second ed.). Chico, CA USA: Moon Publications, Inc. pp. 836–841. ISBN 0-918373-70-0.
  6. ^ "りしりんプロフィール". Rishiri.
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