Parts of the western portion of the city are within the Tanzawa-Ōyama Quasi-National Park and include Mount Ōyama.

Kanagawa Prefecture Atsugi has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.

[2] Per Japanese census data,[3] the population of Atsugi grew rapidly during the late 20th century and has plateaued in the 21st.

Atsugi town was created on April 1, 1889, through merger of several small hamlets, with the establishment of the modern municipalities system.

In April 2000, Atsugi exceeded 200,000 in population and was proclaimed a special city with increased autonomy from the central government.

Atsugi has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city council of 28 members.

In terms of national politics, the city is part of Kanagawa 16th district of the lower house of the Diet of Japan.