is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Kamikawa Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. The name is derived from Kamikawa no hitobito no Shūraku (Village of the Upstream People), a translation of the Ainu Ainu or Aynu may refer to: *Ainu people, an East Asian ethnic group of Japa ...

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 lar ...

, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...

. It has been a

core city In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...

since April 1, 2000. The city is currently well known for the

Asahiyama Zoo The is a municipal zoo that opened in July 1967 in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan, and is the northernmost zoo in the country. In August 2004, over 320,000 people had visited the zoo, the second highest number of visitors among all the zoos in Japan ...

, the

Asahikawa ramen is a city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a core city since April 1, 2000. The city is currently well known for the Asahiy ...

and a Ski resort city. On July 31, 2011, the city had 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 352,105, with 173,961

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

s, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

of 470.96 persons per km² (1,219.8 persons per sq. mi.). The total area is . Asahikawa joined

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

's Network of Creative Cities as a Design City on October 31, 2019 on the occasion of World Cities’ Day.

Overview

On August 1, 1922, Asahikawa was founded as Asahikawa ''City''. As the central city in northern Hokkaido, Asahikawa has been influential in industry and commerce. There are about 130 rivers and streams including the

Ishikari River The , at long, is the third longest in Japan and the longest in Hokkaidō. The river drains an area of , making it the second largest in Japan, with a total discharge of around per year. It originates from Mount Ishikari in the Daisetsuzan V ...

and Chūbetsu River, and over 740 bridges in the city. Asahibashi, a bridge over Ishikari River, has been one of the symbols of Asahikawa since its completion in 1932, and it was also registered as one of the Hokkaido Heritage sites on October 22, 2001. Every winter, the Asahikawa Winter Festival is held on the bank of the Ishikari River, making use of Asahikawa's cold climate and snow. On January 25, 1902, a weather station recorded , the lowest temperature in Japanese history. Due to its climate and location surrounded by mountains, there are some ski resorts in the outskirts of the city.

Name

The Ainu called the Asahi River ''Chiu Pet'' meaning "River of Waves", but it was misunderstood as ''Chup Pet'', meaning "Sun River", and so it came to be called Asahi River in Japanese (Asahi meaning "morning sun").

History

Asahikawa was populated by the mainland Japanese in the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

(1868 – July 1912) as a '' tondenhei'', or state-sponsored farmer-militia settlement. Kamikawa

District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

set up under Ishikari Province with the

villages 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 ...

of Asahikawa, Nagayama and Kamui in 1890. *1900 Asahikawa Village becomes Asahikawa

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

*1914 Asahikawa Town becomes Asahikawa-'' ku'' Asahikawa was elevated to city status in 1922. Asahikawa thrived as a military city before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, when the IJA 7th Division was posted there. During the closing stages of the war, Asahikawa was bombed by American naval aircraft in July 1945. Today, the 2nd Division of the Northern Army of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force is headquartered in Asahikawa. *1955 Kamui Village and Etanbetsu Village merge with Asahikawa *1961 Nagayama Town merged *1963 Higashi-Asahikawa Town merged *1967 Asahiyama Zoo opened *1968 Kagura Town merged *1971 Higashi-Takasu Town merged *1972 Japan's first permanent pedestrian mall Heiwadōri Shopping Park opened *April 1, 2000 Asahikawa becomes a

Geography

Climate

The climate is hemiboreal

humid continental A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freez ...

(''Dfb,'' according to

Köppen classification Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author an ...

). Asahikawa winters are long and cold, with below-freezing average monthly temperatures from November through March. The city also sees an extraordinary amount of snowfall, averaging just under of snow per year. Summers are generally warm and humid in Asahikawa, with average high temperatures in the warmest months hovering around . Spring and autumn are generally short and transitional in the city. It is one of the coldest Japanese cities as well as one of the most "continental". Japan's lowest temperature ever () was recorded in Asahikawa, colder than other cities registered in

, but warmer in absolute numbers than Mount Fuji. On January 12, 1909 the temperature did not rise above , being one of the coldest in history. Some sources consider it the coldest city in Japan.

Economy

Asahikawa developed as an industrial center in Hokkaido after

. The city is noted for its lumber and brewing industries, as well as the production of furniture and paper pulp.

Education

Universities

National

Asahikawa Medical University , , or AMU, is a national university and medical school in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan. Established in 1973, the university has one faculty, Faculty of Medicine, consisting of Department of Medicine and Department of Nursing. The affiliated Asahi ...

* Hokkaido University of Education, Asahikawa Campus

Private

* Asahikawa University *

Tokai University is a private non-sectarian higher education institution located in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by Dr. Shigeyoshi Matsumae. It was accredited under Japan's old educational system in 1946 and under the new system in 1950. In 2008, Tokai Un ...

(Previously: the Asahikawa Campus of Hokkaido Tokai University)

Colleges

* Asahikawa National College of Technology

High schools

Public

* Hokkaido Asahikawa Higashi High school * Hokkaido Asahikawa Kita High School * Hokkaido Asahikawa Nishi High School * Hokkaido Asahikawa Minami High School * Hokkaido Asahikawa Eiryo High school * Hokkaido Asahikawa Agricultural High School (Nogyo) * Hokkaido Asahikawa Commercial High School (Shogyo) * Hokkaido Asahikawa Technical High School (Kogyo)

Private

* Asahikawa Ryukoku High School * Asahikawa Fuji Girls' High School * Asahikawa Jitsugyo High School * Asahikawa Meisei High School * Asahikawa University High School * Ikegami Gakuen High School, Asahikawa Campus * Asahikawa Tosei High School

Transportation

Airport

Asahikawa is served by

Asahikawa Airport , is a single-runway regional airport in Hokkaidō, Japan, straddling the cities of Asahikawa and Higashikagura. History Planning of the airport began in the late 1950s. The site was chosen in November 1960 and received government approval in ...

which stretches over the outskirts of Asahikawa City and Higashikagura, Hokkaido. The airport was first proposed by the Asahikawa City Council in 1955, opened in 1961, and daily flights to Tokyo started in 1970. The present terminal of Asahikawa Airport opened in 2000. It is a

second class airport This is a list of airports in Japan, grouped by classification and sorted by location. As of February 2012, the country has a total of 98 airports, of which 28 are operated by the central government and 67 by local governments.Aoki, Mizuho,Bubble ...

, and also a single-runway regional airport. It serves domestic destinations including

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, but some airlines offer destinations in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

. EVA Air added Asahikawa as a destination from Taipei on May 2, 2013.

Rail

Asahikawa is one of the major rail hubs of Hokkaido. The

Hakodate Main Line The is a railway line connecting the cities of Hakodate and Asahikawa via Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The Sawara Line, a 35 km loop line from Ōnuma to Mo ...

connects Asahikawa to

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

in the south of Hokkaido, and the

Sōya Main Line The is a Japanese railway line operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) in Hokkaido. The line connects Asahikawa Station in Asahikawa and Wakkanai Station in Wakkanai, and is the northernmost railway line in Japan. The name comes ...

connects Asahikawa with

Wakkanai ' meaning "cold water river" is a city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture. It contains Japan's northernmost point, Cape Sōya, from which the Russian island of Sakhalin can be seen. As of 1 ...

at the north of Hokkaido. The

Sekihoku Main Line is a railway line in Hokkaido, Japan, operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) between in Asahikawa and Abashiri Station in Abashiri. The name comes from the first Kanji characters of and , names of ancient provinces along the lin ...

connects the city with

Abashiri is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the cit ...

on the Sea of Okhotsk. The Furano Line connects Abashiri with nearby Biei and Furano. ;

JR Hokkaido The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a sm ...

*Hakodate Main Line：-

Asahikawa is a city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital of the subprefecture, and the second-largest city in Hokkaido, after Sapporo. It has been a core city since April 1, 2000. The city is currently well known for the Asahiy ...

– Chikabumi *Sōya Main Line：- Asahikawa– Asahikawa-Yojō– Shin-Asahikawa– Nagayama– Kita-Nagayama *Sekihoku Main Line：- Shin-Asahikawa– Minami-Nagayama– Higashi-Asahikawa– Sakuraoka *Furano Line: Asahikawa– Kaguraoka– Midorigaoka– Nishi-Goryō– Nishi-Mizuho– Nishi-Kagura– Nishi-Seiwa– Chiyogaoka

Bus

Municipal buses also serve the city.

Specialties

* Asahikawa Ramen * Asahikawa furniture * Confectionery *

Sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; also referred to as Japanese rice wine), is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indee ...

(Otokoyama, Takasago, Taisetsunokura) * Taisetsu Microbrew Beer "Taisetsu ji-beer" * Asahikawa mutton barbecue "Genghis Khan" * Asahikawa pork barbecue "Shio-Horumon" * Asahikawa chickein barbecue "Shinko-yaki" * Pottery/wooden handiwork (Arashiyama area) *

Sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice," also ...

and Seafood

Sightseeing

* Ski Resorts (

Kamui Ski Links A ''kamuy'' ( ain, カムィ; ja, カムイ, kamui) is a spiritual or divine being in Ainu mythology, a term denoting a supernatural entity composed of or possessing spiritual energy. The Ainu people have many myths about the ''kamuy'', passed ...

, Santa Present Park, Pippu Ski Area, Canmore Ski Village etc.) - "Hokkaido Powder Belt" *

Ueno Farm is a district in Tokyo's Taitō Ward, best known as the home of Ueno Park. Ueno is also home to some of Tokyo's finest cultural sites, including the Tokyo National Museum, the National Museum of Western Art, and the National Museum of Na ...

( Hokkaido Garden Path) * Asahikawa Winter Festival/Illuminations (February) * Asahikawa Station Building * Arashiyama Pottery village * Asahibashi Bridge * Asahikawa Furniture Center * Asahikawa Kitasaito Garden *

Asahikawa Museum of Sculpture in Honor of Teijiro Nakahara is a sculpture museum in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan. The building was called the and used as the officer's social club by the 7th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1902 until 1945. In 1968, it became the . The building is designated ...

* Asahikawa Youth Science Museum "Saiparu" * Ayako Miura Memorial Literature Center * Hoppo Wild Flower Garden, famous for ''

Erythronium japonicum ''Erythronium japonicum'', known as Asian fawn lily, Oriental fawn lily, Japanese fawn lily is a pink-flowered species trout lily, belonging to the Lily family and native to Japan, Korea, the Russian Far East ( Sakhalin Island, Kuril Islands ...

'' (Dogtooth violet) that flower in May * Hokkaido Traditional Art Craft Village * Kamikawa Shrine * Mount Tossho, also famous for ''Erythronium japonicum'' * Otokoyama Sake Brewing Museum * Romantic Road ( tree tunnel and churches) *

Yasushi Inoue was a Japanese writer of novels, short stories, poetry and essays, noted for his historical and autobiographical fiction. His most acclaimed works include '' The Bullfight'' (''Tōgyū'', 1949), ''The Roof Tile of Tempyō'' (''Tenpyō no iraka' ...

Memorial Center

Mascots

Asahikawa's mascots are and . *Asappy is a mixture of a harbor seal and a polar bear. He wears a shirt designed after Daisetsuzan National Park with fringes that resembled ramen, his belt is designed after the Asahi Bridge and his pants were designed after the Ishikari River. His red scarf shows his status as a hero. *Yukkirin is a strong but kind snow giraffe (technically a kirin). Her dress has an apple, a snowflake and a flower motif. She wears Etanbetsu boots with fringes. Her antenna resembles snowballs, she can use them to gather information.

Sister and friendship cities

Sister cities

* Bloomington,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, United States *

Normal, Illinois Normal is a town in McLean County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town's population was 52,736. Normal is the smaller of two principal municipalities of the Bloomington–Normal metropolitan area, and Illinois' seventh most ...

, United States * Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Friendship cities

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk ( rus, Ю́жно-Сахали́нск, a=Ru-Южно-Сахалинск.ogg, p=ˈjuʐnə səxɐˈlʲinsk, literally "South Sakhalin City") is a city on Sakhalin island, and the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. I ...

Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalínskaya óblast', p=səxɐˈlʲinskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) comprising the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands in the Russian ...

, Russia * Harbin,

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang () formerly romanized as Heilungkiang, is a province in northeast China. The standard one-character abbreviation for the province is (). It was formerly romanized as "Heilungkiang". It is the northernmost and easternmost province ...

, China

Notable people

Takeshi Aono was a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator from Asahikawa, Hokkaidō. He was attached to Aoni Production at the time of his death. He graduated from Hokkaidō Asahikawa Higashi High School. Career Aono was most known for the roles of Shi ...

, voice actor * Miura Ayako, author * Haruhisa Chiba, skier * Yuko Emoto, judo wrestler * Kazuhiro Fujita, manga artist * Nanami Hashimoto,

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

, author * Kiyomi Kato, wrestler *

Kitanofuji Katsuaki is a former Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Asahikawa, Hokkaidō. He made his professional debut in 1957, reaching the top ''makuuchi'' division in 1964. He was the sport's 52nd ''yokozuna'', a rank he attained in 1970. He won ten tourn ...

, sumo wrestler * Shigeo Nakata, wrestler * Ikumi Narita, volleyball player * Victor Starffin, baseball player * Taizō Sugimura, politician * Bikki Sunazawa, sculptor and painter * Kentaro Suzuki, football player * Koyo Takahashi, basketball player * Tomoka Takeuchi, snowboarder *

Kōji Tamaki is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor. He has been well known as frontman of the rock band Anzen Chitai that debuted in 1982 and enjoyed a successful career, particularly during the 1980s. In 1993, he began his career as a solo artist, and s ...

, lead vocalist of

Anzen Chitai is a Japanese rock band, formed in 1973 by five musicians in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan. It debuted in 1982 in Tokyo, Japan. They became one of Japan's most successful rock bands in the 1980s. Members * - Vocals, Guitars & Percussion (1973� ...

* Buichi Terasawa, manga artist * Masae Ueno, judo wrestler *

Yoshie Ueno is a Japanese judoka. She won the gold medal in the Half-middleweight (63 kg) division at the 2009 World Judo Championships and in 2010, in 2011 she lost the final to local hero Gévrise Émane. Her elder sister is Masae Ueno, who re ...

, judo wrestler * Miho Yabe, actress *

Megumi Yabushita is a retired Japanese female mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and judoka. She has participated in several Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotions. She is a Japanese national judo champion and a for ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

, kickboxer, professional wrestler and judoka * Shōgō Yasumura, comedian

References

External links

Official Website

Asahikawa Tourism Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asahikawa, Hokkaido Cities in Hokkaido