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Located at the northern tip of the Japanese archipelago, Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island, equal in size to Czechoslovakia or Panama. The city of Asahikawa lies at a latitude of 43°C, the same as Florence, Italy and Toronto, Canada. But Asahikawa's winters are incomparably colder because of the effects of the freezing currents that flow through the Pacific Ocean. The minus 41.0°C measured here in 1902 is the lowest temperature ever recorded in Japan. On the other hand, because Asahikawa lies in a basin, its summers are sultry and the temperature can sometimes exceed 30°C. The seasonal extremes are very severe.
Asahikawa lies at the foot of the Daisetsuzan mountain range, known as "The Roof of Hokkaido," at the confluence of four rivers that flow from the 2,000-meter peaks. Watered by these rivers, paddy fields have spread along the shores, making Asahikawa one of Japan's foremost granary regions. Thanks to its deeps forests, there are also a considerable number of lumber-related companies, with more than 100 furniture makers and large paper-making plants situated in the area. Well served by transportation routes, Asahikawa is a central administrative and economic hub, and has grown into the second largest city in Hokkaido after Sapporo, the prefectural capital. |
