Ōzora, Hokkaido

Ōzora (大空町, Ōzora-chō) is a town located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.

"Ōzora" redirects here. For other uses, see Ōzora (disambiguation).
Ōzora
大空町
Town
Flag of Ōzora
Flag
Official seal of Ōzora
Chapter
Location of Ōzora in Hokkaido (Okhotsk Subprefecture)
Location of Ōzora in Hokkaido (Okhotsk Subprefecture)
Ōzora is located in Japan
Ōzora
Ōzora
Location in Japan
Coordinates: 43°55′N 144°10′E
CountryJapan
RegionHokkaido
PrefectureHokkaido (Okhotsk Subprefecture)
DistrictAbashiri
Government
 • MayorEiji Yamashita
Area
 • Total343.62 km2 (132.67 sq mi)
Population
 (2016-09-30)
 • Total7,430
 • Density22/km2 (56/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+09:00 (JST)
City hall address3-4-1-1 Memanbetsu-nishi, Ōzora-chō, Hokkaidō
099-2392
Websitewww.town.ozora.hokkaido.jp
Symbols
FlowerMountain Phlox and Lysichite camtschatcense
MascotSoralucky (そらっきー)
TreeJapanese Rowan and Japanese White Birch

Ōzora was formed on March 31, 2006, as a result of the merger of the town of Memanbetsu, and the village of Higashimokoto.

Memanbetsu Village (later Memanbetsu Town) split from the Town of Abashiri (now the City of Abashiri) in 1921, and Higashimokoto Village split from Abashiri Town on February 11, 1947. Therefore, all of Ōzora's territory once was a part of Abashiri.

Many places in Ōzora, such as the train stations, the airport, and the high school are named after the former town of Memanbetsu, and Japanese airlines use "Memanbetsu" to refer to "Ōzora" as a destination.[1][2]

Education

Ōzora operates public elementary and junior high schools.

In the Higashimokoto area:

  • Higashimokoto Elementary School
  • Higashimokoto Junior High School
  • Higashimokoto Agricultural High School

In the Memanbetsu area:

  • Memanbetsu Elementary School
  • Memanbetsu Junior High School

Hokkaido Prefectural Board of Education operates Memanbetsu High School in Ōzora.

Transportation

Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) operates two stations on the Sekihoku Main Line:

Memanbetsu Airport is located in Ōzora.

Mascot
Soralucky, the town's mascot

Ōzora's mascot is Soralucky (そらっきー, Sorakki). It is a cute jet airliner. However, as an airliner, Soralucky is not allowed to tell its gender and asking questions about its gender is strictly prohibited. Whenever it flies, it carries and bring happiness to people. People can also ride inside the mascot. It known for doing sky marathons (for exercise) but is not good at rock-paper-scissors. Its favorite colours are white and moss phlox pink and has a huge appetite of cotton candy. It is created in 2006, unveiled in March 2007 and was given upgrades in December 2014 with addition of jet engines, windows and designs (especially the town emblem on its tail).[3][4]

References
  1. Home Page, All Nippon Airways
  2. Home Page, Japan Airlines
  3. "大空町の概要". Ōzora.
  4. "大空町観光大使 そらっきー便り". Ōzora.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Ozora.
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