Asahikawa

*I am the ruler of Doubutsuen in the northern part of M. Nishiki, outside of human society. They call me the Ice Queen - Not only am I likely the best in the SSS, I am also great. Very great. So, I would like a loving relationship that I can reciprocate equally, like a king and a queen, or a daughter and her Papa.*

## Trivia

* Asahikawa's birthday is the opening date of Asahikawa station in 1898.
* Asahikawa's beast motif is the king penguin, second largest species of penguin, smaller, but somewhat similar in appearance to the emperor penguin. Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa has an exhibit of king penguins as one of their main attractions.
* Doubutsuen is Japanese for "Zoo", referencing the previously mentioned Asahiyama Zoo, the northernmost zoo in Japan.
* Asahikawa's ice theme references Asahikawa in Hokkaido - Asahikawa holds the Japan's record of the coldest temperature -41C (-41.8F), measured in 1902, it is still unbeatable ever since.
* Gatling gun is used as Asahikawa's weapon, which may be related to the city's military history, as the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) Asahikawa Air Field is based in this region. Although it looks like Asahikawa uses the famous minigun M134, it's actually an XM133 variant (M134's predecessor), which implements a gas-operated system instead of electric.
* The polar bears and king penguins in [True Feelings Hidden Under Ice] references the Asahiyama Zoo in Asahikawa, serving as the main attractions. Guests may visit the penguin tunnel on their trip to the zoo.

## Counterpart

Asahikawa Station (旭川駅) is a railway station in Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan, operated by the Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). Asahikawa Station is the central train station for the city of Asahikawa, which is the second largest city in Hokkaido by population after Sapporo. The station is the terminus of the Hakodate Main Line and the starting point of the Soya Main Line and Furano Line. All trains on the Seihoku Main Line, which also has Shin-Asahikawa Station as the starting point of its name, connect to the station via the Soya Main Line, making it a de facto central station for all four lines.

Asahikawa was initially a wooden station building inaugurated on July 16, 1898, as a station on the Kamikawa Line of the Hokkaido Government Railway. Teshio Line (now the Soya Main Line) is then connected to the station on August 12 of the same year, followed by the Tokachi Line (present Furano Line) the following year on September 1, 1899. The station then underwent a major reconstruction on 1904, completed on 1913. In 1949 the station is then absorbed by the Japan National Railways (JNR), a public corporation that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987, and the station is then extended for passenger and freight use on the following year, February 1. A third remodeling was completed on June 30, 1960, with 2 stories above ground and 1 below. The station becomes a public station with Asahikawa Station Department Store in the basement, though the latter was closed by 2004.

Asahikawa station eventually became a station of Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido) by April 1, 1897, due to the privatization of Japan National Railways. The fourth and most recent remodeling is completed on November 23, 2011, adding elevation to the station building and with the opening of the Hyobashi Bridge, the entrance and exit directly connected to Eiryu Bridge Road and the passageway to the east concourse are completed, improving efficiency.

The elevated station has three island platforms (Lines 1-6) and one single platform (Line 7) from the south, for a total of four platforms and seven lines. Due to its structure, Furano Line arrivals and departures are limited to Lines 1-3. The platforms 1 and 2 and their extensions on the elevated slab and platforms 5 and 6 are each equipped with a total of 20 four-forked pillars, each of which has 10 branches like a tree, supporting a large roof (180 m long, 60 m wide, and 12.5 m high from the elevated slab) that covers the platforms. Platforms 1 and 2 are shorter than the roof, and platforms 3-6 extend slightly beyond the roof. There are glass curtain walls on the exterior of the station, including the station building, and the platforms overlook the Chubetsu River and the Daisetsuzan Mountains. 7 vending machines are located on platforms 3 and 4, and the limited express boarding entrance information system is located on platforms 3-6. Wikipedia

The Asahiyama Zoo (旭山動物園) is a municipal zoo that opened in July 1967 in Asahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan, and is the northernmost zoo in the country. In August 2004, over 320,000 people had visited the zoo, the second highest number of visitors among all the zoos in Japan. Located in Higashi Asahikawa, on the outskirts of Asahikawa, the Asahiyama Zoo is accredited by the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA).

The Maruyama Zoo in Sapporo, and the Obihiro Zoo predate the construction of the Asahiyama Zoo. In 1964, the mayor at the time, Kōzō Igarashi, budgeted for the Asahiyama Zoo project, and chose Mount Asahi as the building site due to its geology and traffic convenience. Construction of the Asahiyama Zoo began in April 1966, and was completed in June 1967, at a total expense of 250 million yen. The zoo was inaugurated on July 1, 1967, with 75 species of animals including 200 common carp. Driven by a decline in visitors, the park erected a steel roller coaster which was dismantled in 2006.

Since 1997, the zoo has undertaken the construction of unique interactive animal viewing facilities, initiated by chief manager Masao Kosuge. After "Totori no Mura" (Totori's Village), which enables visitors to see birds flying freely in a huge cage, the zoo continued to install new facilities including Polar Bear Aquatic Park, a "walk- through" penguin aquarium, an orangutan trapeze, and a seal aquarium which includes a vertical tube through which the seals can swim. In August 2004, the monthly number of visitors exceeded 320,000, which surpassed Ueno Zoo in Tokyo. In 2006, the annual number of visitors reached 2 million, and the following year, the number was 3 million, which was surpassed only by the Ueno Zoo (about 3.5 million people in the same year). Over the years, the Asahiyama Zoo has drawn a number of media attractions, and some TV programs and publications featuring the zoo's success have also been created. Wikipedia

## Map

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