Shimokawa and Hokuryu Town Exchange Meeting (Opinion Exchange Meeting) Part 1

Monday, October 25, 2021

This exchange (opinion exchange meeting) between Shimokawa Town and Hokuryu Town was made possible through the introduction of Seki Yu (34 years old, currently working in the Corporate Planning Department at Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), a junior colleague of Terauchi Noboru (former head of the Corporate Planning Group at the Nippon Foundation, also working for an NPO), who was formerly vice-chairman of the NPO CANPAN Center (Tokyo).

Shimokawa Town is an "Environmental Future City" (population approximately 3,200), with 90% of its area surrounded by forests, and was one of the first towns to establish circular forest management.

Shimokawa Town Hall

Seki Yu-san

Seki Yu visited Shimokawa as an intern during his university days. He was captivated by the town and has been returning there for the past 13 years, and continues to regard Shimokawa as his second home.

Seki currently works in the Corporate Planning Department at Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., where he is responsible for promoting sustainability management. As a demonstration of a new working style, he proposed and approved a plan for "remote work and community contribution in Shimokawa Town," which led to a two-month workcation in Shimokawa Town. During this workcation, talk of exchange between Shimokawa Town and Hokuryu Town came up, and this was then implemented.

An exchange of opinions between Shimokawa Town and Hokuryu Town

The schedule was to visit Shimokawa Town Hall at 10:00 on the day and exchange opinions in the conference room.

Shimokawa Town Office Policy Promotion Division

Participants from Shimokawa Town were Yasuji Tamura, head of the Policy Promotion Division, Shinji Kameda, chief, Tatsunobu Endo, chief clerk, Hitomi Shimizu, and Yu Seki.

Noboru Terauchi, a village supporter from Hokuryu Town

Noboru Terauchi, a village supporter for Hokuryu Town, introduced himself, Hokuryu Town, and explained the Hokuryu Town Portal initiative.

1. Our thoughts
   "For the people of Hokuryu to live brightly and energetically"
   ・Information dissemination ⇒ Empathy of emotions and joy ⇒ Support and encouragement ・Information dissemination is about shedding light on the way of life that the people of Hokuryu have cultivated.
   ・Connect with people who share the same emotions and joy
   ・Distributing pulsating, living information every day
2. Overview of Hokuryu Town Portal
   ・Plan annual plans
   ・Daily updates of Hokuryu Town's scenery
   ・The status of sunflower blooming will be posted every day during the Sunflower Festival
   ・Introducing several town topics per month
   ・Introducing Facebook and Instagram posts from townspeople every day
   ・Introducing news related to Hokuryu Town
3. Scenery of Hokuryu Town(YouTube video screening)
   ・With gratitude for the past 10 years in Hokuryu Town
   
・The four seasons of Hokuryu Town

"When we send out information, we place great importance on how much of our feelings we can convey. We hope to connect with people who share the same feelings.

I hope to convey my love for Hokuryu Town, which has given us our lives, and I will continue to share information as long as my mind and body are able to function.

We strive to provide information that will leave those who receive it feeling cheerful and energized."

exchange of opinions

The officials then exchanged opinions about the current situation and initiatives in each other's towns.

• The Hokuryu Town Portal is characterized by the fact that it provides information frequently and continuously. I felt that the information it provides was such that you could see the smiles on the faces of the townspeople.
• Just hearing about Hokuryu makes you want to live there.
• Introducing the messages of support received through hometown tax donations is something I haven't noticed before, so I would like to incorporate it in the future. I have a strong desire to inform the townspeople of the use of the hometown tax donations in a comprehensive manner. However, if we can convey the messages of support received to the townspeople, it may help change their awareness.
• In response to the question, "What methods are you using to get more residents of Hokuryu Town to see the portal site?"

  Some of the townspeople, such as elderly people, do not have access to the Internet. Therefore, whenever I have the opportunity, such as at meetings of the neighborhood association, senior citizens' club, or community support center, I bring my own projector and continue to steadily explain the featured articles and event information on the Hokuryu Town Portal. Everyone who listens to my explanations is surprised, saying, "There was something like this happening in town? I had no idea!"

• I like the smiling faces of Hokuryu townspeople and photos of their pets.
• It's information dissemination that conveys your thoughts.
• When I look at the Hokuryu Town Portal, I can sense that the people of Hokuryu Town are united in their efforts to develop the town.



Town hall lobby

After the exchange of opinions, Seki gave an explanation about the chainsaw art exhibited in the town hall lobby and Shimokawa town's specialty products.

Chainsaw Art



Top 15 Hometown Tax Return Gifts

Haruyutaka wheat flour, asparagus (white and green), tomato juice, Shimokawa udon, shiitake mushrooms, Haruka Eight (cherry tomatoes), snow-covered pudding, Shimokawa Rokuo enzyme eggs, super fruit tomato "North Pole", custom-made tables, Gomi Onsen, birch business cards, and fir business card mounts.



Photo exhibition of the film "Restart," set in Shimokawa Town



Town Hall General Counter



Sagittarius Town Shimokawa (Entrance Mat)



Lunch: Harukoro Cafe

For lunch, we went to Harukoro Cafe, located in the information cafe inside Maru Sasaki. Kinuyo Mama, who has lived in Shimokawa town for 12 years, lovingly prepares her popular Western-style pasta made with Shimokawa udon noodles!



Wooden tables and chairs set up in the garden



menu

Shimokawa Udon

Shimokawa udon, made from freshly boiled noodles, is popular! Other dishes include white sauce udon, curry udon, Shimokawa tomato sauce udon, and vegetable tempura udon.



Spring Bread Set

Homemade bread with three toppings (honey, butter, red bean paste, onion miso, and fresh cream).



Kinuyo Mama's Thoughtfulness

Thanks to Kinuyo Mama's thoughtfulness, we were able to enjoy freshly baked homemade focaccia and honey (Shimokawa honey)!



Today's order

Warm tomato sauce udon noodles, enoki mushroom chips, and simmered vegetables



White Sauce Udon



The tomato sauce udon and white sauce udon were both delicious. Thank you for the meal!!!

Specialty souvenirs lined up on shelves in the store

Shimokawa honey, Shimokawa Haruyutaka 100% wheat udon noodles, etc.



Hometown Energy Tomato Juice



Wooden flower vase, pincushion wood holder



This is a wonderful cafe where you can enjoy a leisurely and delicious lunch while listening to stories about Shimokawa Town.

Sakuragaoka Park

After lunch, we went to Sakuragaoka Park.



The Great Wall of China surrounds the park, and this path is apparently Seki's morning walk route.



An easy-to-walk path covered with wood chips



Chainsaw Art

Chainsaw art is on display in the park's plaza. In Shimokawa, a town with a thriving forestry industry, chainsaw art using forest resources is planned and implemented.

The "Chainsaw Art Masters Competition" held in Shimokawa Town is an event where participants spend three days (17 hours in total) carving a single log (50cm diameter, 3.65m length) with a chainsaw to create a work of art. Chainsaw artists from Japan and abroad gather to participate.



A stunning lineup of past award-winning works





Gardening Forest "Furepe"

A multipurpose event space and rest area located within Sakuragaoka Park.



Spacious and bright space

A spacious and bright space with high ceilings and the scent of wood. The tree-like truss structure provides excellent acoustics and is suitable for music concerts and other events.



Aroma oils, herbal teas, etc.

A variety of products, including aroma oils and herbal teas, are made from organic herbs grown without pesticides in the town's fields and are sold here.



SORRY KOUBOU

We sell herbal tinctures, herbal oils, herbal cosmetics, herbal soaps, herbal teas, and more.



Board game store "Asobeyya"

Kenichiro Nasu, originally from Nagoya, moved to Shimokawa in 1999 and opened a board game store called "Asobeyya." A board game tournament (social gathering) is held once a month in Shimokawa.

There are several types of board games on display in the museum.



Handmade Workshop "Yushin"

Lots of lovely ceramic art.



Furniture workshop "Forest Fox"

Cutlery made from wood bark (oak, birch, walnut, etc.).



It's a very pleasant spot, with the trees turning autumn colors and a refreshing breeze blowing through.

Memorial Square and Hometown Exchange Center



great wall of china

The 2km long wall was built over 15 years, starting in 1986, using more than 150,000 stones. It is a tourist spot handcrafted by the townspeople.



Mini ski resort and jump in Shimokawa

This is a free ski resort that uses a ski rope lift. Apparently, skiers Takanobu Okabe, Noriaki Kasai, and Yuki Ito all used to practice at this ski resort on the normal hill jump.



While enjoying the beauty of the autumn leaves in the forest, I was able to get a real sense of the vastness of Shimokawa Town (total area 644.2 km²), which is about four times the size of Hokuryu Town (total area 158.7 km²).

After this, we headed to the Komorebi Town Revitalization Center where we were to meet Chief Kameda.

Other photos

▶Photos (242 photos) from the Shimokawa and Hokuryu exchange event can be found here >>

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◇ Photography and editing: Noboru Terauchi Interview and text: Ikuko Terauchi
　

Shimokawa Town

[Shimokawa Town Hall]
63 Saiwai-cho, Shimokawa-cho, Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido
Tel: 01655-4-2511
[Area] 644.2k㎡
Population: 3,124 people, 1,687 households
[Number of Tourists] 2019: 92,390 people (Gomi Onsen, Great Wall, etc.)
[Events] 2019: 16,200 people (Udon Festival, Ice Candle Museum, etc.)From the Town Directory (2020 edition)」
[Homepage]Shimokawa Town -Northern Hokkaido, a town where excitement is born-