16 Tourism promotion volunteers, etc. 3

Noboru Terauchi, Ikuko Terauchi (Regional Development Cooperation Volunteers ⇒ Community Support Volunteers)

Noboru Terauchi and his wife, Koko Terauchi, arrived in 2010 as Hokuryu-cho Regional Development Cooperation Volunteers and have been using the Internet to promote Hokuryu-cho's tourism, local products, events, and other activities, and disseminate them throughout the country.

Isao Senba (NPO Bright Farming Secretariat)

From 2009 to 2020, he served as a Regional Development Cooperation Volunteer, working as a community promoter for dementia in Hokuryu Town, a board member of an NPO Akarui Noho, a support activity at a community support center, and a labor support activity for the disabled, etc. At the NPO Akarui Noho, he sends out hometown tax returns and runs a "bright store" at a tourist center. The NPO Bright Farming Law also sends out hometown tax returns and runs a "bright shop" at a tourist center.

Shuichi Hirose (Scarecrow Festival)

In 2009, Mr. Shuichi Hirose, the representative of Ryu-Nishi Farm, held the Scarecrow Festival for three years to promote Hokuryu-cho, a rice-producing town, both within and outside the town, and to deepen exchanges among local residents.

Trentino Josil Cambiado (interpreter for increased inbound traffic)

In 2015, he arrived in Hokuryu Town from the Philippines as an ALT. In recent years, the number of foreign tourists to Himawari no Sato has been increasing, and Mr. Tolentino has been providing tourist information, which has been very helpful in dealing with inbound tourists.

Ryoji Kikura (Sisterhood of Sunflower Agricultural Cooperative, Aichi Prefecture)

Ryoji Kikura, the former Hokuryu-cho Agricultural Cooperative Association president, Kitasorachi Agricultural Cooperative Association president, and honorary Hokuryu-cho citizen, held a signing ceremony with the Aichi Prefecture Himawari Agricultural Cooperative as sister agricultural cooperatives in 1991.

A total of 90 people, including all executives of the Himawari Agricultural Cooperative, the mayor of Toyokawa, and a Toyokawa Tezutsu Fireworks master with a 350-year tradition, came to the town to show off the Mikawa Tezutsu Fireworks. Mr. Kikura also promoted Hokuryu-cho with a paper bag of sunflowers at one of his many lectures.

Susumu Yotsuji (Former Hokuryu Town Agricultural Cooperative Employee)

In 1979, Mr. Yotsuji participated in a training program in Europe for an agricultural organization as the head of the Purchasing Department of the former Hokuryu Agricultural Cooperative. As soon as he stepped off the plane at the airport in the former Yugoslavia, he was struck by the beauty of the sunflower fields spread out below him. The scenery was so beautiful that I felt as if I had turned into a butterfly and landed in the field of flowers.

She then learned that sunflowers were being grown there for cooking oil. After returning to Japan, Ms. Yotsuji was asked by an officer of the women's club of an agricultural cooperative if she wanted to do something to remain in the future during her term of office, and she proposed the cultivation of sunflowers.

Kazuaki Yamada (Sunflower Village Aerial Photography)

（Mr. Kazuaki Yamada, former president of Yamada Corporation, has been taking aerial photos of Sunflower Village with his motor glider as a hobby, and provided the photos as PR material for tourism.

Tsukasa Takebayashi (Tales to Hear from Mukohi [Hokuryu Town Board Game Club])

In 2023, a mystery-solving game was held at the 37th Himawari Festival. Mr. Takebayashi thought up the content of the game and conducted it at his own expense.

Nobuyuki Murakami and Yui Sasaki (Toward a New Event Trial Snow Festival)

Hokuryu Town was considering the creation of a new winter tourist resource as the town would be covered with snow forever, and in 2021 a local development cooperation team (Nobuyuki Murakami and Tadashi Sasaki) was assigned to the town. Projection Mapping" was held for the first time in Honmachi on November 11, 2022.

With the full cooperation of Hokkaido University of Information Science and Technology, a dragon, the symbol of this town, will play the leading role, flying around and performing live with Hokuryu Taiko drums, etc., using all the walls of Sunflower Park for the projection of powerful images.

On March 4, 2023, the first "Sky Lantern®" was held at the Rural Environment Improvement Center. About 150 people, including parents and children, enjoyed the fantastic sight of lanterns glowing orange.

On February 4, 2023, the first "Ice Candle Festival" was held at Sunflower Park, where 300 ice candles created a fantastic nighttime scene in the town of Hokuryu. We would like to develop tourism as a snow festival that includes the "Ski Festival" and "Yukinko Festival," which are already held in winter.