Akkeshi, Hokkaido

Template:Infobox city Japan

Akkeshi (厚岸村, Akkeshi-mura) is a village located in Kushiro Subprefecture, Hokkaido. As of February 2019, it has an estimated population of 9,396, 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.

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.^[1]

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.^[2] 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.