| Wakkanai 稚内 |
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| — City — | |||
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| Location of Wakkanai in Hokkaidō | |||
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Wakkanai
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Japan | ||
| Region | Hokkaidō | ||
| Prefecture | Hokkaidō | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Hiroshi Kudo (since May 2011) | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 760.80 km2 (293.7 sq mi) | ||
| Population (July 31, 2011) | |||
| • Total | 38,442 | ||
| • Density | 53.63/km2 (138.9/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | Japan Standard Time (UTC+9) | ||
| City Symbols | |||
| - Tree | Sakura, Rowan | ||
| - Flower | Rosa rugosa | ||
| Phone number | 0162-23-6161 | ||
| Address | 3-13-15 Chūō, Wakkanai-shi, Hokkaidō 097-8686 |
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| Website | City of Wakkanai | ||
Wakkanai (稚内市 Wakkanai-shi, Ainu: Yam Wakka Nay) is a city located in Sōya, Hokkaidō. It is the capital of Sōya Subprefecture and the northernmost city in Japan. It contains Japan's northernmost point, Cape Soya, from which the Russian island of Sakhalin can be seen.
As of December 31, 2007, the city has an estimated population of 40,629 and the density of 53.63 persons per km². The total area is 760.80 km².
The city was founded on April 1, 1949.
Wakkanai Airport is located in Wakkanai, whilst the Sōya Main Line runs a diesel train from Asahikawa which connects to Sapporo.
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Cape Soya is located near Wakkanai, which is on a peninsula jutting towards Sakhalin.
Wakkanai has the typical humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) of Hokkaidō, with cold winters, warm summers and generally heavy precipitation from the Aleutian Low, whose winds hit the city direct from the Sea of Japan. The mean annual temperature, at 6.5 °C (43.7 °F), is the second lowest for a significant population centre in Japan after Nemuro. Snowfall at 257 inches (6.5 m), the third highest for a big city in Japan after Asahikawa and Aomori and one of the highest anywhere in the world. For comparison in Canada:
The Aleutian Low also makes the sunshine hours the lowest of Japan’s major population centres and in the winter the wind speeds are the highest in Japan with an average of 20.2 kilometres per hour (12.6 mph), which adds to the −4.7 °C (23.5 °F) cold of a typical winter day. The city’s port is usually usable throughout the year, but does occasionally freeze in cold winters.
| Climate data for Wakkanai (1981-2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −2.7 (27.1) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
1.2 (34.2) |
7.2 (45.0) |
12.0 (53.6) |
15.7 (60.3) |
19.7 (67.5) |
22.3 (72.1) |
19.7 (67.5) |
13.7 (56.7) |
6.1 (43.0) |
0.1 (32.2) |
9.4 (48.9) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −6.8 (19.8) |
−7.1 (19.2) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
1.8 (35.2) |
6.0 (42.8) |
10.1 (50.2) |
14.5 (58.1) |
17.3 (63.1) |
14.0 (57.2) |
8.1 (46.6) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
4.2 (39.6) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 84.3 (3.319) |
60.7 (2.39) |
50.3 (1.98) |
49.0 (1.929) |
67.6 (2.661) |
53.0 (2.087) |
90.6 (3.567) |
116.0 (4.567) |
123.5 (4.862) |
134.1 (5.28) |
120.9 (4.76) |
112.8 (4.441) |
1,062.8 (41.843) |
| Snowfall cm (inches) | 173 (68.1) |
143 (56.3) |
102 (40.2) |
21 (8.3) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
1 (0.4) |
53 (20.9) |
160 (63) |
653 (257.1) |
| % humidity | 72 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 79 | 85 | 86 | 84 | 75 | 68 | 67 | 70 | 75.3 |
| Avg. snowy days | 26.2 | 24.2 | 9.2 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.4 | 17.7 | 28.2 | 110.1 |
| Sunshine hours | 45.6 | 80.3 | 138.6 | 171.8 | 185.6 | 166.3 | 146.8 | 148.5 | 177.1 | 135.9 | 57.6 | 30.1 | 1,484.2 |
| Source: Japan Meteorological Agency | |||||||||||||
Daisuke Matsuzaka Museum is located in Wakkanai.[1]
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