Esashi

Esashi (Esahi-chō) is a town in Hiyama District, Hiyama, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture. One of the oldest towns in Hokkaidō, the name Esashi comes from the Ainu word for konbu, a type of edible kelp well known in Japan. It is the birthplace of a folk music tradition called Esashi oiwake.

Esashi is a district and port town located on the western seaboard of Hokkaidō on the Assabugawa river, facing the Sea of Japan. Its eastern part is mountainous. The town is bordered by the municipalities of Kaminokuni, Assabu and Otobe. It has a rail-link; Esashi Station is the terminus of Esashi-sen train line; and a ferry connection to Okushiri island.

The district has a Honshū-type humid subtropical climate with far less snow in winter than elsewhere in Hokkaidō due to the influence of the warming tsushima-kairyo ocean current. Kamome Island in the town is part of Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park.

In the Edo period, Esashi grew wealthy as a herring fishing town. The town's prosperity coined a saying, "Even Edo is not as busy as Esashi in May" and visitors to the town described the quantity of herring being so great that it turned the color of the sea white.

Several Meiji-era residences of those who grew wealthy on the trade are preserved in the town today, including the Sekikawa family country house and the Nakamura family house. The majority of Esashi's historic buildings are located on Esashi Inishie Road.

The fisheries failed around the turn of end of the 19th century and the town tried to replace its major industry with tourism. The town advertised itself using the Min'yo classical Japanese folk song, the main part of which was originally from the village of Oiwake in central Japan, but became known as Esashi Oiwake as the town's version gained renown.