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

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

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 ...

. , the village 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 4,009 in 1419 households, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

of 19 persons per km². The total area of the village is . The village office is located at an altitude of 1,185 meters, the highest of any municipality in Japan. Kawakami is famous for its lettuce, as well as the Kawakami breed of dogs, ''Kawakami Inu''.

Geography

Kawakami is located in mountainous eastern Nagano Prefecture, bordered by

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 817,192 (1 January 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the no ...

to the south,

Gunma Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,362 km2 (2,456 sq mi). Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fukushima ...

to the north and

Saitama Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (1 January 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 km2 (1,466 sq mi). Saitama Prefecture borders Tochigi Prefecture ...

to the east.

Mount Kinpu , or is a mountain and the main peak in the Okuchichibu Mountains, Okuchichibu Range in Kantō Mountains in the Akaishi Mountains, South Japan Alps. It is located in Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park

(2499 meters) is partly located within this village. The source of the

Chikuma River The , known as the in its upper reaches, is the longest and widest river in Japan and the third largest by basin area (behind the Tone River and Ishikari River). It is located in northeastern Honshu, rising in the Japanese Alps and flowing g ...

, the longest river in Japan, is in Kawakami. This fact is a point of local pride, as it appears in various school songs. Much of the village is within the borders of the

Chichibu Tama Kai National Park is a national park in Japan at the intersection of Saitama, Yamanashi, Nagano and Tokyo Prefectures. With eight peaks over 2000 m scattered over 1250 km², there are numerous hiking trails and ancient shrines. The best known landmarks ...

Surrounding municipalities

** Minamimaki ** Minamiaiki *

** Hokuto **

Kōfu is the capital city of Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 187,985 in 90,924 households, and a population density of 880 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Overview Toponymy Kōfu's name means "c ...

** Yamanashi *

** Chichibu *

Ueno 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 ...

Climate

The village has a

humid continental climate 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 freezing ...

characterized by cool summers, and cold, wet winters (

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfb''). The average annual temperature in Kawakami is 4.7 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1954 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 23.5 °C, and lowest in January, at around -1.3 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Kawakami has remained relatively steady over the past 50 years.

History

The area of present-day Kawakami was part of ancient

Shinano Province or is an old province of Japan that is now Nagano Prefecture. Shinano bordered on Echigo, Etchū, Hida, Kai, Kōzuke, Mikawa, Mino, Musashi, Suruga, and Tōtōmi Provinces. The ancient capital was located near modern-day Matsumoto, whi ...

. Ruins from the Jomon period,

Kofun period The is an era in the history of Japan from about 300 to 538 AD (the date of the introduction of Buddhism), following the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes collectively called the Yamato period. This period is ...

and

Nara period The of the history of Japan covers the years from CE 710 to 794. Empress Genmei established the capital of Heijō-kyō (present-day Nara). Except for a five-year period (740–745), when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the cap ...

have been found within the village borders, indicating continuous settlement for thousands of years. The present village of Kawakami was created with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889.

Economy

Agriculture, particularly the cultivation of lettuce, and forestry are mainstays of the local economy.

Education

Kawakami has two public elementary schools and one public middle school operated by the village government. The village does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

East Japan Railway Company The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and is the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are ...

Koumi Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It links Kobuchizawa Station in Hokuto, Yamanashi with Komoro Station in Komoro, Nagano, and extends 78.9 km (49.0 mi) through the mountains with a total of 3 ...

Highway

*The village is not on any national highway

Local attractions

Ōmiyama ruins } The is an archaeological site containing the ruins of a mid- Jōmon period (2500–1500 BCE) settlement located in the Ōmiyama neighborhood of the village of Kawakami, Nagano in the Chūbu region of Japan. The site was designated a National H ...

, traces of a Jōmon-period settlement; a National Historic Site

Noted people from Kawakami

Kimiya Yui is a Japanese astronaut from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). He was selected for the agency in 2009. Biography Yui, from Nagano Prefecture, enrolled in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force after he graduated from the National Defense ...

–

JAXA The is the Japanese national air and space agency. Through the merger of three previously independent organizations, JAXA was formed on 1 October 2003. JAXA is responsible for research, technology development and launch of satellites into orb ...

astronaut *

Aaamyyy Honami 'Amy' Furuhara (born in Kawakami, Nagano), known professionally as Aaamyyy (, stylized as AAAMYYY) is a Japanese people, Japanese electronic musician. Originally a member of electronic pop groups Go Retro and Eimie, Furuhara began working ...

- electronic musician and member of

Tempalay is a Japanese Lo-fi music, lo-fi psychedelic pop band that formed in 2014. Biography Tempalay was formed in 2014, when Ryōto Ohara and Yūya Takeuchi met drummer Natsuki Fujimoto in Tokyo. The band's vocalist Ryōto Ohara, originally from K ...

References

External links

*
Official Website
Villages in Nagano Prefecture {{Nagano-geo-stub