Notsuke Peninsula

The Notsuke Peninsula (Notsuke hantō) is a peninsula on the east coast of Hokkaidō, Japan, with its northwestern base in Shibetsu and southeast tip in Betsukai. The name is derived from the Ainu for jawbone, notkeu, purportedly due to the landform's visual resemblance to that of a whale. The curved peninsula, the longest sandspit in the country, with a length of some 26 kilometres (16 mi) to 28 kilometres (17 mi), extends into the Nemuro Strait, which lies between Shiretoko Peninsula, Nemuro Peninsula, and the disputed island of Kunashir in the Sea of Okhotsk; it was formed by the deposition of sand sediment carried by the currents in the strait, and itself forms and largely encloses Notsuke Bay. There remain on the peninsula traces of Satsumon culture pit dwellings, while during the Edo period samurai were stationed at a checkpoint controlling the crossing to Kunashiri. It is said that from the Edo period to the beginning of the Meiji period there was a settlement known as Kiraku at the tip of the peninsula, with streets lined with samurai residences and even pleasure quarters, but this is not shown on contemporary maps and is poorly attested in the literature. Prominent features today include withered and eroded stretches of Sakhalin fir (Abies sachalinensis) at Todowara and Mongolian oak (Quercus crispula) at Narawara, while to be found in the Notsuke Peninsula Primeval

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