The city is the result of the merger of Kitami, Tanno, Tokoro and Rubeshibe towns in 2006 administrative reform.

Due to the characteristics of the region, Kitami has the highest onion and white flower bean production in Japan.

In addition, the region is home to historical and tourist places like the Pearson Museum, Wakka Wild Flower Garden, and Tokoro Ruins, which are listed as "Hokkaido Heritage" sites.

The reason behind this meaning is due to the region's mountains, which allow the view of the sea and the Russian island of Sakhalin.

The history began to appear in the final years of the Edo period, as a result of the Meiji Restoration and the Boshin War.

Because of his personal limitations, the imperial government was led informally by an oligarchy of notables called Genrō (元老).

[12] This chapter of Japanese history corresponds to the reign of Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) from December 25, 1926, until his death on January 7, 1989.

In the beginning, the city started to specialise in the production of Mint, meanwhile, the Empire of Japan was under a militaristic rule with expansionist actions that led to the participation of the country in the Second World War.

The government makes efforts to develop the city through an industry-academia-government collaboration involving universities and other higher education institutions that are also based in the area.

Translated as Legacy of the Detained Pistils (留辺蘂), the district is surrounded by thick forests at the foot of the Taisetsu mountains and along the Muka River.

[21] The extensive farmlands of the city are surrounded by grand nature stretches over 110 km east to west from the foot of the Taisetsu mountains to the Sea of Okhotsk coast.

Clean agriculture harmonious with the natural environment is promoted by minimising the use of chemical fertilisers and synthetic pesticides to deliver safe, reliable and high-quality farm products to consumers.

Farmers are busy transplanting seedlings in spring, and rows of large, plump onions fill vast fields in autumn.

Kitami, which has a cool, inland climate, is ideal for cultivating white pea beans and is a major production area in Hokkaido.

In Kitami, which faces the resource-rich Sea of Okhotsk and Lake Saroma, open-sea scallop and fixed-net salmon/trout fisheries are among the city's key industries.

The scallops grown in Lake Saroma and the Sea of Okhotsk are plump and sweet, and have an exceptional texture.

With a saltiness that pairs perfectly with sake, moderate elasticity, crispy texture, and sweetness that spreads in the mouth, it is known as a summer specialty of the Okhotsk area.

Efforts to revitalise the local economy include the "cultivation" of new sales channels and the development of new products with higher added value to overcome the problem of logistics costs.

The Okhotsk Collaborative Research Center and the Kitami Office of the Hokkaido Branch of the Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation have been established as “one-stop service bases” to support R&D and commercialization in the local community.

Measures to promote local industries, such as the enhancement of technological capabilities and the development of new products, are taken while strengthening industry-academia-government collaboration.

The commercial district in the downtown area, where retail, service and restaurant establishments are concentrated, has long been a place for interaction among citizens.

This decline occur mainly due the Japanese economic crisis, faster ageing population and urban exodus.

In December 2015, the library was relocated to a new building on the south side, making it easily accessible from the downtown area.

[27] Kitami's mascots are Mint-kun (ミントくん), Pepper-chan (ペッパーちゃん), Nonta-kun (のんたくん), Nonta-chan (のんこちゃん), Matsubo (まつぼう), Tokoro-kun (ところくん) and Ecolon (エコロン).

[35] Curling was introduced in schools in Tokoro as part of the physical education curriculum, and the two produced a number of Olympic curlers.

Besides of the Sea of Okhotsk and Lake Saroma, there is the Abashiri Quasi-National Park, where is located the Wakka Natural Flower Garden.

University of Tokyo's snow monitoring system is located in the city, which main coverage consist in the area of eastern Hokkaido.

[39] The JR Hokkaido Sekihoku Main Line that passes through Kitami reached the city on October 19, 1910, when the town was still called Notsukeushi.