Rebun, Hokkaido


Rebun is a town located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. The district and town both cover the island of the same name: Rebun Island. Rebun Island is famous for its alpine flowers.

Geography

The town covers the entire area of Rebun Island in the Sea of Japan. Rebun is located approximately from Wakkanai on mainland Hokkaido and northwest of Rishiri Island. The entire island is part of the Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park. Lake Kushu and Mount Rebun are located in the town.
Rebun is well known for its 300 species of alpine flowers, some of which are endemic to the island. For this it has earned the moniker the island of flowers. Such flowers include: Cypripedium macranthum var. rebunense.

Demographics

As of September 30, 2016, the town has an estimated population of 2,651 and a density of 33 persons per km2. The total area is 81.33 km2.

Arts and culture

Rebun hosts a flower festival every year.

Airspace violations

With its location in the far north of Japan, Rebun has been the site of the most violations of Japanese airspace. From 1967 to 2017 14 of the 39 violations of Japanese airspace have been near Rebun. This is the most of any location in Japan. They were all by either Soviet aircraft during the Cold War or by Russian aircraft after 1991.

Sister cities