Tōbetsu, Hokkaido 2.46

is a town located in Ishikari, Hokkaido, Japan.As of September 2016, the town has an estimated population of 16,694, and a density of 39 persons per km². The total area is 422.71 km².GeographyLocated on the north part of Ishikari Subprefecture of Hokkaido, the shape of the municipality is elongated north to south. It overlaps with the catchment area of the Tōbetsu river approximately. Tōbetsu means "river from marsh" in Ainu language, and in Japanese it is called "Tōbetsu Gawa (river)". Low mountains occupy the northern area of the municipality. The southern area is a part of the Ishikari Plains.Sapporo, the largest city of Hokkaido, lies on southwest of Tōbetsu. The large river of Ishikari divided Tōbetsu from Sapporo until 1934, when the Sasshō Line railroad connected the two cities. Several more bridges built in the latter half of 20th century have further reduced the traffic obstacle. Tōbetsu has produced rice and recently flowers. Residential buildings are increasing modestly because of its better access to Sapporo.History1902 - Tōbetsu village was founded.1947 - Tōbetsu village became Tōbetsu town.Sister cities Leksand, Dalarna, Sweden (since 1987) Osaki, Miyagi (since 2000) Uwajima, Ehime (since 2009)