Kitami

Kitami (北見) is a city in Okhotsk, Hokkaido.

Understand
Kitami is an agricultural area, producing huge amounts of onions and mint in particular. Kitami is also the center of Okhotsk Subprefecture's economy. Kitami is the largest city in the subprefecture, and the second largest city in Eastern Hokkaido.

In 2006, the towns of Rubeshibe, Tanno and Tokoro merged with Kitami to form the current, larger city of Kitami. The city of Kitami extends from Daisetsu mountains in the east to the Okhotsk Sea in the west.

Tourist Information Site
The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site with integrated machine translation.

Plane
The Memambetsu Airport nearby. JAL and Air Do operate flights from Tokyo and Sapporo to Memambetsu. ANA operates flights from Nagoya to Memambetsu.

Hokkaido Kitami Bus operates an airport bus service from the center of Kitami that connects with each of the aforementioned flights. The bus ride is about 42 minutes long and costs &yen;1000 per person. Taxis are also available, but cost approximately &yen;7500 per car.

Train
The JR Sekihoku Main Line runs through Kitami Station as it travels from Sapporo to Abashiri. The Limited Express Okhotsk, servicing Kitami, runs 4 round trips from Sapporo to Abashiri daily. The trip from Sapporo to Kitami is around 4 hours and 35 minutes.

Bus
The Hokkaido Kitami Bus operates an intercity bus service.
 * Dreamint Okhotsk (ドリーミント オホーツク号) - Hokkaido Kitami Bus and Abashiri Bus co-operate this service. It runs through Kitami from Sapporo to Abashiri with 9-10 round trips per day. About 4 hours and 30 minutes and costs &yen;5190 from Sapporo to Kitami.
 * Express Sekihoku (特急石北号) - Runs from Kitami to Asahikawa via Onneyu Onsen and Sounkyo Onsen with 4 round trips per day. About 4 hours and 30 minutes and costs &yen;3500 to Asahikawa.
 * Express Senboku (特急釧北号) - Hokkaido Kitami Bus and Kushiro Bus co-operate this service. It runs from Kitami to Kushiro via Lake Akan with 2 round trips per day. The trip is about 3 hours and costs &yen;3300 to Kushiro.

Car
The Doto expressway arrives in Kitami from Obihiro in the south. National Route 39 goes through Kitami from Sapporo and Asahikawa in the west to Abashiri to the east.

By train
The JR Sekihoku Main Line runs through in the city. Local trains run every 1-2 hours.

The stations in the city from west to east are:

By bus
The Hokkaido Kitami Bus operates several routes in Kitami. In the Tokoro area, Abashiri Bus services several areas.

By car
There are many rental car providers in Kitami:
 * Eki
 * Nippon
 * Orix
 * Times
 * Toyota

Do

 * Curling. Kitami has become known as "the city of curling" through efforts by many including the local team Loco Solare.
 * Curling. Kitami has become known as "the city of curling" through efforts by many including the local team Loco Solare.

Go next

 * Daisetsuzan National Park
 * Engaru
 * Saroma
 * Abashiri - a capital city of the subprefecture
 * Ōzora - Memanbetsu Airport
 * Bihoro - Akan National Park
 * Tsubetsu
 * Kunneppu
 * Oketo
 * Kamikawa - Sounkyo Onsen