is one of the 10 wards in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The ward is located in northwest of Sapporo, which is neighboured to three other wards in Sapporo and two cities. The area was established as one of the wards in Sapporo in 1989, when it was split from Nishi-ku, Sapporo.

Overview

According to the jūminhyō (registry of current residential addresses and figures) in 2008, 138,570 people are living in Teine-ku. The total area of the ward is 56.92 km², which is the 6th largest ward in Sapporo. Surrounded by a rich natural environment, Teine-ku has a number of mountain ranges and rivers including Mount Teine, whose height is 1,023.7 metres.

It is adjacent to three other wards in Sapporo: Kita-ku, Nishi-ku, and Minami-ku, and two cities: Ishikari, and Otaru.

The name Teine is derived of a word "teyne-i" in Ainu language, which means a "marsh" or "wet place". It is currently written as "手稲" in kanji, which is respectively translated as "hand" for "手" and "rice plant" for "稲".

History

In 1872, Teine Village was established after being split from Hassamu Village. The village was later divided into two villages (Kami-Teine village and Shimo-Teine village) in 1874. The Garuishi Kidō, a Horsecar company, has established and laid horsecar line, which was abolished in 1940.

The area was reorganized as Teine Town in 1951. It was merged into Sapporo City in 1967, and also merged into Nishi-ku in 1972, when Sapporo was listed as one of the cities designated by government ordinance. In 1989, Teine-ku was established after being split from Nishi-ku.

1972 Winter Olympics

The 1972 Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo, and Mount Teine hosted the alpine skiing (giant slalom and slalom only), bobsleigh, and luge events (Note: The bobsleigh and luge tracks used for these Winter Olympics were separate tracks.).

Alpine skiing

The slalom courses had an elevation difference of 300 meters while the elevation differences for the men's and women's giant slalom were 400 and 300 meters, respectively. The courses are now part of the tourism sites of alpine skiing.

Bobsleigh track

The track was constructed between October 1969 and January 1972. Costing ¥ 433 million to complete, the track was constructed of reinforced concrete which took 60 ice workers twenty days to create ice that was 13.5 cm (5.25 in) thick. A total of 127 lamps were used to highlight the course for night runs.

Physical statistics

Sport	Length (meters)	Turns	Vertical drop (start to finish)	Average grade (%)
Bobsleigh	1563	14	132	8.4

No turn names are given for the track.

After Nagano was awarded the 1998 Winter Olympics in 1991, the track was destroyed.

Luge track

Costing ¥ 277 million to complete, the track was constructed of reinforced concrete which took 1000 man-days to create ice.

Physical statistics

Sport	Length (meters)	Turns	Vertical drop (start to finish)	Average grade (%)
Luge - men's singles	1023	14	101	9.9
Luge - women's singles/ men's doubles	763	11	Not listed	Not listed

No turn names are given for the track.

After Nagano was awarded the 1998 Winter Olympics in 1991, the track was destroyed.

References

External links

• Teine tte Īne - Official homepage of Teine-ku