Kitami, Hokkaidō

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This page is about the city in Hokkaidō. For the train station in Tokyo see Kitami Station (Tokyo).

**Kitami**
**北見市**
Kitami's location in Hokkaidō (Abashiri), Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Hokkaidō
Prefecture	Hokkaidō (Abashiri)
Physical characteristics
Area	1,427.56 km² (551.18 sq mi)
Population (as of March 2008)
Total	126,508
Density	89.2 /km² (231 /sq mi)
Location	43°48′N, 143°54′E
Symbols
Tree	Japanese Yew
Flower	Chrysanthemum
Flag
Kitami Government Office
Mayor	Hideo Shirai
Address	〒090-8501 1, Higashi Ni-chōme, Kita Go-jō, Kitami-shi, Hokkaidō
Phone number	0157-23-7111
Official website: Kitami City

Kitami (北見市, Kitami-shi^?) is a city located in Abashiri subprefecture, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the most populous city and the commercial center in the subprefecture, although the subprefectural capital is Abashiri.

As of March 31, 2008, the city has a population of 126,508 and a density of 89.2 persons per km². The total area is 1,427.56 km².

[edit] History

1872 The village of Notsukeushi-mura (ノツケウシ村) founded
1875 Notsukeushi-mura given the kanji 野付牛村.
1915 The villages of Rubeshibe and Oketo (which was re-split, now the towns of Oketo and Kunneppu) were split off.
1916 Became Notsukeushi Town.
1921 The villages of Tanno and Ainonai were split off.
June 10, 1942 Kitami becomes a city.
September, 1956 The village of Ainonai was merged into Kitami.
April, 1971 The population exceeded 100,000.^{[citation needed]}
On March 5, 2006, the towns of Tanno, Rubeshibe and Tokoro (all from Tokoro District) merged with the city of Kitami to form the new city of Kitami.