Karuizawa (軽井沢町) is a resort town located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 20,323 in 9897 households, and a population density of 130 persons per km2. The total area of the town is 156.03 sqkm. Karuizawa, one of the oldest and most famous summer resorts in Japan, has been visited by many people from around the world since the 19th century.

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, a more significant eruption spewing hot rocks and a plume of ash occurred in February 2015. Mt. 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.

Surrounding municipalities

Climate

Karuizawa has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) with warm summers and cold winters. The average annual temperature in Karuizawa is 8.6 C. The average annual rainfall is 1246.2 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 20.8 C, and lowest in January, at around -3.3 C. 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.

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 (see also Yasujiro Tsutsumi), 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

"With its comparatively cool summer weather, its cold refreshing nights, its heavy air-clearing showers, its southern aspect, and its position close to some of the most picturesque mountain scenery of Japan, Karuizawa leaves little to be desired as a summer retreat." "... while quite recently even Japanese gentlemen of high degree have begun to build houses and introduce their families. As in so many other cases, the world followed the lead of the missionaries. Foreigners are now the raison d’étre of Karuizawa, and no echo of Feudalism haunts the hills." "Karuizawa, the most popular summer resort in the whole of the Far East […]." 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 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 (similar to parts of Europe) 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" (Ginza Street, or the Old Road) 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

"And now I am writing in the most lovely study in the world. Over my head the pine branches meet in arches of kindly green ; […]." "There followed a delightful few days in Karuizawa, our last for the summer. Douglas Fairbanks was a most acceptable guest, […]." "Summers in Karuizawa were not just a break in the year but seemed a whole lifetime in themselves. I have far more memories of the minutiae of life there than I do of the much longer periods of time spent in Tokyo." "Karuizawa is an old summer resort in Japan very much like the Hamptons except it's in the mountains. There is a coffee house in a pine forest near Karuizawa. John & I fell in love with the place, and found ourselves going there almost every day with Sean." "They (Olivia's parents) had two properties up in Karuizawa in the mountains for the summer. People fled Tokyo in the summer because the heat is quite extreme."

Summer residents

Evacuees of World War II