Volunteer activities since the opening of the Hokuryu Sunflower IC jointly conducted by the Fukagawa Road Office of the Sapporo Development and Construction Department, the Hokuryu Town Office, and the Hokuryu Construction Industry Association

Tuesday, June 9, 2020

On Monday, June 8, from 1:30 p.m., the Fukagawa Road Office of the Sapporo Development and Construction Department, the Hokuryu Town Office, and the Hokuryu Construction Association jointly held a sunflower seeding, trash pickup, and weeding event at the parking lot of the Hokuryu Sunflower Interchange (IC) on the Fukagawa-Rumoi Expressway.

Hokuryu Himawari IC of Fukagawa-Rumoi Expressway



This volunteer activity has been conducted every year since the opening of the Hokuryu Sunflower IC in 2005.

Flower beds in the parking lot

On the day of the event, about 20 people gathered. Working together, they carefully sowed sunflowers in the flower beds set up in the parking lot of the interchange. They also picked up trash and mowed the surrounding area at the same time.


Volunteer Activities

This activity is led by the Labor Committee of the Hokuryu Construction Industry Association and is part of the committee's activities.

We hope that the sunflowers blooming at this interchange will make the town a little brighter and more cheerful since the Sunflower Festival will not be held this year," said Shinichi Sasaki, chairperson of the Labor Relations Committee.


Sowing sunflowers

The flower beds were prepared with soft soil, and sunflower seeds were carefully sown at regular intervals, one by one.


Trash pickup, mowing

At the same time, trash was picked up around the Sunflower IC parking lot and the grass was mowed to create a clean environment.


Hokuryu Sunflower IC: The first and only IC name in Japan that includes the name of a place and the name of a product of the town

Yasuhiro Sasaki, chairman of the Hokuryu Construction Industry Association, explained the name of the interchange in his greeting before the start of the event.

Before the opening, this IC was named "Hokuryu Interchange. The town, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Hokuryu Construction Association requested that the IC be named the "Hokuryu Sunflower Interchange" after the town's symbol, the sunflower.

At that time, there were no examples of IC names containing something other than the name of a place. However, thanks to the great efforts of the Fukagawa Road Office of the Sapporo Development and Construction Department, the request of the town of Hokuryu was approved.

The "Hokuryu Sunflower IC" is the first IC in Japan with the name of a place and the name of a product of the town, and I am told that this is still the only IC in Japan.


Since the opening of this interchange, the cultivation of sunflowers, mowing, and trash pickup have continued for the past 15 years.

Although this year's Sunflower Festival was cancelled, the desire of the townspeople to make sunflowers bloom in each district of the town is spreading. This activity is one of those activities," said Yasuhiro Sasaki, chairman of the board of directors.


With boundless love, gratitude and prayers for the great activities of the Sapporo Development and Construction Department Fukagawa Road Office, Hokuryu Town and Hokuryu Construction Association who carefully nurture the bright and cheerful sunflowers at the Hokuryu Sunflower IC, the only one in Japan where the name "Himawari" exists.


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◇ Photography and Editing: Noboru Terauchi Reporting and Writing: Ikuko Terauchi