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01457 ／かみかわちょう

Hokkaido 上川郡

Kamikawa Town

A cliff like a screen of stone blocks.

Great Box cliff, Sounkyo Gorge

Photo by E-190 (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Waterfalls

Two falls pour side by side down a cliff,the town calls them Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls.

Waterfalls in Kamikawa Town — Photo by Ans (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Ryusei Falls drops about 90 m and Ginga Falls about 120 m. The Hokkaido Tourism Organization describes Ryusei as fierce and Ginga as delicate, like white thread. The town's site describes two falls pouring side by side down a sheer cliff.

Ryusei Falls, about 90 m
Ginga Falls, about 120 m
Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls

02 ／ Autumn color

Green conifers, red and yellow leaves layered:the town says it is Japan's earliest view of it.

Akadake Ginsendai is described by the town as one of the Daisetsuzan autumn-color spots. It says you can take in the layered green of conifers and red and yellow of broadleaf trees earlier than anywhere in Japan. The town's road information lists vehicle traffic controls on Prefectural Road 1162 in mid to late September.

Town: earliest in Japan
Prefectural Road 1162
Traffic controls in autumn-color season

03 ／ Wetland

More than 70 ponds, large and small,dot a wetland near Ukishima Pass.

The town says Ukishima Wetland lies near Ukishima Pass and has more than 70 ponds, large and small. Alpine plants and other flowers bloom in summer. The town road to the wetland is usually open from early June to late September and closed in the snow season.

70-plus ponds
Town road usually open early June to late September
Closed in snow season

Kamikawa Town from the sky

Now and 1974–78. Tap a photo to zoom in.

Now1974–78

Wide (about 6 km across)

Close (about 1.5 km across)

Now (shot June 2024)Shot 1974–78

Source: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI) GSI Tiles（全国最新写真（シームレス）／国土画像情報（第一期：1974〜1978年撮影））

Open in GSI Maps (now)Open in GSI Maps (1974–78)

Living here

The town's only station is Kamikawa, on the Sekihoku Main Line.

about 4,000 people
Rural district town

The one active station in town is Kamikawa Station on the JR Sekihoku Main Line, and it is the gateway (checked against the JR Hokkaido timetable of October 2026). The town's site says Sounkyo Onsen sits midway along a gorge with sheer cliffs running 24 km. The town belongs to Kamikawa District.

People living here: 3,500people
Area: 1,049.47km²
Households: 1,913households
Rent (average for rentals): —
Healthcare: 0 hospitals ／ 3 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Children waiting for childcare: —1 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

Shape

Borders 11 municipalities.

Kamikawa Town in Japan43.847°N 142.770°E

Territory of Kamikawa Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (Administrative Area Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari.Lakes: National Land Numerical Information (Lake Data), MLIT. Processed by Machigatari. Prepared with the approval of the Director-General of the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, using its Digital Map 25000 (Spatial Data Framework) and Digital Map 25000 (Place Names and Public Facilities). (承認番号平27情使、第585号)

North to south

47.4km

Engaru Town, Takinoue Town, Higashikawa Town, Aibetsu Town, Kitami City, Kamishihoro Town, Shintoku Town, Biei Town, Shibetsu City, Toma Town, Asahikawa City

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Kamikawa Town isthis kind of town.

01By the town's site, the Great Box lies about 6 km from Sounkyo Onsen along National Route 39 toward Kitami, past the Daisetsu Tunnel: a wide columnar-jointed rock wall like a folding screen
02The town describes Ryusei Falls (about 90 m) and Ginga Falls (about 120 m) as among Japan's Top 100 Waterfalls, and says Akadake Ginsendai offers Japan's earliest view of autumn color
03Ukishima Wetland has more than 70 ponds, and the town's only railway station is Kamikawa Station on the JR Sekihoku Main Line

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Kamikawa Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗

From this town's themes