Nakakamikawa

The Kamikawa basin lies inland along the upper Ishikari River, where the Ushubetsu, Chūbetsu and Biei rivers join its waters. Ainu communities established small kotan, or settlements, along these streams. Hunting, fishing and the gathering of plants sustained their inhabitants, who also traded across a wide area. The rivers and their tributaries formed the setting for a network of communities in the wooded interior of Ezo.