Shosanbetsu, Hokkaido
# Shosanbetsu, Hokkaido

Shosanbetsu (初山別村, Shosanbetsu-mura) is a village located in Rumoi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.

As of September 2016, the village has an estimated population of 1,249 and a density of 4.5 persons per $km^2.$ The total area is 280.04 $km^2.$ Shosanbetsu observatory is a planetarium-cum-astronomical observatory which is a popular attraction in this region.

Shosanbetsu was the hometown of famed bear hunter Yamamoto Heikichi, famous for his killing of the bear Kesagake.

## Climate

Climate data for Shosanbetsu (1991−2020 normals, extremes 1977−present) :

| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.2 (46.8) | 11.3 (52.3) | 15.4 (59.7) | 22.0 (71.6) | 27.4 (81.3) | 32.8 (91.0) | 33.2 (91.8) | 33.8 (92.8) | 32.0 (89.6) | 22.8 (73.0) | 19.4 (66.9) | 12.3 (54.1) | 33.8 (92.8) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −1.5 (29.3) | −1.0 (30.2) | 2.7 (36.9) | 8.9 (48.0) | 15.0 (59.0) | 18.9 (66.0) | 22.8 (73.0) | 24.2 (75.6) | 21.2 (70.2) | 14.9 (58.8) | 7.4 (45.3) | 1.0 (33.8) | 11.2 (52.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −4.6 (23.7) | −4.4 (24.1) | −0.6 (30.9) | 5.1 (41.2) | 10.6 (51.1) | 14.9 (58.8) | 19.0 (66.2) | 20.2 (68.4) | 16.7 (62.1) | 10.9 (51.6) | 4.2 (39.6) | −1.8 (28.8) | 7.5 (45.5) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −8.7 (16.3) | −9.1 (15.6) | −4.8 (23.4) | 0.7 (33.3) | 5.9 (42.6) | 10.8 (51.4) | 15.2 (59.4) | 16.3 (61.3) | 12.1 (53.8) | 6.4 (43.5) | 0.8 (33.4) | −5.0 (23.0) | 3.4 (38.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −25.4 (−13.7) | −27.7 (−17.9) | −24.2 (−11.6) | −8.7 (16.3) | −3.2 (26.2) | −0.3 (31.5) | 5.3 (41.5) | 5.8 (42.4) | 2.3 (36.1) | −3.2 (26.2) | −10.6 (12.9) | −20.8 (−5.4) | −27.7 (−17.9) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 56.7 (2.23) | 43.1 (1.70) | 46.5 (1.83) | 49.2 (1.94) | 72.2 (2.84) | 64.9 (2.56) | 128.8 (5.07) | 136.1 (5.36) | 135.9 (5.35) | 143.6 (5.65) | 135.3 (5.33) | 87.6 (3.45) | 1,109.6 (43.69) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 191 (75) | 148 (58) | 102 (40) | 11 (4.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 43 (17) | 164 (65) | 658 (259) |
| Average rainy days | 15.8 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 9.2 | 10.2 | 9.0 | 10.8 | 10.9 | 12.2 | 16.0 | 17.8 | 16.9 | 152.3 |
| Average snowy days | 20.3 | 17.4 | 14.0 | 1.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 4.9 | 16.7 | 74.8 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 51.2 | 75.8 | 137.3 | 175.6 | 199.5 | 177.3 | 170.4 | 177.4 | 175.5 | 123.8 | 52.0 | 31.4 | 1,543.9 |
| Source 1: JMA ||||||||||||||
| Source 2: JMA ||||||||||||||

## Mascot

Shosanbetsu's mascot is Syosamaru (しょさまる) who is an alien bear. Her ears resemble shooting stars. She wears a helmet that resembles the Shosanbetsu observatory, a necklace made of blue honeysuckle and a pochette that resembles a pufferfish. She was designed by Eiichi Shiozaki of Osaka.

