is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

located in Shiribeshi,

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. As of September 2016, the village has an estimated

population Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...

of 1,157. The total area is 280.11 km².

History

The name derives from

Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japan and the Russian Far East *Ainu languages, a family of languages **Ainu language of Hokkaido **Kuril Ainu language, extinct language of the Kuril Islands **Sakhalin Ainu la ...

word "hure-pet", meaning "red river". *1899: Akaigawa Village split off from Ōe Village (now Niki Town). *1906: Akaigawa became a Second Class Village. *1991: Kiroro Resort opened.

Geography

The center of Akaigawa is in the

Akaigawa Caldera Akaigawa Caldera (赤井川カルデラ, ''Akaigawa karudera'') is a caldera located in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was active anywhere between 1.7 and 1.3 million years ago. See also * List of volcanoes in Japan * Akaigawa, Hokkaido i ...

and surrounded by mountains on every side. Kiroro Resort is on the eastern side of the village. *Mountains: Mount Yoichi, Mount Ponkuto *Rivers: Yoichi River, Shiroigawa River, Akaigawa River

Neighboring cities and towns

Minami-ku, Sapporo is one of the 10 wards in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Minami-ku is directly translated as "south ward". Having the area of 657.48 km² in total, Minami-ku occupies 60 percent of the area of Sapporo. Overview According to the jūminhyō (r ...

* Otaru * Yoichi *

Niki __NOTOC__ Niki may refer to: People * Niki (given name) * NIKI (singer), Indonesian singer and songwriter * Niki DeMar, American singer * Niki Etsuko (1928–1986), Japanese author of mystery fiction Places * Niki, Hokkaido, a town in Japan * Ni ...

* Kutchan * Kyōgoku

Education

* Akaigawa Junior High School * Akaigawa Elementary School * Miyako Elementary School

Culture

Mascot

Akaigawa's mascot is , a 10-year-old farmer girl who is active day and night either through sports or farming. Her favourite food is a mixture of fresh produce and rice. She usually ends her sentences with "desu no" (ですの) which, along with her eyes, are her charm points. She became the mascot on 18 July 2014.

References

External links

*
Official Website
Villages in Hokkaido {{Hokkaido-geo-stub