Karuizawa, Nagano


Karuizawa is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan., the town had an estimated population of 21,834 in 11,285 households, and a population density of 139 persons per km2. The total area of the town is.
Originally, there was a stage station called Karuisawa-shuku on the Nakasendō. The Shin'etsu Line opened in 1888 and the town became popular as a Western-style hill station around that time.
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Geography

Karuizawa is located in eastern Nagano Prefecture, bordered by Gunma Prefecture to the north, east and south. The town is located on an elevated plain at the foot of Mount Asama, one of Japan's most active volcanoes. The mountain is classed as a Category A active volcano. A small eruption was detected in June 2015, and a more significant eruption spewing hot rocks and a plume of ash occurred in February 2015. Mount Asama's most destructive eruption in recent recorded history took place in 1783, when over 1,000 were killed. The volcano is actively monitored by scientists and climbing close to the summit is prohibited.
  • Usui Pass
  • Highest elevation:
  • Lowest elevation:

Surrounding municipalities

Climate

Karuizawa has a humid continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Karuizawa is. The average annual rainfall is with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around, and lowest in January, at around. Precipitation is much heavier in the summer than in the winter.

History

The area of present-day Karuizawa was part of ancient Shinano Province, and developed as Karuisawa-shuku, a post station on the Nakasendō highway connecting Edo with Kyoto during the Edo period.
  • 2 August 1876: The hamlets of Kutsukake, Shiozawanitta, Karijuku, Narusawanitta, and Yui merged to form the village of Nagakura. The village of Hatsuji in Saku District absorbed the hamlet of Matorikaya.
  • 14 January 1879: Kitasaku District was created, and the town of Usuitoge, and the villages of Karuizawa, Nagakura, Oiwake were established with Kitasaku District.
  • 1886: Canadian Anglican missionary Rev. Alexander Croft Shaw and Tokyo Imperial University English professor James Main Dixon introduced Karuizawa as a summer resort.
  • 1 April 1889: With the establishment of the modern municipalities system, the town of Usuitoge, and the villages of Karuizawa, and the areas of the former villages of Kutsukake, Shiozawanitta, and Karijuku from the village of Nagakura merged to form the village of Higashinagakura in Kitasaku District, and the areas of the former villages of Narusawanitta and Yui in the village of Nagakura, and the villages of Hatsuji and Oiwake merged to form the village of Nishinagakura in Kitasaku District.
  • 1910s: Begins to attract the attention of other expatriates and Japanese. Specially Germans congregate here, language professors and academics hold annual conferences.
  • 1 August 1923: The village of Higashinagakura gains town status to become the town of Karuizawa.
  • 8 May 1942: The village of Nishinagakura is merged into Karuizawa.
  • 1942–45: Site of an internment camp for enemy foreigners and diplomats during World War 2
  • From 1943 relocation of an increasing number of Germans from Tokyo, which is suffering from US fire bombing. The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers deported most German nationals in late 1947.
  • 1951: Selected as International Cultural and Tourism City
  • 1 February 1957: Karuizawa absorbed Serizawa area from the former village of Goga, which was absorbed by the town of Miyota.
  • 1 April 1959: The Kajikazawa area of the former village of Oiwake was split off and merged with the town of Miyota.
  • 1964: 1964 Summer Olympics
  • February 1972: Asama-Sanso incident; Police besiege communist militants holed up in holiday resort after mass killing and hostage taking.
  • 1 October 1997: The Nagano Shinkansen opens, serving Karuizawa.
  • 1998: 1998 Winter Olympics
  • 2004: Mount Asama erupts.
  • 2016: The G7 Transport Ministers' Meeting
  • 2019: The G20 Energy and Environment Ministers' Meeting
  • 2023: G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in conjunction with the G7 Summit

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Karuizawa has been increasing over the past 60 years.

Economy

Since one of the origins of the Seibu Group is in Karuizawa, Seibu is still developing big businesses in this town such as Prince Hotels.
Hoshino Resorts is headquartered in Karuizawa.

Education

Karuizawa has three public elementary school and one public middle school operated by the town government, and one public high school is operated by the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education. The UWC ISAK Japan international school is also located in the town.

Transportation

Railway

Highway

International relations

Local attractions

Karuizawa was developed as a European-style resort town by a Scottish-Canadian missionary in 1888. In the following decades, the town attracted visitors from across the country seeking to escape the heat of summer and enjoy vacations, as well as a significant number of Westerners. Unlike many other hill stations, Karuizawa was actively open to the natives from the beginning, and many Japanese aristocrats, scholars, artists and others had already built "Western-style" villas in the town by the early 20th century. The Japanese and Western communities interacted well with each other through summer recreation activities and the like. In the 21st century the town retains significant Western cultural influence, and its alpine beauty and cool summer climate continue to draw visitors.
More recently, Karuizawa has become a popular year-round resort for mainly Japanese, offering many outdoor sports, hot springs and recreational activities. Convenient road and rail access from central Tokyo has ensured Karuizawa's popularity as a location for second homes and resort hotels since the Meiji era.
Karuizawa is known for its historic shopping street known as "Ginza dōri" or "Kyū-dō" and association with both Japanese royalty and visitors such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono. As a side note, The Crown Prince Akihito met Michiko Shoda for the first time on a tennis court in Karuizawa in August 1957, and John Lennon spent several summers in Karuizawa with his family in the late 1970s.
Karuizawa hosted equestrian events in the 1964 Summer Olympics as well as curling in the 1998 Winter Olympics. It is the first city in the world to host both Summer and Winter Olympic events.
Since 1997, Karuizawa has been accessible via the JR East Nagano Shinkansen. New high speed rail links has resulted in modest population growth and the development of large outlet style shopping malls.

In popular media

Notable residents

Summer residents

Evacuees of World War II