Bibai

Bibai, city, western Hokkaido, northern Japan. It is located on the Ishikari Plain between the cities of Asahikawa to the northeast and Sapporo to the southwest.

Bibai was settled in 1891 by Japanese farmer-soldiers (tondenhei) and became the main rice-producing centre of the Sorachi region in the early 20th century. Development of the city was spurred by the opening of a national road (1890) and a railway line (1891). Exploitation of the Ishikari Coalfield on nearby Mount Bibai began in 1913, but later, with a decline in yield and the introduction of petroleum, the population decreased, beginning in the 1960s and continuing into the early 21st century. The city’s industrial sector produces plastic goods, chemicals, beds, and briquettes. Pop. (2005) 29,083; (2010) 26,034.