Location, Geographical features, Climate & History

Location 　Location of the Karuizawa Town Hall: Located at latitude 36｡20'43"north and longitude 138｡36'01"east and at altitude of 934m above sea level ■Area: A distance of 12.5km from east to west and 14km from north to south, a circumference of 58.7km, and an area of 156.05kｍ2

Geographical features 　Karuizawa Town is located at the east end of Nagano Prefecture and is a hill town that lies at the southeast foot of Mt. Asama (2568m). 　Mt. Asama with its beautiful ridgeline is situated in the north of the town with mountains as high as 1000m, such as Mt Hanamagari, Mt Tomebu, Mt Ichinoji, Mt. Yagasaki and Mt. Happu stretching in a row from east to south. 　Between these mountains lies the Usui Pass which has been serving as a connecting path between the Shinshu and the Kanto areas from a long ago, and there are also the Iriyama Pass and the Wami Pass. The land in the west of the town slopes gently and it continues to Sakudaira. 　The fact that the half of the town area is within the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park and Myogiarafunesaku Kogen Semi-National Park, means that the nature of Karuizawa is protected as a national asset, not to mention important to the town itself.

Climate (Sources from the Meteorological Agency Karuizawa Weather Station) 　The average yearly temperature of Karuizawa is 7.9 degrees. The maximum temperature for the month of August averages at 25.6 degrees and we only have an average of 4 days with over 30 degrees during the months of July and August. 　　　　Additionally, we don't have any nights of over 25 degrees, in other words we don't experience those hot summer nights that make trying to sleep uncomfortable. On the other hand, the temperature drops significantly in winter due to the altitude the town is situated at and the lowest temperature can be close to 20 degrees below zero. The average minimum temperature for the month of January is -9.0 degrees which is actually lower than Sapporo's, in Hokkaido (-7.7 degree). The average number of frost days (a day on which the minimum temperature drops below zero) and ice days (a day on which the maximum temperature drops below zero) are 158.0 days and 21.6 days, respectively (in Sapporo, the frost days are 129.8 days, the ice days are 48.4 days). 　The average annual rainfall of Karuizawa is 1197.6 mm for a normal year which is a relatively small amount. This is not only because there is not much moisture supply due to the long distance from the sea, but also because the town is relatively less subject to typhoons, low pressure, and fronts etc as it is surrounded by the mountain range. In Karuizawa, there is not much snowfall caused by this areas winter pressure pattern, but in a lot of cases snowfall is caused by a low pressure moving along the mainland's south coast. 　In Karuizawa, we have fog quite often throughout the year with the annual average of 134.2 foggy days. This is quiet surprising considering that Kushiro, which is famous for its fog, has an average of 107.5 foggy days a year and Tokyo with only 5.1 foggy days. Fog forms mainly through the following process. A northeasterly wind from the Kanto area rises up along the slope of Usui Pass, and at the same time the air temperature drops due to adiabatic expansion and moisture that cannot be absorbed into the air becomes clouds. The microscopic water-vapor from these clouds move from Usui Pass to Karuizawa and affects visibility. In this case, Kyu-Karuizawa area especially tends to get a thick fog. Due to this fog, the average monthly humidity is over 70% throughout the year and the annual average humidity is 78%. The continual fog helps the growth of a carpet-like moss in the Karuizawa resort area.

History 　In Karuizawa Town, people have lived since the Jomon Period and formed villages. The dwelling remains are preserved at the Serizawa Nansekido Ruins. 　In ancient times, Karuizawa developed as an "Umaya (station)" of the Higashiyamado Road which was opened as one of the major roads. Furthermore, in the Edo Period, Karuizawa prospered as a shukuba (A type of settlement or township which developed along major roads during the mediaeval and early-modern periods, offering accommodation to travelers, facilities for the temporary storage of goods in transit, and a staging-post for horses and runners to speed the transmission of official messages) of the Nakasendo Road, and Karuizawa-jyuku, Kutsukake-jyuku and Oiwake-jyuku were flourished as "Three shukubas of Asama Negoshi". Karuizawa has been playing an important role as a key junction of trade between the Kanto and the Shinshu areas as well as the Sea of Japan side since ancient times up to the present. 　In 1886, Karuizawa was introduced as a summer resort by an English missionary, Alexander Croft Shaw, and since then Karuizawa Town has developed as an international health resort. In recent years, we are welcoming many visitors for the purpose of sightseeing as well as recreation and relaxation, and the town is drawing attention at home and abroad as a cultural tourist area for international goodwill Furthermore, through the development of high-speed transport networks such as the Joetsu Motor Road and the Nagano Shinkansen, and serving as a site of a curling event of the 18th Winter Olympic Games, Karuizawa continues to develop steadily as a town where people from home and abroad can interact.