Rebun, Hokkaido

Rebun
Rebun ; 礼文町
	Town
	Flag Seal
	Location of Rebun in Hokkaido
	Rebun Location in Japan
	Coordinates: 45°18′N 141°3′E
Country	Japan
Region	Hokkaido
Prefecture	Hokkaido
District	Rebun District
Area
• Total	81.33 km2 (31.40 sq mi)
Population (September 30, 2016)
• Total	2,651
• Density	33/km2 (84/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address	558-5 Aza Tonnai, Ōaza Kafuka-mura, Hokkaidō; 097-1201
Website	www.town.rebun.hokkaido.jp
	Symbols
Bird	Japanese robin
Flower	Leontopodium discolor (ezo-usuyuki-sō)
Tree	Juniperus 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

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).

Demographics

As of September 30, 2016, the town has an estimated population of 2,651 and a density of 33 persons per km². The total area is 81.33 km².

Arts and culture

Rebun hosts a flower festival every year.[2]

Airspace violations

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

Ohasama, Iwate (Currently Hanamaki)
Yutaka, Hiroshima (Currently Kure)

References

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.
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.

External links

Media related to Rebun, Hokkaidō at Wikimedia Commons
Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park travel guide from Wikivoyage
Official Website (in Japanese)

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[Hunt-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.

[Bisignani-2] 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.