Shimokawa, Hokkaidō
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Shimokawa 下川町 |
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| Town | |
Shimokawa town hall
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 Location of Shimokawa in Hokkaido (Kamikawa Subprefecture) |
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 Shimokawa
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| Coordinates: 44°18′N 142°38′E / 44.300°N 142.633°ECoordinates: 44°18′N 142°38′E / 44.300°N 142.633°E | |
| Country | Japan |
| Region | Hokkaido |
| Prefecture | Hokkaido (Kamikawa Subprefecture) |
| District | Kamikawa (Teshio) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 644.20 km2 (248.73 sq mi) |
| Population (2008) | |
| • Total | 3,836 |
| • Density | 6.0/km2 (15/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) |
| Website | www |
Shimokawa (下川町 Shimokawa-chō?) is a town located in Kamikawa (Teshio) District, Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan.
As of 2008, the town has an estimated population of 3,836 and a density of 6 persons per km². The total area is 644.20 km².
Shimokawa is 90% forest: primarily oak, white birch, larch, and pine trees.
The main river in Shimokawa is the Nayoro River which is a tributary of the Teshio River (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.
Shimokawa was originally a mining town, extracting copper and gold. The mines are now exhausted and the primary industries are lumber and farming.
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.
Shimokawa has produced a large number of Olympic ski jumpers.
For the 2006 Winter Olympics, four ski jumpers who were born in Shimokawa attended (Noriaki Kasai, Takanobu Okabe, Daiki Ito and Kenshiro Ito). Until the 2014 Winter Olympics, Noriaki Kasai has participated 7 times. Takanobu Okabe has taken part in 4 Olympics and got the gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics in the team tournament. Daiki Ito has participated 3 times. Yuki Ito, Kenshiro Ito and Hiroo Shima have participated once.
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