Erimo, Hokkaido
Erimo
えりも | |
---|---|
Town | |
Coordinates: 42°0′58″N 143°8′54″E / 42.01611°N 143.14833°E | |
Country | Japan |
Region | Hokkaido |
Prefecture | Hokkaido (Hidaka Subprefecture) |
District | Horoizumi |
Area | |
• Total | 283.93 km2 (109.63 sq mi) |
Population (September 2016) | |
• Total | 4,954 |
• Density | 17/km2 (45/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+09:00 (JST) |
City hall address | 206 Jihon-chō, Erimo-chō, Horoizumi-gun, Hokkaidō 058-0292 |
Climate | Cfb |
Website | www |
Symbols | |
Flower | Rhododendron kaempferi (エゾヤマツツジ, ezo-yama-tsutsuji) |
Mascot | Windy-kun (ウインディーくん, Uindī-kun) |
Tree | Rhododendron fauriei (エリモシャクナゲ, erimo-shakunage) |
Erimo (えりも
Erimo is famous for its strong winds, kelp (konbu), and its scenic cape, Cape Erimo (Erimo-misaki). The cape was made famous by Shinichi Mori's enka song Erimo Misaki. It is supposed to be a romantic place to visit. The cape hosts a population of Kurile seals, as well as a museum dedicated to wind (kaze-no-yakata). Winds in Erimo are strong enough that in addition to two windmills on the cape, Erimo Elementary School (built in 2000) is completely powered by electricity generated by its own windmill. This is a common location in Hokkaido to view the first sunrise of the year, and hundreds of people from all over Japan brave the strong, cold wind to watch.
While the main industry is fishing (salmon and squid in particular), Erimo's most famous harvest is kelp which is harvested by most of the native residents during the summer months. The kelp is sold in Japan as Hidaka konbu, and Erimo has a museum in the main part of town dedicated to kelp and fishery.
The Hidaka Mountains come right down to the ocean at Erimo. For that reason, the road north to Hiroo had to be carved out of the rock. The road is known as the Golden Road (
Events[edit]
Cape Erimo is a popular place for the first sunrise of the new year and visitors come not only from Hokkaido but all around Japan. Additionally, since the building of the Museum of the Wind, tourists can enjoy watching the sunrise from within the museum's "Theatre of the Wind".
Mid-January holds the annual Pickling Competition. The housewives of Erimo battle in a competition of homemade pickles. The entrants compete for bragging rights with various pickles, such as sushi rice with pickled radish and sake lees, the locally produced salmon and sandfish.
In early March, the town holds a mini volleyball tournament. Volleyball is popular among the townspeople, and approximately 150 people participate in this tournament.
The Open Auto Camping and Park Golf Course at Hyakuninhama (
Shoya Sakura Park (
In Shinichi Mori's song Erimo Misaki there is a line which states Erimo's Spring is a Spring with nothing (
Erimo's Exciting Forest Creation Tree-Planting Ceremony (えりもワクワク
Starting in mid-July kelp harvesting begins. Fishing and kelp harvesting are a major industry for Erimo and so from mid-July until September many townspeople assist the harvest in the early morning and then go on to their regular jobs. On a clear day following a rainy day, it is not uncommon for many people to take a day off work/school to assist the harvest.
The Erimo Lighthouse Festival (えりも
In September, around the time that kelp harvesting is finished the townspeople have an Autumn Festival. Each district has their own festival in which men from around town carry a portable shrine throughout the city to pray to and give thanks to the Shinto gods of the town.
On the first Sunday of October the town has its Gifts from the Sea and Mountains Festival (えりも
Sports[edit]
Its volleyball prowess aside, Erimo has an outstanding youth judo program. Judo is included in the physical education curriculum at both the junior high school and the high school levels. The town is home to the upper elementary school level reigning champion of Hokkaido, who placed first in his category at the prefectural competition of 2015. Its team as a whole placed third overall in the same 2015 tournament. For consecutive years, Erimo's youth judo team has been invited to and competed on a national scale at the annual Tokyo youth judo tournament.
Climate[edit]
Erimo has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) bordering on the humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) type, with warm summers and cold winters. The surrounding waters result in cooler summers and milder winters than the mainland. The strong influence of the Tsushima current also produces significant seasonal lag, with August having the warmest daily mean, as well as September, October and December having warmer weather compared to July, June and March respectively.
Climate data for Cape Erimo, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1978–present | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 10.1 (50.2) |
7.0 (44.6) |
11.8 (53.2) |
14.4 (57.9) |
19.3 (66.7) |
22.3 (72.1) |
25.9 (78.6) |
28.5 (83.3) |
26.2 (79.2) |
23.3 (73.9) |
18.2 (64.8) |
13.6 (56.5) |
28.5 (83.3) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 0.2 (32.4) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
2.2 (36.0) |
6.1 (43.0) |
10.1 (50.2) |
13.6 (56.5) |
17.5 (63.5) |
19.9 (67.8) |
19.0 (66.2) |
14.7 (58.5) |
9.3 (48.7) |
3.3 (37.9) |
9.6 (49.4) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −1.8 (28.8) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
0.1 (32.2) |
3.4 (38.1) |
7.2 (45.0) |
11.1 (52.0) |
15.2 (59.4) |
17.7 (63.9) |
16.9 (62.4) |
12.5 (54.5) |
6.8 (44.2) |
1.0 (33.8) |
7.3 (45.2) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −4.0 (24.8) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
1.3 (34.3) |
5.0 (41.0) |
9.0 (48.2) |
13.4 (56.1) |
15.8 (60.4) |
14.9 (58.8) |
10.2 (50.4) |
4.2 (39.6) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
5.2 (41.4) |
Record low °C (°F) | −11.5 (11.3) |
−12.1 (10.2) |
−10.2 (13.6) |
−4.8 (23.4) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
3.4 (38.1) |
6.0 (42.8) |
10.5 (50.9) |
7.6 (45.7) |
2.3 (36.1) |
−5.1 (22.8) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−12.1 (10.2) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 24.3 (0.96) |
16.6 (0.65) |
35.9 (1.41) |
67.8 (2.67) |
99.5 (3.92) |
85.9 (3.38) |
128.8 (5.07) |
129.2 (5.09) |
137.8 (5.43) |
117.0 (4.61) |
85.6 (3.37) |
48.7 (1.92) |
977.1 (38.48) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 5.8 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 10.0 | 8.3 | 10.6 | 10.4 | 10.2 | 11.0 | 12.2 | 9.0 | 107.6 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 159.5 | 175.9 | 208.1 | 196.9 | 183.6 | 139.3 | 123.0 | 127.8 | 161.4 | 179.6 | 135.2 | 135.1 | 1,926.2 |
Source 1: JMA[3] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: JMA[4] |
Mascot[edit]
Erimo's mascot is Windy-kun (ウインディーくん, Uindī-kun). His name comes from Cape Erimo Kaze no Yakata. He is a harbor seal who wears a cape due to strong winds associated with the town. He is unveiled in 1997.[5]
External links[edit]
- Official Website (in Japanese)
References[edit]
- ^ "Hokkaido Hidaka Area Tourist Guide". Hidaka Subprefectural Bureau, Hokkaido Government. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ "Hokkaido Hidaka Area Tourist Guide". Hidaka Subprefectural Bureau, Hokkaido Government. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^
観測 史上 1~10位 の値 (年間 を通 じての値 ). JMA. Retrieved February 16, 2022. - ^
気象庁 /平年 値 (年 ・月 ごとの値 ). JMA. Retrieved February 16, 2022. - ^ "クルミちゃんのプロフィール(
日高 町 )". Erimo.