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.
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.
- -3°-8°Jan
- -2°-8°Feb
- 2°-3°Mar
- 9°4°Apr
- 17°12°May
- 22°17°Jun
- 26°21°Jul
- 26°21°Aug
- 22°17°Sep
- 14°9°Oct
- 6°1°Nov
- -1°-6°Dec
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.
- Fukagawanearest town · 13 km in a straight line
- Parking 1,620 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Asahikawa Airport (AKJ)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 21 km in a straight lineCar hire at CTS airport (Sapporo)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- In June and in Septemberbest months to hike (estimate)
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.
- 32 m³/sJan
- 13 m³/sFeb
- 82 m³/sMar
- 277 m³/sApr
- 239 m³/sMay
- 150 m³/sJun
- 131 m³/sJul
- 182 m³/sAug
- 194 m³/sSep
- 175 m³/sOct
- 137 m³/sNov
- 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.
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.
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | -3 | -2 | 2 | 9 | 17 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 14 | 6 | -1 |
| Afternoon · rim | -8 | -8 | -3 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 17 | 9 | 1 | -6 |
| Night · rim | -16 | -16 | -11 | -4 | 2 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 1 | -6 | -13 |
| Rain (mm) | 70 | 61 | 56 | 52 | 69 | 80 | 119 | 154 | 126 | 107 | 103 | 97 |
| Rainy days | 20 | 17 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 22 |
| Sun hours/day | 2.9 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 5.7 | 5.3 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 2.2 | 1.9 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 56 | 70 | 64 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 29 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | -3 | -8 | -16 | 70 | 2.9 |
| Feb | -2 | -8 | -16 | 61 | 3.9 |
| Mar | 2 | -3 | -11 | 56 | 5.3 |
| Apr | 9 | 4 | -4 | 52 | 6.1 |
| May | 17 | 12 | 2 | 69 | 6.1 |
| Jun | 22 | 17 | 8 | 80 | 5.7 |
| Jul | 26 | 21 | 12 | 119 | 5.3 |
| Aug | 26 | 21 | 13 | 154 | 5.0 |
| Sep | 22 | 17 | 8 | 126 | 4.9 |
| Oct | 14 | 9 | 1 | 107 | 4.0 |
| Nov | 6 | 1 | -6 | 103 | 2.2 |
| Dec | -1 | -6 | -13 | 97 | 1.9 |
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.
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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 56% | 75% | 134% | 123% | 109% | 108% | 45% | 85% | 77% | 135% | 80% | 75% |
| 2021 | 97% | 127% | 110% | 199% | 130% | 39% | 17% | 90% | 82% | 133% | 141% | 80% |
| 2022 | 121% | 69% | 94% | 29% | 118% | 184% | 110% | 150% | 77% | 91% | 53% | 92% |
| 2023 | 66% | 64% | 83% | 184% | 81% | 186% | 97% | 95% | 121% | 106% | 106% | 66% |
| 2024 | 72% | 70% | 75% | 94% | 94% | 89% | 125% | 141% | 66% | 131% | 77% | 48% |
| 2025 | 60% | 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.
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q11589515) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, 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.





