hamanaka
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Mitsugu Kawamorita speaks about how tsunamis carrying ice hit the town of Hamanaka in Hokkaido in March 1952 after a major earthquake. Eleven years have passed since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, and the Kushiro and Nemuro regions of eastern Hokkaido still urgently need to draw up disaster prevention measures for the midwi...
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Eighth newborn sea otter cub confirmed at Cape Kiritappu
Oct. 12, 2021The Cape Kiritappu (Cape Tofutsu) in the town of Hamanaka in Eastern Hokkaido's Kushiro region is gradually becoming a breeding area for the sea otter, which is an endangered species. And on September 14, the eighth newborn sea otter cub was confirmed to have been born on the coast of the Cape. At the time of discovery, the newborn cub was assumed to be several days old, and it was covered with soft brown fur. It sat atop its mother's stomach, squealing and suckling. Currently, two female sea otters are raising cubs at the Cape. They can be observed, but the mothers are extremely alert, so observers must take care to not make noise and hide in the grass.
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The early life of a female sea otter born in April 2020 off Cape Kiritappu in Hamanaka, eastern Hokkaido, has been documented in a crowdfunded book published by local resident Yoshihiro Kataoka.
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Upgrade to “Akkeshi Kiritappu Kombumori” Quasi-National Park
April 17, 2021On March 30, the Ministry of the Environment upgraded the Akkeshi Prefectural Natural Park (in Akkeshi, Kushiro and Hamanaka in the Kushiro region of eastern Hokkaido) to a quasi-national park, and designated it the Akkeshi Kiritappu Kombumori Quasi-national Park.
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Sea otter swims leisurely amidst ocean pancake ice
Feb. 24, 2021On February 4 at Cape Kiritappu in the town of Hamanaka in eastern Hokkaido, a sea otter was seen swimming amidst pancake ice patches where the seawater surface had frozen.
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"Hamanaka Farm Sea Urchin" shipped nationwide under unified brand name with Lupin popularity backing
Dec. 12, 2020In an effort to shine a public relations spotlight on the highest quality in kelp-fed farm-raised sea urchin of the Strongylocentrotus intermedius species, a Council made up of members including the town government of eastern Hokkaido's Hamanaka Town has unified sea urchin products under the brand name "Hamanaka Yoshoku Uni" (Hamanaka Farm Sea Urchin). The Council started shipping product nationwide under this brand name in November.
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Warmer waters bring new types of fish to Hokkaido
Dec. 1, 2020The fishery scene on the Hokkaido coast is seeing changes, possibly due to climate change. Catches of Pacific saury and Pacific flying squid, long caught in the waters around Hokkaido, have dwindled. Fishermen are finding more species usually captured in warmer waters, such as dolphinfish, in their fishing nets. Fishermen and seafood processors are being forced to adopt to the change that experts believe the rise in sea temperature in recent years may be behind.