Hotels in Obihiro, Japan

A little about Obihiro...

Obihiro is a city located in Tokachi, Hokkaidō, Japan.

Obihiro is the only city in the Tokachi area. The next most populous municipality in Tokachi is the town of Otofuke, with less than a third of Obihiro's population.

The city has a relatively large number of foreign residents (approximately 500 as of 2006), and has an entire section of its government dedicated to international issues and relations.

The city contains the headquarters of the fifth division of the northern army of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.

It also hosts the Rally Japan World Rally Championship-event.

The Tokachi-Obihiro Airport is located to the southeast of downtown Obihiro, but is still within the city's borders. It takes 30 minutes by car or 40 minutes by bus from Obihiro Station to the airport. The next major airport nearby is the New Chitose Airport (Shin-chitose kūkō?). From Obihiro, it takes 2hrs 30min to get New Chitose Airport by train and just over 3 hours to get there by car. Both airports have direct flights to and from Haneda Airport.

Food: Obihiro is famous for pork meat glazed in a special sauce on rice, which is called butadon and mutton, which is oddly named after Ghengis Khan and called jingiskan. It is also famous for potatœs and dairy products, which are common produce in Tokachi.

Major Festivals:
Obihiro has 3 major festivals: the Flat Plain Festival, the Chrysanthemum Festival, and the Ice Festival.

The Flat Plain Festival (heigen matsuri?)
Passing its 60th year in 2007, this festival spans 3 days in mid August during Obihiro's O-bon holiday season. The festival takes place on the downtown streets of Obihiro and includes a taiko drum performance that spans multiple city blocks with teams from all over Hokkaidō, an energetic night-time parade called Yume Furu Ya ("The night of raining dreams") which expresses hopes for a good harvest, and a 2 hour long O-bon dance that includes an open section for anyone to jump in and dance along with all the other groups who are competing for first prize.
The Chrysanthemum Festival (kiku matsuri?)
Held every year around the end of October, this 6 day festival celebrates an important flower in the Japanese culture. This festival features thousands of chrysanthemums on display in Obihiro's Central Park. In 2007, the festival will be held from October 30th to November 4th.
The Ice Festival (kōri matsuri?).
The cold weather and ice-caked roads of Obihiro can make it hard for people to go out and have fun in the winter, but this festival provides the residents of Obihiro and all of Tokachi to get out and enjoy the white snow of the season. There are fireworks and foodstands, and a pathway lined with various snow and ice sculptures. Some of the sculptures are of funny characters such as Anpanman, but other sculptures can be truly awe inspiring images of fantastic mythical figures.

The Kita no Yatai is an alleyway of unique foodstands that is open all year-round, and offers foods from many different countries. The atmosphere is great for getting to know the locals. Sitting on a small stool next to a complete stranger is far from awkward at the yatai. In fact, eating and drinking at the yatai is a rare opportunity to mix and mingle with people of all backgrounds, experience good food and good beverages of all types, and to just have a good time.