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Kamuikotan Asahikawa 18-05-22

Japan Japan Canyon

Kamuikotan

496 m of rock, cut by the Ishikari River.

See the cutWhen to go

Totti · CC BY-SA 4.0

The cut

496 metres, to scale.

A slice through Kamuikotan where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.

820 m557 m496 m16 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 2.3820 m557 m496 m16 km rim to rim5.0 kmvertical scale × 3.0

Standing on the floor, to scale: Great Pyramid · 139 m · Empire State · 443 m

Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.

496m

Depth

measured on the 30 m relief model

15.7km

Rim to rim

measured on the 30 m relief model

22°

Steepest wall

average over 300 m, from the relief

60m

Floor altitude

Rim to floor

5 °C warmer at the bottom.

In August the afternoon reaches 26 °C on the floor, against 21 °C on the rim. The best months to hike are in June and in September. The rim freezes at night from November to April. The wettest months are from July to September.

rim · 820 mfloor · 60 m
  1. -3°-8°Jan
  2. -2°-8°Feb
  3. 2°-3°Mar
  4. 9°4°Apr
  5. 17°12°May
  6. 22°17°Jun
  7. 26°21°Jul
  8. 26°21°Aug
  9. 22°17°Sep
  10. 14°9°Oct
  11. 6°1°Nov
  12. -1°-6°Dec
Hike: Jun, SepFrost on the rim: Nov–AprWettest: Jul–Sep

Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.

Kamuikotan is a canyon in Japan, cut by the Ishikari River. The relief model measures 496 m from the floor to the lower rim, and 759 m to the higher one. Rim to rim it is 16 km wide where the cut was taken.

Getting there.

Plan the visit

Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The river

The Ishikari River runs highest from April to May.

The Ishikari River carries about 103 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from April to May, fed by melting snow. It is lowest from January to February.

  1. 32 m³/sJan
  2. 13 m³/sFeb
  3. 82 m³/sMar
  4. 277 m³/sApr
  5. 239 m³/sMay
  6. 150 m³/sJun
  7. 131 m³/sJul
  8. 182 m³/sAug
  9. 194 m³/sSep
  10. 175 m³/sOct
  11. 137 m³/sNov
  12. 111 m³/sDec

From about 13 m³/s in the lowest month to 277 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 3,432 km².

Follow the Ishikari River from source to mouth on Riveryas

Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.

From the sky.

The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.

Kamuikotan seen from above (Sentinel-2) N 6 km

Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 24 × 24 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around the canyon.

  • 3footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km神居大橋
  • 4car parks within 3 km
  • 4bus stops within 2 km
  • 4hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmホテル パールピアス, ホテル 白い恋人, ホテル OJO and 1 more
  • 2restaurants and cafés within 4 km
  • viewpoints within 5 km
  • marked hiking routes within 4 km
  • via ferrata routes within 4 km
  • climbing crags within 3 km
  • rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 km
  • swimming spots within 3 km
  • named waterfalls within 4 km
  • caves within 3 km
  • information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
  • campsites within 8 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).

Towns nearby

  • Fukagawa13 km in a straight line
  • Asahikawa14 km in a straight line
  • Takasu17 km in a straight line
  • Chippubetsu19 km in a straight line
  • Moseushi20 km in a straight line
  • Higashikagura20 km in a straight line
  • Numata23 km in a straight line
  • Akabira23 km in a straight line

In our other atlases

What else is around Kamuikotan.

The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.

Peakyas7 mountains within 15 km
Mount Kamui799 m · 4.7 kmKamui-yama · 4.7 kmMount Tokiwa593 m · 5.7 kmKoppu-yama · 7.5 kmMount Irumukeppu864 m · 11 kmMimata-yama · 13 kmMount Panke-horonai · 14 km

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Month by month

The weather, at the floor and at the rim.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Afternoon · floor-3-2291722262622146-1
Afternoon · rim-8-8-34121721211791-6
Night · rim-16-16-11-428121381-6-13
Rain (mm)70615652698011915412610710397
Rainy days201714111211141415161922
Sun hours/day2.93.95.36.16.15.75.35.04.94.02.21.9
Snow on the ground (cm)567064193000041529
Afternoon · floorAfternoon · rimNight · rimRain (mm)Sun hours/day
Jan-3-8-16702.9
Feb-2-8-16613.9
Mar2-3-11565.3
Apr94-4526.1
May17122696.1
Jun22178805.7
Jul2621121195.3
Aug2621131545.0
Sep221781264.9
Oct14911074.0
Nov61-61032.2
Dec-1-6-13971.9

Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (60 m) and the rim (820 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.

Photographs

Seen from the trail.

Kamui Ohashi Bridge 20110529
Takisaw · CC BY-SA 4.0
Kamuikotan - panoramio
Katsumasa Miyazaki · CC BY-SA 3.0
Pot hole at Kamuikotan (Asahikawa, Hokkaido) No. 1
DrTerraKhan · CC BY-SA 3.0

Recent years

Wet years, dry years.

Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202056%75%134%123%109%108%45%85%77%135%80%75%
202197%127%110%199%130%39%17%90%82%133%141%80%
2022121%69%94%29%118%184%110%150%77%91%53%92%
202366%64%83%184%81%186%97%95%121%106%106%66%
202472%70%75%94%94%89%125%141%66%131%77%48%
202560%111%165%234%88%123%87%135%184%83%133%140%

130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month

Compare with the neighbours.

Kamuikotan

Japan

  • 496 mDepth
  • 16 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 22°Steepest wall

Sounkyo

Japan · 61 km

  • 1,257 mDepth
  • 13 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 38°Steepest wall

See the guide

Japan Canyon

Japan · 399 km

  • 227 mDepth
  • 15 kmRim to rim
  • —Length
  • 22°Steepest wall

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name, type, published depth and lengthWikidata (Q11589515) · CC0
The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D modelCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
River flow and basinHydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0
ClimateNASA POWER, 1991–2020
Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearbyCoastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers or canyons?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, month by month, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit
lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Coming soonVisit
mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit
waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Coming soonVisit
islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit
canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.You are here