city, central Hokkaido, Japan. It lies along the levee of the Ikushunbetsu River, northeast of Sapporo. It developed around the railway station built on the levee in 1882. With the opening of three other railway lines by 1914, Iwamizawa became an important transportation centre connected with the nearby Ishikari Coalfield. Despite the decline in the coal-mining industry in the 1960s and '70s, the city continues to be a prosperous local administrative and commercial centre. During the 1970s it became a suburb of Sapporo. Food processing, brewing, and ceramics manufacturing are the city's main industries. Pop. (2005) 93,677.