[4] Asahibashi, a bridge over Ishikari River, has been one of the symbols of Asahikawa since its completion in 1932, and it was also registered as one of the Hokkaido Heritage sites on October 22, 2001.

Asahikawa was populated by the mainland Japanese in the Meiji period (1868 – July 1912) as a tondenhei, or state-sponsored farmer-militia settlement.

[2] Asahikawa thrived as a military city before World War II, when the IJA 7th Division was posted there.

[7] Today, the 2nd Division of the Northern Army of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force is headquartered in Asahikawa.

[8] Asahikawa winters are long and cold, with below-freezing average monthly temperatures from December through March.

Summers are generally warm and humid in Asahikawa, with average high temperatures in the warmest months hovering around 26 °C (79 °F).

Japan's lowest temperature ever (−41.0 °C (−41.8 °F)) was recorded in Asahikawa, colder than other cities registered in Hokkaido,[9][10][11] but warmer in absolute numbers than Mount Fuji.

Per Japanese census data,[19] the population of Asahikawa peaked around the year 2000 and has declined slightly in the decades since.

The airport was first proposed by the Asahikawa City Council in 1955, opened in 1961, and daily flights to Tokyo started in 1970.