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 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 i ...

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 Asahiyam ...

and a Ski resort city. On July 31, 2011, the city had an estimated population of 352,105, with 173,961 households, and a population density of 470.96 persons per km² (1,219.8 persons per sq. mi.). The total area is . Asahikawa joined UNESCO'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 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 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 l ...

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 (1868 – July 1912) as a ''

tondenhei The were military settler colonists recruited after the Meiji Restoration to develop and defend Japan's northern frontier in Hokkaidō and Karafuto against foreign nations, particularly Imperial Russia. (The term tonden comes from ancient China, ...

'', 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 counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

set up under Ishikari Province with the villages of Asahikawa, Nagayama and Kamui in 1890. *1900 Asahikawa Village becomes Asahikawa town *1914 Asahikawa Town becomes Asahikawa-'' ku'' Asahikawa was elevated to city status in 1922. Asahikawa thrived as a military city before World War II, when the

IJA 7th Division was an infantry division in the Imperial Japanese Army. Its call-sign was the . The 7th Division was formed in Sapporo, Hokkaidō on 12 May 1888, as the first new infantry division formed by the reorganization of the Imperial Japanese Army from ...

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 The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

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 freezin ...

(''Dfb,'' according to Köppen classification). 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 A is a local administrative unit in Japan. Cities are ranked on the same level as and , with the difference that they are not a component of . Like other contemporary administrative units, they are defined by the Local Autonomy Law of 1947. ...

as well as one of the most "continental". Japan's lowest temperature ever () was recorded in Asahikawa, colder than other cities registered in Hokkaido, 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 World War II. 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 is a national public university administered by the government of Japan. It has five campuses in Hokkaido, Japan. The main campus is on the outskirts of Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido. Hokkaido University of Education, Sapporo (HUES) is the la ...

, Asahikawa Campus

Private

* Asahikawa University * Tokai University (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, but some airlines offer destinations in South Korea. 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 connects Asahikawa to Hakodate 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 ...

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 li ...

connects the city with Abashiri on the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk ( rus, Охо́тское мо́ре, Ohótskoye móre ; ja, オホーツク海, Ohōtsuku-kai) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Island ...

. The

Furano Line The is part of the Hokkaido Railway Company network in Hokkaidō, Japan. It connects Furano Station in the city of Furano and Asahikawa Station in the city of Asahikawa. Popular with tourists, it has recently come to serve commuters in the be ...

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 s ...

*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 Asahiyam ...

– 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 is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle dishes. ...

* Asahikawa furniture * Confectionery * Sake (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, Santa Present Park, Pippu Ski Area, Canmore Ski Village etc.) - "Hokkaido Powder Belt" * Ueno Farm ( 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 * Asahikawa Youth Science Museum "Saiparu" *

Ayako Miura was a Japanese novelist. She published over eighty works of both fiction and non-fiction. Many of her works are considered best-sellers, and a number have been remade as feature-length films. Her debut novel, ''Hyōten'' (氷点, "Freezing Poin ...

Memorial Literature Center * Hoppo Wild Flower Garden, famous for '' Erythronium japonicum'' (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 A tree tunnel is a road, lane or track where the trees on each side form a more or less continuous canopy overhead, giving the effect of a tunnel. The effect may be achieved in a formal avenue lined with trees or in a more rural setting with rand ...

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, United States * Normal, Illinois, United States *

Suwon Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a popul ...

, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

Friendship cities

* Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Sakhalin Oblast, Russia * Harbin, Heilongjiang, 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 Shir ...

, voice actor * Miura Ayako, author * Haruhisa Chiba, skier *

Yuko Emoto is a Japanese judoka and Olympic champion. She won a gold medal in the ''half middleweight division'' at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.Kazuhiro Fujita is a Japanese manga artist. He graduated from Nihon University. He made his professional manga debut in ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' in 1989. He is most famous for the manga '' Ushio & Tora'', for which he won Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen in ...

manga artist A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...

Nanami Hashimoto is a former Japanese model, actress, radio personality and idol singer who was a member of the Japanese idol girl group Nogizaka46. Career Hashimoto passed the first generation auditions for Nogizaka46 in August 2011. Her audition song was ...

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 medi ...

, 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 is a Japanese wrestler and Olympic champion in Freestyle wrestling. He also won a gold medal at the 1967 World Wrestling Championships and at the 1966 Asian Games. Olympics Nakata competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City wh ...

, wrestler *

Ikumi Narita is a former Japanese volleyball player. Her maiden name is . She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. There she ended up in fifth place with the Japan women's national team. Narita played as a wing-spiker. She was named ''Bes ...

, volleyball player *

Victor Starffin Victor Starffin ( rus, Виктор Константинович Старухин, Viktor Konstantinovich Starukhin, 1 May 1916 – 12 January 1957), nicknamed , was a Japanese baseball player. While playing in Japan, he became the first professio ...

, baseball player * Taizō Sugimura, politician * Bikki Sunazawa, sculptor and painter * Kentaro Suzuki, football player * Koyo Takahashi, basketball player *

Tomoka Takeuchi is a Japanese competitive snowboarder from Asahikawa, Hokkaido. She won the silver medal in the Women's Parallel Giant Slalom in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. At the 2018 Winter Olympics , nations = 93 , athletes = 2,922 ...

, 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 is a Japanese manga artist. His most famous works include '' Goku Midnight Eye'' and '' Cobra''. Career Terasawa was born in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. In the early days of his career, while still unknown, his contributed comics to a magazine that ...

* Masae Ueno, judo wrestler * Yoshie Ueno, 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,

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

and

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

* Shōgō Yasumura, comedian

References

External links

Official Website

Asahikawa Tourism Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asahikawa, Hokkaido Cities in Hokkaido