12 Memories of the Tourism Association: Mr. Toshimasa Takahashi, Deputy Mayor of Hokuryu Town

Involved in the Tourism Association Secretariat

Toshimasa Takahashi, Deputy Mayor of Hokuryu Town

He served as deputy mayor of Hokuryu Town, and was involved in tourism at the Commerce, Industry, and Tourism Section of the Industry Division. He also expanded the area of the Sunflower Village and made it the largest sunflower field in Japan.
　
　
I was involved in this project for eight years from 1998 to 2005 as a secretariat member.

In my annual sales visits to travel agencies and agents in Sapporo, I was always asked, "Is there anything new for next year? I was always racking my brains trying to think of something new to do. We were fortunate to have a budget that allowed us to systematically expand our fields and increase the number of plants, and we were able to use this as a great message.

The Sunflower Fireworks Festival was held in 2000 at the suggestion of the section chief in charge. The fireworks display was unexpectedly crowded with many fireworks fans from outside the town, even though it coincided with the Asahikawa fireworks display.

In between the fireworks, 120 students from Hokkaido Medical College in Tobetsu volunteered to perform Yosakoi. It was a unique event. I now think that we tried various initiatives to make a little change every year, and we may have even been reckless.

In addition to promoting sunflower tourism, we also participated in product sales such as the Flower Festa in Sapporo, and often went out with Mr. Takamasa Hatta of Himawari Kobo with a Kumiki and potted sunflowers. We were very fortunate to have the Sunflower Girls on stage for our stage PR. We also thank Mr. Toshihisa Yamada for his great help with the potted sunflowers.

I have been involved in the Sunflower Village in various ways, as I have operated the Sunflower Maze as a volunteer since 1990. I would like to continue to be involved with sunflowers, rice, the Akarui farming method, and the sunflowers of Hokuryu-cho.

Finally, I wore a white tank top and a straw hat during the festival, and I was at Himawari no Sato every day in all black. I would like to thank the staff, related organizations, and police for all the help they gave us, such as traffic congestion, problems, and people getting injured. Once again, we would like to express our gratitude and appreciation.