Kanazawa (金沢市 Kanazawa-shi) is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, West Japan.
In the quinquennial census of 2010, the city has a population of 311,248, giving a population density of 665.39 persons per km².
Geography[]
Kanazawa sits on the Sea of Japan, bordered by the Japanese Alps, Hakusan National Park and Noto Peninsula National Park. The city sits between the Sai and Asano rivers. Its total area is 467.77 km2 (180.61 square miles).
Climate[]
Kanazawa's weather is temperate though rainy. Average temperatures are slightly cooler than those of Tokyo, with means approximately 4 °C (39 °F) in January, 15 °C (59 °F) in April, 25 °C (77 °F) in July and August, 15 °C (59 °F) in October, and 5 °C (41 °F) in December. The minimum temperature on record was −9.4 °C (15.1 °F) on January 27th, 1904, with a maximum of 38.5 °C (101.3 °F) standing as a record since September 8th, 1902. The city is distinctly wet, with an average humidity of 73% and 193 rainy days in an average year. Precipitation is highest in the autumn and winter; it averages more than 254 millimeters (10 inches)/ month November through January when the Aleutian Low is strongest, but it is above 124.5 millimeters (4.9 in) every month of the year. Along with Valdivia, Chile, Kanazawa stands as the wettest extratropical city of its size or greater in the world.
