is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

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 ...

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

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 ...

. It has been a

core city In urban planning, a historic core city or central city is the municipality with the largest 1940 population in the present metropolitan area (metropolitan statistical area). This term was retired by the US census bureau and replaced by the term ...

since April 1, 2000. The city is currently well known for the Asahiyama Zoo, 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 is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 321,906, with 173,961

household A household consists of one 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 im ...

s, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

of 431 persons per km² (1,100 persons per mi²). The total area is . Asahikawa was designated a "Design City" by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Creative Cities Network The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a flagship city programme of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which have recognized culture and creativity as strategic drivers of sustainable urban development Urban means ...

project 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 ...

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 was 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 colonizatio ...

(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, municip ...

set up under Ishikari Province with the

villages A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

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

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 ...

*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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 The , , 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 branches. New military guidelines, announced in December 2010, direct ...

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 Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity depe ...

(''Dfb,'' according to

Köppen classification Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

). Asahikawa winters are long and cold, with below-freezing average monthly temperatures from December 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 is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

. 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

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Asahikawa peaked around the year 2000 and has declined slightly in the decades since.

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 Asah ...

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 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 Uni ...

(Previously: the Asahikawa Campus of Hokkaido Tokai University)

Colleges

* Asahikawa National College of Technology

High schools

Public

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

Private

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

Transportation

Airport

Asahikawa is served by Asahikawa Airport 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 The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of Un ...

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

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, but some airlines offer destinations in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. 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, Hokkaido, Hakodate and Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Asahikawa via Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan. It is one of the trunk lines that is operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The Sawa ...

connects Asahikawa to

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

in the south of Hokkaido, and the Sōya Main Line connects Asahikawa with

Wakkanai file:Wakkanai city office.JPG, 290px, Wakkanai City Hall file:Wakkanai shore.jpg, 290px, Shore of Wakkanai is a Cities of Japan, city located in Sōya Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Wakkanai is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture. Situated approx ...

at the north of Hokkaido. The Sekihoku Main Line 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 ...

on the

Sea of Okhotsk The Sea of Okhotsk; Historically also known as , or as ; ) is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the sou ...

. 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 by its official abbreviation: . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a smart c ...

*Hakodate Main Line：-

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 ...

– 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. * Asahikawa Electric Railways *Douhoku Bus

Specialties

* Asahikawa

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 ...

* Asahikawa furniture * Confectionery *

Sake Sake, , or saki, 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 indeed any East Asi ...

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

Sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

and Seafood

Sightseeing

* Asahiyama Zoo * 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 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 ...

* Asahikawa Museum of Sculpture in Honor of Teijiro Nakahara * 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) a ...

'' (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 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 antennae resemble snowballs. She can use them to gather information.

Sister and friendship cities

Sister cities

* Bloomington,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, United States *

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

, United States *

Suwon Suwon (; ) is the largest city and capital of Gyeonggi Province, South Korea's most populous province. The city lies approximately south of the national capital, Seoul. With a population of 1.2 million, Suwon has more inhabitants than Ulsan, tho ...

Gyeonggi-do Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous administrative divisions of South Korea, province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a list of provinc ...

, South Korea

Friendship cities

Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (, , ) is a city and the administrative center of Sakhalin Oblast, Russia. It is located on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, north of Japan. Gas and oil extraction as well as processing are amongst the main industries on ...

Sakhalin Oblast Sakhalin Oblast ( rus, Сахали́нская о́бласть, r=Sakhalinskaya oblastʹ, 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 Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

Heilongjiang Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...

, China

Notable people

Takeshi Aono was a Japanese voice actor and narrator from Asahikawa, Hokkaido, 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 Sh ...

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

manga artist A manga artist, also known as a mangaka (), is a Cartoonist, comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist before entering the indus ...

* Nanami Hashimoto, idol * Yasushi Inoue, author * Kiyomi Kato, wrestler * Kitanofuji Katsuaki, 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 the 1990s, he also began his career as a solo a ...

, lead vocalist of Anzen Chitai * Buichi Terasawa,

* Masae Ueno, judo wrestler * Yoshie Ueno, judo wrestler * Miho Yabe, actress * Megumi Yabushita,

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

, kickboxer,

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, 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 Encyc ...

* Shōgō Yasumura, comedian

References

External links

Official Website

Asahikawa Tourism Website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asahikawa, Hokkaido Cities in Hokkaido