Shimokawa, Hokkaido
Encyclopedia
Towns of Japan
A town is a local administrative unit in Japan. It is a local public body along with prefecture , city , and village...
located in Kamikawa (Teshio) District
Kamikawa (Teshio) District, Hokkaido
is a district located in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaidō, Japan. Confusingly, there is a district of the same name, Kamikawa District, in the same subprefecture. When Hokkaidō was divided into provinces and districts, this district was placed under Teshio Province...
, Kamikawa
Kamikawa Subprefecture
is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan. The name is derived from Kamikawa no hitobito no Shūraku , a translation of the Ainu Peni Unguri Kotan. Settlement began in 1867...
, Hokkaidō, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
As of 2008, the town has an estimated population
Population
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 3,836 and a density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 6.47 persons per km². The total area is 644.20 km².
Rivers
The main river in Shimokawa is the Nayoro River which is a tributary of the Teshio RiverTeshio River
The is a river in Hokkaido, Japan. At , it is the fourth longest river in Japan.The name of the river derives from an Ainu word meaning "fishing weir."- External links :*...
(the second longest river in Hokkaido). The Nayoro River has two branches: the Sanru River (smaller) and the Panke River (larger). The Sanru River is very clear and is a spawning area for Cherry Trout. Fly fishing is very popular in Shimokawa.
Industry
Shimokawa was originally a mining town, extracting copper and gold. The mines are now exhausted and the primary industries are lumber and farming.Lumber
There are 5 lumber mills in Shimokawa which produce a total of 60,000 m³ of lumber in a year. The lumber is used both in Japan and exported to Canada, Finland, New Zealand and other places. After an area of the forest is harvested for lumber, it is always replanted with baby trees by the Forestry Union. Sometimes the union invites townspeople to help.Sports
Shimokawa has produced a large number of OlympicOlympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
ski jumpers
Ski jumping
Ski jumping is a sport in which skiers go down a take-off ramp, jump and attempt to land as far as possible down the hill below. In addition to the length of the jump, judges give points for style. The skis used for ski jumping are wide and long...
.
Olympic Ski Jumping
For the 2006 Winter Olympics2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event which was celebrated in Turin, Italy from February 10, 2006, through February 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter...
, four ski jumpers who were born in Shimokawa attended (Noriaki Kasai
Noriaki Kasai
, born June 6, 1972 in Shimokawa, Hokkaidō, Japan, is a Japanese ski jumper.Kasai holds a record for most performances in World Cup. To a date of March 23, 2011 he performed record 435 times in World Cup...
, Takanobu Okabe
Takanobu Okabe
is a Japanese ski jumper who has competed in the ski jumping World Cup since 1990.His debut World Cup performance was on December 16, 1989 in Sapporo and at the moment he is the oldest ski jumper in a world of ski jumping...
, Daiki Ito
Daiki Ito
is a Japanese ski jumper who has competed since 2002. He won two bronze medals in the team large hill event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships ....
and Kenshiro Ito). Until the 2010 Winter Olympics
2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
, Noriaki Kasai has participated 6 times. Takanobu Okabe has taken part in 4 Olympics and got the gold medal
Ski jumping at the 1998 Winter Olympics
-Individual K90:February 10, 1998-Individual K120:February 14, 1998-Team K120:-References:*...
at the 1998 Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
in the team tournament. Daiki Ito has participated 2 times. Kenshiro Ito and Hiroo Shima have participated once.
Restaurants
There are many restaurants in Shimokawa. Apollo is an Italian cafe with coffee, pasta, pizza, and other meals. Morena is an Indian soup-curry restaurant with home-made cake and fruit juices. Monja is an okonomiyakiOkonomiyaki
is a Japanese dish containing a variety of ingredients. The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked" . Okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas of Japan, but is widely available throughout the...
restaurant. Manbō is a made-to-order reservation-only restaurant.
Hot Springs
Shimokawa has one hot spring called Gomi Onsen. It is a small hotspring but has an outdoor section. It has a hotel with 30 rooms.Schools
Shimokawa has one nursery school, one elementary school, one junior high school, and one commercial high schoolCommercial high school (Japan)
A , called or shōgyō for short, is a Japanese high school which concentrates more on the teaching of business and commerce knowledge and skills rather than the college preparatory courses taught in most Japanese high schools. Most students who graduate from a commercial high school directly enter...
.
Festivals & Events
Shimokawa has 3 main festivals, and several smaller festivals, held every year. The three main festivals are as follows:- Ice Candle Museum: For a week near the end of February, Shimokawa's main park is filled with snow sculptures and decorated with thousands of ice candles. Events are held throughout the week, and kicked off with a large outdoor BBQ party on the first day.
- UdonUdonis a type of thick wheat-flour noodle of Japanese cuisine.Udon is usually served hot as noodle soup in its simplest form as kake udon, in a mildly flavoured broth called kakejiru which is made of dashi, soy sauce , and mirin. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions...
Festival: The last weekend in August is a two day festival filled with events such as races, baking contests, and traditional dances. Until 2005 it was called the Homecoming Festival. - Great Wall Festival: One afternoon in early spring, a large BBQ party with events and carnival style booths is held in Shimokawa's main park, which contains a small replica of the Great Wall of ChinaGreat Wall of ChinaThe Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built originally to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire against intrusions by various nomadic groups...
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Here are some of the many other festivals held annually in Shimokawa (in rough order of size):
- Arts Weekend: A weekend of photo and craft exhibitions, concerts, and traditional arts (such as Tea CeremonyJapanese tea ceremonyThe Japanese tea ceremony, also called the Way of Tea, is a Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of matcha, powdered green tea. In Japanese, it is called . The manner in which it is performed, or the art of its performance, is called...
). - Culture Weekend: A weekend where many companies, offices, and factories open their doors to the public for tours.
- Every school has their own sports festival weekend (where the students compete at different sports) and a separate school festival weekend (where the students organize activities and sales for themselves and the townspeople).
- Mikoshi Parade: A MikoshiMikoshiA is a divine palanquin . Shinto followers believe that it serves as the vehicle to transport a deity in Japan while moving between main shrine and temporary shrine during a festival or when moving to a new shrine...
(portable shrine) is carried through the town to drive away evil spirits. This is no easy feat, as the shrine weighs over 1 (metric) tonne. - Marching Band Parade: Held to coincide with Shimokawa's War Memorial Day, marching bands (one from each school) parade through town, led by war veterans.
External links
- Official website in Japanese