is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in

Kamikawa Subprefecture is a subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from ...

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. As of December 31, 2017, the town has an estimated population of 3,706, and a

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the ratio of a substance's mass to its volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' (or ''d'') can also be u ...

of 3.53 persons per km². The total area is 1,049.24 km². The town is approximately 30 minutes by bus or car from Sōunkyō Onsen and other tourist attractions which make up

Daisetsuzan National Park , or Taisetsuzan is located in the mountainous center of the northern Geography of Japan, Japanese island of Hokkaido. At , Daisetsuzan is the largest national park in Japan, and is approximately the size of Kanagawa Prefecture. Daisetsuzan, mean ...

. 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 ...

, the longest river in

, flows from here. The town also prides itself on "the most delicious

ramen is a Chinese noodle dish popularized in Japan. It includes served in several flavors of broth. Common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen h ...

in Japan".ラーメン日本一の町　上川町

Geography

Climate

Economy

Many years ago, Kamikawa's primary industry was

coal mining Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground or from a mine. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to Electricity generation, generate electr ...

. Since then, Japan has adopted higher

environmental standards Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

and coal production is no longer economically sound, the townspeople like those in Kamikawa have had to find other means of employment. Beef and other types of farming are common ("

Black Angus The Aberdeen Angus, sometimes simply Angus, is a Scotland, Scottish List of cattle breeds, breed of small beef cattle. It derives from cattle native to the Scottish counties, counties of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeen, Banffshire, Banff, ...

" cattle were originally imported here from

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada in the 1980s), as well as "Purin" (pudding) producers and "Ramen" producers and shops. Kamikawa also capitalizes on its proximity to

as many of its townspeople work with Road Construction and Transportation through the Town Municipal Government, and others work in the tourist haven/onsen heaven that is Sōunkyō Gorge (modeled after

Whistler, British Columbia Whistler (, ; , ) is a resort municipality in Squamish-Lillooet Regional District, British Columbia, Canada. It is located in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains, approximately north of Vancouver and south of Pemberton, Britis ...

, Canada - site of the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.Home
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...

operates a sales office in Kamikawa, near the Asahigawa Airport grounds.

Culture

Specialties

Kamikawa has many

izakaya An () is a type of informal Japanese Bar (establishment), bar that serves alcoholic drinks and snacks. are casual places for after-work drinking, similar to a pub, a Spanish tapas bar, or an American saloon or tavern. Etymology The word e ...

and snack bars. Kamikawa's speciality is "karai ramen" or spicy noodles.

Mascot

Kamikawa's mascot is . He is a brown bear. He wears a helmet which resembles a bell. His favourite food is karai ramen served with rainbow trout sashimi. He loves hot springs and drawing nature. He usually ends his sentences with "powa-ru" (ぽわ～る) and "powan" (ぽわん). He is unveiled in 2014.

Internationalization

Kamikawa broadened its international horizons in 1984 by becoming a

Sister City A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

with

Rocky Mountain House Rocky Mountain House is a town in west-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately west of Red Deer at the confluence of the Clearwater and North Saskatchewan Rivers, and at the crossroads of Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail) and Highway 11 (David ...

in Alberta, Canada and participating in the JET Programme. Kamikawa boasts a Rotary club (started in the 1980s) with some members that have been to Canada several times. The resident

Assistant Language Teacher An Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) is a foreign national serving as an assistant teacher (paraprofessional educator) in a classroom in Japan, particularly for English as a second language. The role was created by the Japanese Ministry of Educati ...

of Kamikawa is often invited to join the Rotary Club dinner meetings (a.k.a. enkai) where both sides can practice their command of a foreign language. In 2018, the town is expected to hire a second JET Programme

, bringing the total up to two. This is in response to changes to the English education in Japan taking place between 2018 and 2020.

Transportation

Air

The town has no airport. The nearest international airport is the

New Chitose Airport is an international airport located south-southeast of Chitose, Hokkaidō, Chitose and Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan, serving the Sapporo metropolitan area. By both traffic and land area, it is the largest airport in Hokkaidō. It is adjacent ...

near

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

, and the nearest domestic airport is in

Asahikawa is a Cities of Japan, 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 cities of Japan, core city since April 1, 2000. The city i ...

Rail

Kamikawa is one of the last stops on the main JR line running east from Sapporo, therefore a wide range of rail services are available.

Bus

Kamikawa's bus service is excellent, but limited, so it is wise to check a local schedule. The bus service to Sounkyo Gorge is approximately 1000 yen one way, and the service to Asahikawa is approximately 2100 yen one way (2019 prices).

National road

Kokudou (Route) 39 leaves Asahikawa east to Kamikawa, and Kokudou (Route) 40 leaves from Asahikawa and goes as far east as Aibetsu-chou, going south through Aibetsu-chou will meet up with Kokudou 39 again.

Municipal transit

Kamikawa is very small and almost everything is within walking or bicycle distance. The Dohoku Bus company offers transport in and around Kamikawa's main spots, such as the high school and train station.

Notable people

* Sara Takanashi, ski jumper

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamikawa, Hokkaido Towns in Hokkaido Kamikawa, Hokkaido