Kawakami (川上村 Kawakami-mura) is a village located in Minamisaku District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the village has an estimated population of 4,939 and a density of 23.56 persons per km². The total area is 209.61 km². Its village office is located at 1,185m, the highest of any municipality in Japan. Kawakami is famous for its lettuce, as well as the Kawakami-ken breed of dogs. Although it is not widely known, the source of the Chikuma River, the longest river in Japan, is in Kawakami. They maintain this as a point of pride, as it appears in various school songs.