Kitami, city in northern Japan on northeastern Hokkaido Island. Kitami is located on the Tokoro River near the center of Kitami Basin and is the commercial center of a productive agricultural region. Its main industries are sugar refining, flour milling, and dairy farming, as well as peppermint and menthol production. The nearby Kitami Mountains provide timber for the city's sawmill industry. Other industries include furniture and pulp manufacturing. Kitami's port city is Abashiri, about 40 km (about 25 mi) northeast of Kitami on the Sea of Okhotsk on Hokkaido's north coast. Kitami was founded in 1897 as part of an agricultural colonization program by the Japanese government. Its first settlers were colonist-militia families (tondenhei) who had been sent to Hokkaido to protect Japanese claims from Russian expansion. Population (1999) 110,433.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Kitami Information info
|
