Asahikawa

Asahikawa (旭川) is the second-largest city on the northern island of Hokkaido, Japan. It is located at the confluence of four rivers and is surrounded by hills. It is near the centre of Hokkaido, and is a good base for visiting the nearby Daisetsuzan mountain range and the picturesque Biei-Furano area. The place has few foreign visitors, though Asahiyama Zoo attracts many Japanese tourists.

Understand
With 130 rivers and streams, and over 740 bridges in the city, Asahikawa is a pleasant city to walk or cycle around, especially during the warm season. It is a middle-sized city with a rural feel and direct access to the mountain and outdoor areas.



Tourist information site
The local tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site with integrated Google Translate.

The city government's site has a Japanese-only section on tourism. Its Pamphlets section has many materials in English.

By train
Asahikawa is the terminus of the JR Hakodate Main Line to Sapporo, Otaru and Hakodate. The spacious station hosts a tourist information centre and lounge with free wifi; helpful English speakers are usually available.

Limited express services run between Sapporo and Asahikawa frequently: every 30 minutes during morning and evening hours, and every hour at other times. The journey takes 85 minutes and costs ¥5,080 return. Infrequent local trains can take anywhere from two to three hours at a cost of ¥2490, in which case - unless you have a Seishun 18 Ticket - a bus may be the better option.

Many of JR's Hokkaido lines branch out from Asahikawa: the Soya Line connects to Wakkanai, while the Sekihoku Line connects to Abashiri and the Furano Line goes to skiing hotspot Furano.

By bus
Chuo Bus Service and JR buses offers frequent (every 20 minutes or so) bus service from the Sapporo JR Station for ¥2000 (¥3750 round trip). It takes just over 2 hours. In the winter, the trip takes 2 hours 25 minutes.

There are some bus services to Daisetsuzan National Park.

By bus
The city has an extensive bus network. All attractions are easily reached by bus from the main train station.



On foot
Most of the sites are easily accessible by foot from the main train station, though others like the zoo, Otokoyama brewery, and the ski resorts need a bus or taxi.

By bicycle
Most of the town is in flat land and cycling is easy in summer. Cycling is allowed in the pedestrian lane of all streets, and some streets have special bicycle lanes. There are also dedicated lanes along the embankments of most of the rivers (and there are many). Some hotels offer free bicycle rental. The Tourist Information Center (in the train station) lends bicycles. The region is covered in thick snow in winter.

See




Do
Asahikawa is the coldest city in Japan, holding Japan's temperature record of -41°C (in 1902). It's not that bad most of the time though, and the good side to cold and snow is that there's some great skiing nearby.
 * You can also do cross-country skiing in some of its parks, including the Tomizawa skiing course at Kamui no Mori Park.
 * Biei and Furano are each about one hour away.
 * Back-country options include Asahidake and Kurodake.
 * Back-country options include Asahidake and Kurodake.

If you come in summer you will enjoy fine weather with maximum temperatures sometimes exceeding 30 °C. Take advantage of the fine cycling paths following the river banks.



Buy
Asahikawa's main shopping area is next to the train station, in what is called the Kaimono Koen ("shopping park"). When it was built in 1972 it became the first pedestrian-only outdoor shopping mall in Japan. The street is lined with department stores, shops, cafes, and restaurants. A more remote area is the Arashiyama pottery village. Located on a hill overlooking Asahikawa to the north, this neighbourhood has several crafts workshops including pottery, glass craft, wood work, and textile. Some of these offer courses and many of them have a display area where visitors can see and buy their products.

Eat
Asahikawa is known as one of Japan's gourmet towns, and despite its small size, contains many restaurants of nearly every description. Many restaurants are clustered in the Kaimono Koen (Shopping District Park) area, in front of the JR station. This makes touring a number of restaurants on foot a viable option for a day trip. Asahikawa's ramen noodles are nationally famous, with shoyu (soy sauce) being the flavor of choice. There are also a large number of ethnic restaurants. Hokkaido is generally known for having good dairy products, and Asahikawa is no exception.



Drink
Asahikawa is famous for its sake, especially Otokoyama (男山, lit. "man mountain"), which is probably Hokkaido's best-known label. Other local sakes include Takasago (高砂) and Taisetsu no Kura (大雪の蔵). Beer fans will wish to look for the local Taisetsu microbrew.



Sleep
There is a hotel booking service at the railway station.

If you plan to climb Mount Asahidake in the morning, there is a convenient camp for tents at the foot of the mountain, reachable by bus.



Go next
Being in the center of Hokkaido, Asahikawa is a good base to explore other parts of the island.


 * Biei
 * Furano is a village set in a picturesque landscape that is often used in Japanese dramas and advertisements about quite, rural life in Japan. A popular way to travel between Asahikawa and Furano in summer is the Norokko-go, an old style locomotive that runs purposely at a very slow speed.
 * Sounkyo Gorge and Asahidake at the Daisetsuzan National Park, with very popular onsens (hot-spring resorts) and fine mountain hiking.
 * Wakkanai the northernmost point in Japan.
 * Higashikagura
 * Horokanai
 * Shibetsu
 * Bifuka
 * Engaru