12 Memories of the Tourism Association: Mr. Tsutomu Sako, former chairman of the Hokuryu-cho Sunflower Tourism Association

Town of "Sunflowers" achieved by all the townspeople

Tsutomu Sako, former chairman of the Hokuryu-cho Sunflower Tourist Association

Formerly a staff member of the Hokuryu Town Office, long involved in tourism at the Commerce, Industry and Tourism Section of the Industry Division, he renamed the town festival to the Sunflower Festival and established the Sunflower Village.

After retiring from the town office, he served three terms of eleven years as a member of the Hokuryu Town Assembly, and became the chairman of the Hokuryu Town Sunflower Tourist Association from April 2023 to March 2023.
　
　
Watching sunflowers bloom and compete with each other all over the expanse of land, power comes from deep within the body. It is a time when the whole town comes alive and burns hot with the sun.

In 1980, the Women's Club of the Agricultural Cooperative started a campaign for one hectare of sunflowers per household as a part of environmental beautification, and more than 400 farm households joined hands to make the campaign a reality.

Since then, the sunflowers have continued to bloom and shine toward the sun as best they can in the summer, giving rise to various dramas.

In 1988, the town was hit by a torrential downpour unprecedented in its history, and it looked as if the sunflowers would be extinguished, but the following year, young people rose to the occasion and the Sunflower Village was born. Ironically, the next year, we encountered bird damage, and 50,000 seedlings were grown in greenhouses, and the townspeople began planting them one by one by hand. All the junior high school students saw this and helped out, and this led to the junior high school starting a project to manage sunflowers around the world and provide tourist guides. The buds grew and spread throughout the town, becoming a place of communication that transcended generations, from children to the elderly.

Sunflowers bloomed in the hearts of each and every town resident. People who loved the town viewed their place of residence from various perspectives.

The ideas of the local people meshed well together, giving birth to new ideas and a good climate, a product of the town's citizens working together. The town's revitalization was the result of the passionate desire of everyone to keep the fire lit in a town without tourism going out.

What is the secret of Sunflower Village's fame?

(1) It was a movement from the private sector, and the fact that the initial starting point was a farmer's mother created an environment in which both the town and the agricultural cooperative had to seriously support the movement.
The OVOP Movement was a booming movement at the time, and the town's unique approach became a topic of conversation and was widely covered by the mass media, including television.
(iii) Above all, there were many people who were able to sweat for the sake of others and the town.
Sunflowers are susceptible to wind and rain, cause continuous crop failure, and require planting F1 seeds every year to produce beautiful flowers, which is costly. Of course, it is a feat made possible by the support of the government and the cooperation of various groups and organizations.

Hokuryu Town has achieved tourism through the efforts of all its residents, but it is reaching the limit of its potential for local ideas. We hope that the town will become even more brilliant as a "town that has the sun on its side" by bringing together the wisdom of people from within and outside the town, aiming for town-building tourism with sunflowers at its core, deepening exchanges between urban and rural areas, and enriching farmers and merchants by developing green tourism, among others.