Obihiro

Population	163,084
Size	619.34 km2
Contact	https://www.city.obihiro.hokkaido.jp/
Location / Getting There	Obihiro is located in central Hokkaido to the south east. It is a 2 and a half hour drive east from Sapporo. By train it takes 3 hours 20 minutes on average.

Obihiro was the area first settled by Benzo Yoda in May 1883, and became a city on April 1, 1933. In 1957 the villages of Taishō and Kawanishi merged with Obihiro, bringing it to its current size. Obihiro has a large agricultural sector that revolves around large scale farming. The main crops produced are wheat, potatoes, beets, and beans. Obihiro has one of Japan’s cleanest rivers that flows through its city limits. Obihiro is famous for the unique style of horse racing that takes place at the city’s horse racetrack. Hokkaido farmers in the 1900s had tug-of-war contests between their work horses to judge their strength and value. This gradually became a more formalized event and eventually became the racing we know today as Ban’ei horse racing. Obihiro is famous for ‘butadon’ (a glazed pork dish on rice) and mutton which is called ‘Jingisukan’ named after Ghengis Khan. It is also famous for potatoes and dairy products, which are common produce in Tokachi. Obihiro also claims to be the origin of a dish called chuuka chirashi.