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Climate and Natural Environment
A magnificent view of the high and broad Yatsugatake
Mountains with their main peak, Mt. Akatake
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Japan’s Longest Hours of Sunshine, and Some of
the Best Water
Because of Hokuto City’s broad expanse, climate differs considerably from one
place to another. Akeno Town, at the foot of Mt. Kayagatake, is known as the
place that gets the most sunlight in Japan, with a yearly average of 2,625 hours
annually since observations began. Its insolation rate of over 50% makes it particularly
suited to sunflowers.
The plentiful snow and rainfall at the feet of Mt. Yatsugatake, Mt. Komagatake,
and other mountains seep into the ground and endow Hokuto with superb water resources.
This water emerges in places including the Mt. Yatsugatake Southern Slope Highland
Springs and the Ojira River in Hakushu Town, which are among those chosen by
the Environment Ministry as the “100 Remarkable Waters of Japan.” This makes
Hokuto City the highland city with the best-tasting water in Japan.
Hokuto is surrounded by high mountains that might be called the roof of Japan,
giving the area a highland climate that is cool in summer and just right as a
place to escape the heat. At the same time, well-defined seasons give Hokuto
beautiful flowers and trees of renown all year, such as the “Utsukushimori Giant
Azaleas” and the “Yamataka Jindai Cherry Tree,” which is one of Japan’s “three
great cherry trees.” These are also government-designated natural monuments.
Visitors are considerably impressed by these sights.
In the spring there is a profusion of peach blossoms and well-known cherry trees,
the latter including the “Yamataka Jindai Cherry Tree,” which is famous as one
of Japan’s three great cherry trees and is also a government-designated natural
monument. Summer visitors luxuriate in the coolness of our highland climate,
while in the autumn Mt. Yatsugatake, Mt. Kaikomagatake, Mt. Mizugaki, and others
among the List of the 100 Famous Mountains in Japan are clothed in splendorous
colored leaves. Visitors are moved by these sights, and by the harsh but dreamily
beautiful winter.
Amazing Orogenic Movement Caused by Fossa Magna
Plate Collision
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The Fossa Magna, formed over eons of time |
Hokuto City’s natural environment is a product of collisions caused by the Fossa
Magna, which is responsible for active orogenic movement that created the city’s
astonishingly beautiful natural views including Mt. Yatsugatake, Mt. Kaikomagatake,
and Mt. Mizugaki. This orogenic movement is known among earth science researchers
as “Fossa Magna” (Latin for “big trench”), which crosses Honshu and is the largest
rift valley in Japan. It is said that the Fossa Magna was named by Edmund Naumann,
a German geologist invited to Japan by the Meiji government, when he looked out
over the huge mountain range from present-day Kiyosato (in Takane Town, Hokuto
City) and exclaimed, “The Earth is split here!” According to plate tectonics
theory, the Fossa Magna was formed when the Eurasian plate, which carries the
Southern Alps, collided with and was subducted by the North American plate advancing
from the east, and further struck by the Philippine sea Plate, which carries
the Izu Peninsula and is advancing from the south. Hokuto region scenery is said
to be some of the most geologically valuable in the world because one can observe
this three-way plate collision. The Southern Alps continue to rise because of
this very active orogenic movement, thereby continuing to create some of the
world’s most magnificent natural scenery. Hokuto City is a perfect place for
observing this timeless global geological evolution on a grand scale. |
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Plants and Animals
Hokuto City takes great pride in what is literally valuable repository of wildlife,
including the Japanese antelope, which is a large species representative of Japan’s
alpine regions, plus squirrels, macaques, wild boars, Asiatic black bears, and
other mammals, a variety of wild birds of all sizes, and innumerable alpine plants.
Additionally, the nationally well-known cherry trees and countryside described
above have an attraction that always makes visitors feel as if they’ve come home. |
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