50 Years of Tourism Association [2010s].
year number | month | major events |
Year 2010 2010 | 7 | Reconstructed the Sunflower Village Observatory |
8 | Fireworks display at Himawari Festival will be resumed after being cancelled last year | |
🌻 | The number of vehicles traveling on Route 275 and 233 will decrease due to the introduction of free expressways, etc., and the number of tourists will decline. The number of vehicles passing through the national highway decreased due to the free expressway section by the Democratic Party of Japan administration (June 25, 2010~June 19, 2011). | |
🌻 | Publication of Sunflower's 30th anniversary magazine | |
🌻 | The Tourism Agency is established in the Ministry of Construction and the Visit Japan Campaign begins. | |
🌻 | One more integrated seeding machine (planter purchased April 2010) to make the sunflower village more grandiose. | |
🌻 | Smartphones are starting to become popular in Japan and are an innovation for travel. The new system can be used as an in-car navigation system to take pictures and obtain sightseeing information anywhere, and it can also be used as a translation function, which is very useful for overseas tourists. | |
2011 2011 | 3 | The Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami left more than 22,000 people dead or missing and devastated the infrastructure of the Tohoku region, causing a sharp decline in tourism to the Tohoku region and a flow of tourists outside of Tohoku. |
4 | Tadahiko Komatsu was appointed head of the Tourism Association. | |
6 | The JA Kitasorachi Hokuryu branch office's fruit-sorting station was closed and the Minoricchi Hokuryu direct sales shop for agricultural products opened, selling melons and watermelons. | |
7.8 | 25th Himawari Festival held (Himawari no Sato) | |
7 | The Chamber of Commerce and Industry office will set up a game corner due to the vacancy of a booth at the Tourism Center. | |
7 | Reconstruction of the second observatory and creation of a photography point 8,295,000 yen | |
7 | Created "Ganbarou Japan" maze for reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake, which was covered by NHK and other TV media. | |
7 | Kiyo Hikawa shoots a promotional video. | |
8 | NTV shoots opening scene for remake of "The Yellow Handkerchief | |
🌻 | Purchase of an impact hauler (seed peeler) for sunflower nut production 2,205,000 yen | |
🌻 | LINE launched its service in June, with 80 million registered users in Japan. | |
Year 2012 2012 | 7.8 | The 26th Himawari Festival held (Himawari no Sato) |
8 | There are passing cars for the Numata Town "Night High Andon Festival" to coincide with the last day of the Sunflower Festival. | |
7 | 8 toilets converted to water-saving toilets 1,522,500 yen | |
🌻 | Low-cost airplanes LCCs have begun to board. Inbound traffic will be on the rise in Japan In Hokkaido, the number of foreigners using rental cars has increased about 15.5 times in the 9 years since this year (Based on aggregate figures of foreign rentals from member companies of the Hokkaido Federation of Car Rental Associations) (6,408 in 2011, 10,039 in 2012, 17,432 in 2013, 24,243 in 2014, 41,361 in 2015, 84,636 in 2017, 95,155 in 2018, 99,176 in 2048) | |
🌻 | Smartphone penetration is rapidly advancing, reaching about 401 TP3T in Japan | |
2013 2013 | 2 | Hokuryu Junior High School receives the "Sunflowers of the World" Encouragement Award from the Hokkaido Development Bureau in the 6th "My Village is Beautiful - Hokkaido" contest. |
7.8 | The 27th Himawari Festival (Himawari no Sato) | |
🌻 | Sunflower Blooming Chan" stuffed animal and Agri-Fighter North Dragon appeared on the stage. | |
🌻 | Yew forest boardwalk maintenance work 3,181,500 yen | |
🌻 | Lawn square road paving 546,000 yen | |
🌻 | Received a donation of 120 loaner umbrellas from the Hokuryu Lions Club | |
🌻 | Bon dance at the tourist center. | |
🌻 | Sunflower Village Featured on Front Page of Hokkaido Newspaper Morning Edition | |
🌻 | Number of visitors to Himawari no Sato exceeds 200,000 for the first time in six years | |
2014 2014 | 7.8 | The 28th Himawari Festival held (Himawari no Sato) |
🌻 | Hokuryu-cho Tourist Association website official website opened. | |
🌻 | Finished ostrich farm and battery car | |
🌻 | Held 50th Anniversary Road Race (Yukiko Akabane invited) | |
🌻 | Installation of design containers (jar type) in the town H26~27 Purchase of 5 units each Total 669,600 yen | |
🌻 | Instagram's Japanese-language service was launched on February 17, 2014, with beautifully posted photos called "Insta-ei." | |
Year 2015 2015 | 7.8 | Held the 29th Sunflower Festival (Himawari no Sato) |
🌻 | Creation of a tourist pamphlet in traditional Chinese characters | |
🌻 | Sunflower oil project begins (revival of discontinued sunflower oil) | |
🌻 | Sunflower Village heating line stolen and wiring work 939,600 yen | |
🌻 | Non-no Mori environmental beautification commission 2,009,880 yen | |
🌻 | Kamo no Ike Drum Bridge Installation 1,036,800 yen | |
🌻 | Public wireless LAN free spot set up at Sunflower Village Tourist Center | |
🌻 | Installation of Sunflower Village parking lot information signs | |
🌻 | Sunflower Village Featured on Front Page of Hokkaido Newspaper Morning Edition | |
🌻 | Kengo Kuma was selected to design the National Stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. In 2020, the basic plan for Himawari-no-sato is commissioned to Kengo Kuma Architects & Engineers. | |
🌻 | The spread of smartphones has made it possible to watch TV, magazines, news, etc. at any time, and young people have shifted away from TV, newspapers, and magazines. | |
Year 2008 2016 | 7.8 | The 30th Himawari Festival held (Himawari no Sato) |
🌻 | Non-no-Mori environmental beautification commission 9,774,000 yen | |
🌻 | Nonno Forest toilet (septic tank) construction 30,672,000 yen | |
🌻 | Hokkaido Shinkansen (to Shin-Hakodate Station) begins operations. | |
Year 2009 2017 | 2 | Sunflower Rice Production Association won the 46th Japan Agricultural Grand Prize. Grand Prize in the Collective Organization category from the National Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives and NHK. |
7.8 | Held the 31st Himawari Festival (Himawari no Sato) | |
8 | Sunflower fireworks display to light up the Biei Blue Pond produced by Kent Shiraishi, a photographer who became famous for his work on the Biei Blue Pond. | |
11 | Chi North Dragon," which has been promoting Hokuryu Town, won the "10th Co-op Sapporo Agricultural Award, Exchange Prize Category, Mayor of Sapporo Award. | |
🌻 | Sunflower Village sightseeing car special road new construction 13,564,800 yen | |
Year 2008 2018 | 3 | Sunflower Park Hokuryu Hot Springs Renewed |
3 | Presentation of the Hokuryu Town PR design "Akarui Nouhou" by dinner guest Makoto Umehara and coordinator Terutaka Suzuki, specially appointed professor at Rissho University. | |
6 | Sunflower Village parking lot improvement work: 35,542,800 yen | |
7.8 | Held the 32nd Himawari Festival (Himawari no Sato) | |
8 | 4 million visitors to Sunflower Park Hokuryu Hot Springs reached. | |
9 | The Hokuryu-cho Sunflower Tourist Association received the Road Merit Award. (The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) has been presenting awards to organizations and individuals that have made outstanding achievements in road cleaning and beautification activities since 2006. (VSP project) | |
11 | Kuro Sengoku Business Cooperative (President Yukio Takada) was selected for the "Discover the Treasures of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing Villages" Good Practice Award (co-sponsored by the Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries). | |
🌻 | Terms such as "YouTuber," "Instagrammer," and "Tiktoker" have become established to refer to influencers on each social networking site. | |
Year ending March 31 2028 2019 | 2 | Hokuryu Junior High School receives Sorachi Prefectural Education Practice Award for "Active Activities for Town Development," Including "World Sunflower Cultivation |
3 | A lecture by Mr. Makoto Umehara, the Hokuryu-cho Sunflower Tourism Ambassador, was held at COCOWA's multipurpose space. Mr. Makoto Umehara (Representative of Umehara Design Office), the Hokuryu-cho Sunflower Tourism Ambassador who designed the town's logo mark "Akarui Noho", was invited to give a lecture on "Design that Draws Out the Power of the Land" with examples of his many past works. The lecture was entitled "Design that Draws Out the Strength of the Land. Guests at the event were Terutaka Suzuki (specially-appointed professor at Rissho University's Faculty of Economics) and Taguchi (head of design office at Kengo Architects & Engineers). | |
4 | Tsutomu Samitsu appointed head of Himawari Tourism Association | |
7.8 | Held the 33rd Sunflower Festival (Himawari no Sato) | |
8 | Appointed Ms. Himawari Shimizu, a member of idol group Magical Punchline, as a tourism ambassador on the recommendation of Mr. Tadao Hoshino, head of JA Kitasorachi Hokuryu Branch Office (Ms. Himawari Shimizu has now retired from the entertainment industry). | |
10 | Architect and Hokuryu Town Tourism Ambassador Kengo Kuma gave a lecture entitled "From the New National Stadium to Hokuryu Town" at the community center. In a discussion with Terutaka Suzuki, a professor at Rissho University, Kuma talked about the many buildings he has worked on, including the New National Stadium, the nursery school under construction, and the improvement of the attractiveness of Himawari-no-sato. |