6 Awards, Certificates of Appreciation, etc.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award for "My Village is Beautiful

In 1983, he received the "My Village is Beautiful" Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award.

The award was given to the town for its magnificent view, high agricultural productivity, and border beautification campaign, as well as for its sunflower cultivation as one of its flower-growing activities, which is being promoted throughout the town.

Sunflower Land" certified as one of the 100 best places for community development in 1989.

Hokkaido Machizukuri Himawari Rando Hokuryu (Hokuryu Town) January 27, 1989

Received the "Sunflower Town Revitalization Activity Grand Prize" at the 1991 All-province Agricultural Cooperative Women's Club Convention.

In November 1991, at the 39th All Hokkaido Agricultural Cooperative Women's Club Convention held at Tokachigawa Onsen Hot Springs, the Hokuryu-cho Agricultural Cooperative Women's Club won the Grand Prize and the Governor's Prize as a representative of the Central and Northern Hokkaido blocks for their presentation on their organizational activities.

In August 1992, they represented Hokkaido in the Tohoku and Hokkaido competitions held in Miyagi Prefecture. The presentation vividly described their activities over the past 12 years, including the self-sufficiency and development of sunflower oil and health foods through the planting of one hectare of sunflowers per household, the production of high-quality organic rice through the effective use of squeezed lees, and their contribution to town revitalization as a tourist resource.

Triple award for community development in 1994

The 11th National Regional Development Award Ceremony (sponsored by the National Land Agency, the National Council for Regional Development Promotion, and others) was held in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, on November 10, 1994. As a result of a solemn on-site inspection and screening in August of that year, eight organizations, including Hokuryu Town, were selected for the awards.

Mayor Yamamoto attended the National Exchange Conference in Nagahama City, Shiga Prefecture, where he received a triple award: the National Council for Regional Development Promotion President Award, the Hokkaido and Tohoku Development Corporation President Award, and the Regional Development Exchange Conference Nagahama Conference Executive Committee Chairman Award.

The reason for the award is that the entire town, from children to the elderly, has been working together to promote the cultivation of sunflowers, create a sunflower village, promote tourism and agriculture, and cultivate sunflower-related local products.

Hokuryu Junior High School "Sunflowers of the World

❂ Certificate of Appreciation for Tourism Hospitality Practice, 2009 (Governor of Hokkaido)
❂ The 6th "Our Village is Beautiful, One Hokkaido" Encouragement Award, 2013 (Hokkaido Development Bureau)
❂ Sorachi Prefectural Education Practice Award, 1991 (Sorachi Bureau of Education)

The 46th Japan Agricultural Grand Prize in the category of Collective Organization (Sunflower Rice Production Cooperative)

On Sunday, March 12, 2009, the 46th Japan Agricultural Prize was awarded by JA Zenchu and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation).

The reason for the award is that the Hokuryu Sunflower Rice Production Cooperative obtained the JAS standard for agricultural products for which production information is disclosed in 2006 (the first and only paddy rice collective organization in Japan to do so), allowing consumers to check production information on paddy rice and ensuring traceability (indicating each producer's production history). The company has also acquired the JAS standard for agricultural products.

Sunflower Rice" is grown with less than half of Hokkaido's customary standards for pesticide use, and has a protein content of less than 7.51 TP3T. In order to reduce the use of pesticides, thorough soil diagnosis, hot water disinfection of seeds, and appropriate forecasting of pests and diseases are implemented to cultivate rice that surpasses the strict standards. The Sunflower Rice brand, which is the result of groundbreaking efforts in rice cultivation to date, was highly acclaimed and received the Grand Prize.

Sunflower Rice Production Cooperative wins Bronze Prize in the Local Specialty Products Category in the 4th "Our Village is Beautiful, One Hokkaido" Awards.

In September 2008, the Hokkaido Development Bureau awarded the company a prize for its efforts to deliver safe and secure rice to consumers, with all farmers working to reduce agricultural chemicals and obtaining JAS certification for their production and publicly announced agricultural products, and expanding sales channels to the Tokyo metropolitan area and Kansai region.

Flower Tourism Award Flower Tourism Prize (Hokuryu Town)

In September 2008, the Sunflower Village received an award from the Japan Tourism Association for its efforts to create a flower tourism destination with the cooperation of the town's residents, and the "Sunflower Village" has been gaining attention as a tourist destination year after year.

As a supplementary prize, the Japan Tourism Association gave us a wooden planter worth about 1 million yen.

First place in the "play" category: Sunflower Village in Hokuryu.

In the "play" category of the "Soraichi" general election for the prized tourist spots entered by the 24 cities and towns in the Sorachi region in 2013, "Sunflower Village" in Hokuryu Town received the most votes (739 votes).

It came in first place with nearly a hundred votes ahead of the second-place Yuni Garden (Yuni Town).

Sunflower Village" with high SNS rating in Taiwan

The Hokkaido Tourism Promotion Organization (HTO) released a report on the FY 2008 Hokkaido Foreign Tourist Revisit Promotion Project Survey Project, and found that Hokuryu Town's "Sunflower Village" was rated outstandingly high in Taiwan on SNS.

Taiwan (SNS analysis results)

The "Sunflower Village" in Hokuryu Town is prominently rated, but its recognition as a municipality and tourist resource is low.
In terms of evaluation by tourism category, the East Hokkaido area has the best balance. Lake Akan is particularly highly rated among tourist resources in the East Hokkaido area, with many postings related to sledding and fishing, in addition to hot springs and scenery, making it a popular lodging and experience-type tourist destination.

Attracting visitors to Sunflower Village

❂ Attract visitors using the "Sunflower Village" in Hokuryu Town

According to the results of the SNS analysis, Taiwanese visitors to the province have a strong interest in the natural scenery of the province. In addition, the "Sunflower Village" was rated outstandingly high, suggesting that increasing awareness of the sunflower fields in Hokuryu Town may increase the number of visitors to Hokuryu Town.

Discover Agriculture, Rural Village, Fishing Village Treasure Excellent Case Award (Kuro Sengoku Business Cooperative)

Discover the Treasures of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, and Rural Villages" is an initiative by the Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries to select and disseminate nationwide excellent examples of efforts to revitalize and increase the income of rural areas by drawing out their potential in order to realize a "strong agriculture, forestry, and fishery industry" and "beautiful and vibrant rural villages.

Kuro Sengoku Business Cooperative (Yukio Takada, President) received the highest evaluation. The award was given in recognition of their daily activities, including production and product development of rare Kuro Sengoku soybeans from Hokkaido, and their active participation in various events in Hokkaido and abroad to promote their products.

Hometown Development Grand Prize Local Government Award (Sunflower Oil Reclamation Project)

The purpose of this award is to raise the passion and desire for hometown building and to build a rich and vibrant community by recognizing organizations and individuals who are working hard to improve their "hometowns," the regions to which they are devoted, throughout Japan.

The award was given in recognition of the "revival and revitalization of the cultivation of sunflowers for oilseeds and the production and sale of sunflower oil for the purpose of making edible sunflower oil.