Tobetsu has a population of around 15,000. Its economy revolves mostly around the agrarian sector, but it has a very modern construction industry and great hospitality. To the South is the Ishikari plain, whilst to the North it gets a bit more mountainous; Tobetsu Dam and the river beyond it are particularly scenic.
Recent posts: Tobetsu's Entrepreneurs, Tobetsu Festivals
Samurai History
Tobetsu is one of the few towns in Hokkaido that was founded by a Samurai.
Date Kuninao was the Daimyo (Lord) of a sub-fief in what is now Miyagi Prefecture, called Iwadeyama. He was on the losing side of the Boshin War that fought against the Meiji Government. When they won and cut Samurai stipends, he feared for the livelihoods of his retainers.
Seeing opportunity in the kingdom’s northern frontier, Hokkaido, he and 160 ventured northwards by boat to defend the territory against invading Russians, settle the land, and, in so doing, restore the honour of the name of those samurai who had been on the losing side. Between 1870, when he founded Tobetsu, and 1891, when he died, he established an elementary school, a shrine, a code of local laws, and even had an audience with the Emperor.
Despite the hard winters and issues with barren soil, Tobetsu became a hugely productive agrarian settlement that valued education and community. If you’re interested in seeing the real objects from the time of Date Kuninao, you absolutely have to go to the Date Memorial Museum. Tucked away opposite the Tobetsu Shrine, it holds Edo-period kimonos, beautiful examples of Samurai calligraphy and weapons, and has lovely and knowledgeable staff (though currently they only have Japanese-speaking staff). It is truly a gem.
Modern Culture: Ice-Cream Loving Bikers?
Like most of Hokkaido, Tobetsu has great ice-cream. Not only do all the convenience stores stock delicious and cheap corn ice cream (Tōkibi Aisu) and Watermelon flavoured popsicles (Suica Baa), which you can’t find elsewhere in the country, but there are also many Soft-Serve Ice-cream places (check Where to eat). The smooth roads and scenery of Tobetsu lend it to motorbiking, and, perhaps because you get very hot motorbiking in the summer, the Tobetsu biking community and the soft-serve community considerably overlap; this is epitomised by No Soft No Life.
Religion
Tobetsu has a main Shinto shrine (Tobetsu Shrine), as well as a number of Temples and a Christian Church. Christianity came to the town through a man called Arato Takuya, who grew up here in one of the first families that inhabited the area, before becoming a scholar, converting to Christianity and then becoming a missionary. His missionary work took him as far as Okinawa and Taiwan. There is a display on his life in the Date Memorial Museum.
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To learn more about the entrepreneurs shaking up life in Tobetsu, see this recent post: Tobetsu's Entrepreneurs