Urakawa is located in southern Hokkaido, in the central coastal area of the Hidaka Subprefecture. The mountainous area in the north, derived from the
Hidaka Mountains, is designated as the
Hidakasanmyaku-Erimo-Tokachi National Park. The southern part faces the
Pacific Ocean. Earthquakes are relatively frequent in this region, and the Urakawa Meteorological Observatory (closed in October 2009) was the only place within the Hidaka region where seismic intensity information was available.
Neighboring municipalities •
Shinhidaka •
Samani •
Taiki •
Hiroo Climate Urakawa has a
humid continental climate (
Köppen Dfb) with warm summers and cold winters. With an alternate definition, using the −3 °C (27 °F) isotherm, Urakawa falls in the rare
oceanic climate (
Cfb) of the east coast of the continents due to the warm current of Tsushima. Owing to its slightly more southerly latitude, easterly aspect and location on the sea, snowfall is much lighter than in the major cities of western Hokkaido like Sapporo, Hakodate, Asahikawa and Wakkanai, with the most in one month being in January 1969. Precipitation in heaviest in the summer months when remnant typhoons may approach; the heaviest daily rainfall being on 5 August 1981, and the wettest month being in August 1995. The driest month has been in February 2003. Year-round sunshine, although less than in the Tokachi Plain, is also higher than western Hokkaido, with the dullest month being 48.0 hours in August 1941 and the sunniest, in April 2014, being 288.0 hours, which beats the previous record of 271.6 hours in May 1957.
Demographics Per Japanese census data, the population of Urakawa has declined in recent decades. ==History==