◆The pride of Sobetsu: Yokozuna Kita-no-Umi Born as Toshimitsu Obata in May 1953, his career as sumo wrestler started out as early as he was 13 years old, from where he moved to Tokyo to enter the Mihokaseki sumo stall. From there he climbed the career latter in such a fast year that he was still very young when he had his first wins. Already in 1974 (when he was 21) he reached the height of his career and was able to receive the Yokozuna title (the highest position in Sumo there is), as youngest sumo wrestler in the history of Sumo (55th generation of Yokozuna). In his 18 years career he won 24 tournament titles with 951 wins in total. He retired as fighter in 1985, and later received the position as head of the Sumo Association in 2002. Kita-no-Umi passed away on Nov 20, 2015. ◆The local museum of Sobetsu In the second part of the museum you can find exhibits of the pioneering age of the town, including images of first settlements and other valuable exhibits of the town's history. The first settlements of Sobetsu date back to 1879.