Wednesday, August 4, 2021
In Hokuryu Town, the "Sunflower Village Basic Plan/Town Citizen Information Session" was held on Wednesday, July 28th from 4pm at the Heisui Life Purpose Center and from 6pm at the Community Center Large Hall.
- 1 Sunflower Village Master Plan and Town Residents' Information Session
- 2 Greetings from Mayor Yutaka Sano
- 3 Explanation of the Himawari no Sato Master Plan
- 3.1 Hokuryu Town Sunflower Village Master Plan Overview
- 3.2 A sunflower village that spreads its message to the world
- 3.2.1 Design concept: Timber frame that emphasizes the sunflowers of Hokuryu Town
- 3.2.2 Overall layout plan
- 3.2.3 The observation deck that serves as the symbol tree
- 3.2.4 Tourist Center: A large wooden roof welcoming visitors
- 3.2.5 Tourist Center: Floor Map
- 3.2.6 Tourist Information Center: A bright and open tourist information center
- 3.2.7 Tourist Information Center: Floor Map
- 3.2.8 Shiba Square: A grassy hill filled with activity
- 3.2.9 Street Furniture
- 3.2.10 Trailer house: Reference architecture
- 3.2.11 Schedule: Schedule for 10 years from 2020
- 4 exchange of opinions
- 5 Words from Mayor Yutaka Sano
- 6 Message from Deputy Mayor Toshimasa Takahashi
- 7 Other photos
- 8 Himawari no Sato Master Plan and related articles
Sunflower Village Master Plan and Town Residents' Information Session
About 15 townspeople attended the lecture in the community center's large hall and listened attentively.
Greetings from Mayor Yutaka Sano
"Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to come here.
We've been experiencing hot days with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees every day. I'm sure you're all feeling very tired. Yesterday, it was 35.5 degrees at around 3 p.m., and again today at 2 p.m. it was 35.3 degrees. I've never experienced such extreme heat as it exceeds 35 degrees.
Furthermore, there have been days without rain, raising concerns about the growth of crops. In terms of precipitation, 23.2 mm fell on June 4th, 2.5 mm on June 20th, and on July 5th and 6th, it rained from Imoseushicho to Hokuryubashi, but turned to drizzle once we entered Hokuryucho, with only 1 mm falling over the two days. I have been working at the town hall for about 50 years, but I have never experienced a year with such little rain.
I think field crops such as wheat, buckwheat, and soybeans are in a difficult situation due to the water shortage.
On the other hand, the rice plants have already grown in size, flowers have bloomed, and ripening has begun. However, we are concerned about the impact of this high temperature.
Although the coronavirus pandemic has been ongoing for a year and a half, there have been no confirmed cases in Hokuryu Town. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the townspeople for their high level of awareness and efforts to combat the virus. As for COVID-19 vaccinations, yesterday, all scheduled residents, including those aged 12 to 16, were vaccinated.
This year, we have planted flowers at Himawari no Sato, and beautiful sunflowers are in full bloom. However, we have decided to cancel the Sunflower Festival and all events at the Tourist Center.
The sunflowers are not very tall due to the lack of rain, but they are blooming beautifully. The main sunflower field was planted with the expectation that they would bloom on August 3rd and 4th, but today about 80% of the flowers are already in bloom, and we expect that they will be in full bloom this weekend. During the four-day holiday from July 22nd, many tourists visited the village and enjoyed the sunflowers.
The roadside station, Sunflower Park Hokuryu Onsen, was bustling with visitors. We have heard that the Hokuryu Town Portal website has seen more than double the number of hits this year compared to last year.
We will strive to ensure that the area is fully prepared for next year's Sunflower Festival.
Today we are holding a town information session regarding the Sunflower Village Master Plan. This was originally scheduled to be held in March, but we apologize for the delay due to COVID-19 infection control measures.
"The person in charge will provide a full explanation. We would like to take into consideration the opinions of many of you and move forward with the development plans for Sunflower Village. We look forward to your cooperation," Mayor Sano said in a polite greeting.
Explanation of the Himawari no Sato Master Plan
The explanation was given by Hajime Minami, head of the Industry Division of Hokuryu Town Hall.
Hokuryu Town Sunflower Village Master Plan Overview
1. Plan, background and objectives
2. Current state of tourism in Hokuryu Town
(1) Situation in Hokkaido
(2) Trends in the number of tourists and overnight guests in Hokuryu Town
(3) Trends in the number of tourists and overnight guests in Hokuryu Town by season
(4) Trends in the number of visitors to the Sunflower Festival
(5) Characteristics of Sunflower Festival visitors
3. Issues facing tourism in Hokuryu Town
(1) Year-round tourism
(2) Development of local specialties and souvenirs
(3) Information dissemination
(4) Discovering and refining tourist resources other than Himawari
(5) Securing financial resources
(6) Development of the Sunflower Village
4. What Hokuryu Town should aim for
philosophy
・Hokuryu Tourism Promotion and Agriculture:Creating a sustainable town where tourists can relax in a safe and secure agricultural town, where residents can take pride and engage in economic activity
・Sunflower Village:Creating a landscape that can spread the word about the "Sunflower Village," a symbol of Hokuryu Town's bright sunflower farming methods, to the world
5. Hokuryu Town's Tourism Promotion System
・Town Residents:Residents are expected to deepen their understanding of Hokuryu Town's nature, history, and culture, rediscover the appeal of tourism in Hokuryu Town, and become involved in tourism in Hokuryu Town with even greater affection and pride for their hometown.
・Tourism-related organizations:We will strengthen cooperation between organizations, and work to coordinate and cooperate with townspeople and the government, to develop effective promotional activities to attract visitors, promote tourism among townspeople, and improve hospitality.
・Administration:Hokuryu Town will promote tourism promotion measures with the cooperation of townspeople, tourism-related organizations, the national government, and Hokkaido, and will endeavor to support tourism businesses independently undertaken by each entity.
A sunflower village that spreads its message to the world
Design concept: Timber frame that emphasizes the sunflowers of Hokuryu Town
Overall layout plan
The observation deck that serves as the symbol tree
Tourist Center: A large wooden roof welcoming visitors
Tourist Center: Floor Map
Tourist Information Center: A bright and open tourist information center
Tourist Information Center: Floor Map
Shiba Square: A grassy hill filled with activity
Street Furniture
Trailer house: Reference architecture
Schedule: Schedule for 10 years from 2020
exchange of opinions
There was an active question and answer session.
・In implementing the Sunflower Village Master Plan over the next 10 years, I think that adding more detailed explanations about the economic effects on Hokuryu Town, such as hometown tax donations, would help deepen understanding of the plan.
・I would like to hear your thoughts on measures to prevent damage caused by continuous cropping in Himawari no Sato.
・Since agriculture is the main industry in Hokuryu Town, we would like the construction of agricultural facilities to be carried out first, and then plans for tourism-related facilities to be considered.
Words from Mayor Yutaka Sano
"On Friday, July 2nd, Nippon Television's "Hirunandesu" program aired, and Hokuryu Town Sunflower Village was ranked 5th out of the top 10 "Japanese summer sights that you should see at least once."
1st place:Farm Tomita, Hokkaido2nd place:Aomori Nebuta Festival (Aomori Prefecture),3rd place:Gion Festival (Kyoto Prefecture),4th placeSumida River Fireworks Festival (Tokyo),5th place:Hokuryu Town Sunflower Village (Hokkaido)、6th place:Nagaoka Festival Fireworks Display (Niigata Prefecture),7th place:Omagari Fireworks (Akita Prefecture),8th place:Kyoto Gozan no Okuribi (Kyoto Prefecture),9th place:Awa Dance (Tokushima Prefecture),10th place:Sendai Tanabata Festival (Miyagi Prefecture)
The fact that Himawari no Sato in Hokuryu Town, Hokkaido, was ranked fifth among these famous tourist destinations in Japan is proof that it is more highly regarded across the country than we had expected, and honestly, we are surprised.
Some of the people participating today have been involved in the creation of Sunflower Village since its initial launch. I believe that the Sunflower Village of Hokuryu Town today is the result of a long history dating back to 1989, and the many achievements that have been made along the way.
Thirty-five years have passed since the facility was established, and each location has become increasingly dilapidated, and we have reached a point where we need to make improvements in various areas.
There are various negative effects, such as a declining population, but when we think about Hokuryu Town in the next 10 to 20 years, we have realized that it is necessary to once again develop the Sunflower Village, and so new plans for the Sunflower Village have just begun.
Fortunately, the world-famous architect Kengo Kuma has been visiting Hokuryu Town for the past 25 years, commenting that the landscape of the Sunflower Village is wonderful and giving the Hokuryu Sunflower Village his stamp of approval. He has also been kindly involved in the new design of the Sunflower Village. Going forward, we would like to carefully proceed with the development of the Hokuryu Sunflower Village with the help of Kengo Kuma.
The total amount of 1.4 billion yen is certainly a huge sum, but I would like you to understand that we will make plans for each year over the next 10 years, and will proceed carefully and little by little while monitoring the social situation.
"Of course, the issue of agricultural facilities is also important, and we are currently considering the future of our elementary and junior high schools. Furthermore, we have many hard projects, such as plans to renovate the community center, and we are considering developing Himawari no Sato while taking financial considerations into account, so I hope you will understand this as a whole," said Mayor Sano.
Message from Deputy Mayor Toshimasa Takahashi
"At the briefing session held at the Hekisui Ikigai Center, there was a question and answer session about winter maintenance. We will properly address these issues in the basic design going forward, and will firmly set out our maintenance initiatives.
"We would like to respond to each and every one of the positive opinions we received today, clear all the hurdles, and move forward properly. We look forward to your continued support," said Deputy Mayor Takahashi.
Hokuryu Town Sunflower Village is a place where the passionate feelings and deep affection of the people of Hokuryu Town are hidden.
To the lovely sunflowers, who are full of vitality and happy power,
With boundless love, gratitude and prayers...
Other photos
Himawari no Sato Master Plan and related articles
◇ Photography and editing: Noboru Terauchi Interview and text: Ikuko Terauchi
