50 Years of the Tourism Association's History [2010s]
| Year number | 月 | Major Events |
| 2010 2010 | 7 | Renovation of the Himawari no Sato Observatory |
| 8 | The Sunflower Festival fireworks display, which was canceled last year, will resume. | |
| 🌻 | Due to the free use of expressways, the number of cars traveling on National Highways 275 and 233 will decrease, resulting in a decrease in tourists. The Democratic Party administration's toll-free highway section led to a decrease in the number of vehicles passing through national highways (June 25, 2010 to June 19, 2011). | |
| 🌻 | Publication of Himawari 30th Anniversary Magazine | |
| 🌻 | The Ministry of Construction launches the Japan Tourism Agency and the Visit Japan Campaign begins. | |
| 🌻 | To enhance the grandeur of the sunflower village, we added one comprehensive seeding machine (purchased in April 2010). | |
| 🌻 | Smartphones have become popular in Japan and are an innovation for travel. It can also be used as a car navigation system, allowing you to take photos and get tourist information anywhere, and it also has a translation function that is very useful for foreign tourists. | |
| 2011 2011 | 3 | The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred, with over 22,000 people dead and missing, causing major damage to the infrastructure of the Tohoku region. The number of tourists to the Tohoku region dropped sharply, and tourists flocked to areas outside of Tohoku. |
| 4 | Tadahiko Komatsu appointed as chairman of the Tourism Association | |
| 6 | The direct sales store of the JA Kitasorachi Hokuryu branch fruit sorting facility was closed, and the agricultural product direct sales store Minoritch Hokuryu opened and sold melons and watermelons. | |
| 7-8 | The 25th Sunflower Festival was held (Sunflower Village) | |
| 7 | As there were vacant booths at the tourist center, the Chamber of Commerce Secretariat set up a game corner. | |
| 7 | Renovation of the second observation deck and creation of a photo spot: 8,295,000 yen | |
| 7 | Created a "Let's do our best, Japan" maze for the recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake and was featured on various TV media outlets, including NHK. | |
| 7 | Kiyoshi Hikawa shoots a promotional video | |
| 8 | Nippon TV is filming the opening scene for a remake of "Yellow Handkerchief" | |
| 🌻 | Purchase of impact huller (seed peeler) for sunflower nut production: 2,205,000 yen | |
| 🌻 | LINE launched its service in June and currently has 80 million registered users in Japan. | |
| 2012 2012 | 7-8 | The 26th Sunflower Festival was held (Sunflower Village) |
| 8 | Since there are trains passing through Numata Town's "Yotaka Andon Festival," we decided to time it for the last day of the Sunflower Festival. | |
| 7 | Renovating eight toilets to water-saving toilets: 1,522,500 yen | |
| 🌻 | Low-cost airlines (LCCs) have begun flying into Japan Inbound tourism in Japan is on the rise In Hokkaido, the number of foreigners using rental cars has increased by approximately 15.5 times in the nine years since this year. (Based on aggregate figures for foreign car rentals from member companies of the Hokkaido Regional Rent-A-Car Association) 6,408 cases in 2011, 10,039 cases in 2012, 17,432 cases in 2013, 24,243 cases in 2014, 41,361 cases in 2015, 84,636 cases in 2017, 95,155 cases in 2018, 99,176 cases in 2019) | |
| 🌻 | The spread of smartphones is progressing rapidly, with the number of smartphones reaching approximately 401,000 in Japan. | |
| 2013 2013 | 2 | Hokuryu Junior High School's "Sunflowers of the World" received the Encouragement Award from the Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau at the 6th "Our Village is Beautiful - Hokkaido" Contest. |
| 7-8 | The 27th Sunflower Festival was held (Himawari no Sato) | |
| 🌻 | "Himawari Saki-chan" mascot and AgriFighter North Dragon appear | |
| 🌻 | Yew Forest Promenade Improvement Works: 3,181,500 yen | |
| 🌻 | Grass plaza road paving 546,000 yen | |
| 🌻 | Received a donation of 120 rental umbrellas from the Hokuryu Lions Club | |
| 🌻 | Bon Odori dance held at the tourist center | |
| 🌻 | Himawari no Sato featured on the front page of the Hokkaido Shimbun morning edition | |
| 🌻 | The number of visitors to Himawari no Sato exceeds 200,000 for the first time in six years | |
| 2014 2014 | 7-8 | The 28th Sunflower Festival was held (Sunflower Village) |
| 🌻 | Hokuryu Town Tourism Association official website launched | |
| 🌻 | Finished the Ostrich Farm and Battery Car | |
| 🌻 | Held the 50th anniversary road race (invited by Yukiko Akabane) | |
| 🌻 | Installation of design containers (pot-shaped) in the town. Purchased 5 units each year from 2014 to 2015, totaling 669,600 yen. | |
| 🌻 | The Japanese version of Instagram was launched on February 17, 2014. The beautiful photos posted were called "instaworthy." | |
| 2015 2015 | 7-8 | The 29th Sunflower Festival was held (Sunflower Village) |
| 🌻 | Traditional Chinese tourist brochure creation | |
| 🌻 | Sunflower oil project begins (discontinued sunflower oil is revived) | |
| 🌻 | Himawari no Sato's electric line was stolen and wiring work was carried out. 939,600 yen | |
| 🌻 | Nonnomori environmental beautification contract: 2,009,880 yen | |
| 🌻 | Kamonoike Taiko Bridge construction work: 1,036,800 yen | |
| 🌻 | Public Wi-Fi free spot installed at Himawari no Sato Tourist Center | |
| 🌻 | Himawari no Sato parking lot guide sign installed | |
| 🌻 | Himawari no Sato featured on the front page of the Hokkaido Shimbun morning edition | |
| 🌻 | Kengo Kuma was selected to design the National Stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In 2020, the master plan for Himawari no Sato was commissioned to Kengo Kuma and Associates. | |
| 🌻 | With the spread of smartphones, TV, magazines, news, etc. can be viewed at any time, and young people have increasingly moved away from TV, newspapers, and magazines. | |
| 2016 2016 | 7-8 | The 30th Sunflower Festival was held (Sunflower Village) |
| 🌻 | Nonnomori environmental beautification contract: 9,774,000 yen | |
| 🌻 | Nonno Forest Toilet (Septic Tank) Construction: 30,672,000 yen | |
| 🌻 | The Hokkaido Shinkansen (to Shin-Hakodate Station) opens. | |
| 2017 2017 | 2 | The Sunflower Rice Producers Association won the Grand Prize in the Collective Organization category at the 46th Japan Agriculture Awards, awarded by the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations and NHK. |
| 7-8 | The 31st Sunflower Festival was held (Sunflower Village) | |
| 8 | The sunflower fireworks festival will be lit up by photographer Kent Shiraishi, who became famous for his work on Biei's Blue Pond. | |
| 11 | Chi North Dragon, which has been promoting Hokuryu Town, won the Sapporo Mayor's Award in the Exchange Category of the 10th Coop Sapporo Agriculture Award. | |
| 🌻 | Construction of a new road exclusively for the Himawari no Sato sightseeing car: 13,564,800 yen | |
| 2018 2018 | 3 | Sunflower Park Hokuryu Onsen has been renovated |
| 3 | Presentation of Hokuryu Town PR design "Bright Farming Methods" by dinner host Makoto Umehara and coordinator Terutaka Suzuki (Professor at Rissho University) | |
| 6 | Himawari no Sato parking lot construction work: 35,542,800 yen | |
| 7-8 | The 32nd Sunflower Festival was held (Sunflower Village) | |
| 8 | Sunflower Park Hokuryu Onsen reaches 4 million visitors | |
| 9 | Hokuryu Town Sunflower Tourism Association received the Road Merit Award. (The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism awards organizations and individuals who have made outstanding achievements in road cleaning and beautification activities, which began in fiscal 2006. For the past 12 years, the Women's Division of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a member of the Tourism Association, and the Construction Industry Association, have been working on planting trees along National Route 275 at the Hokuryu Himawari IC (VSP project). | |
| 11 | Kurosengoku Business Cooperative Association (Chairman Takada Yukio) was selected for the "Discover the Treasures of Rural Areas" Best Practice Award (co-sponsored by the Cabinet Secretariat and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) | |
| 🌻 | Terms such as "YouTuber," "Instagrammer," and "Tiktoker" have become established to refer to influencers on each social media platform. | |
| 2019 2019 2019 | 2 | Hokuryu Junior High School received the Sorachi District Educational Practice Award for its proactive activities in revitalizing the town, including "cultivating sunflowers from around the world." |
| 3 | A lecture by Hokuryu Town Sunflower Tourism Ambassador Umehara Makoto was held at the COCOWA multipurpose space. Umehara Makoto (representative of Umehara Design Office), who designed the town's logo mark "Bright Farming Methods", was invited to give a lecture entitled "Design that Brings Out the Power of the Land" that included examples of the many works he has worked on. On the day, guests included Suzuki Terutaka (specially appointed professor at the Faculty of Economics, Rissho University) and Taguchi (design department manager at Kengo Architects and Associates). | |
| 4 | Tsutomu Sako appointed as chairman of the Himawari Tourism Association | |
| 7-8 | The 33rd Sunflower Festival was held (Sunflower Village) | |
| 8 | On the recommendation of JA Kitasorachi Hokuryu Branch Chief Tadao Hoshino, Himawari Shimizu, a member of the idol group Magical Punchline, was appointed as a tourism ambassador (Himawari Shimizu has now retired from the entertainment industry). | |
| 10 | A lecture entitled "From the New National Stadium to Hokuryu Town" was held at the community center by architect Kengo Kuma, who is a tourism ambassador for Hokuryu Town. Proceeding in a dialogue format with Terutaka Suzuki, a professor at Rissho University, Kuma spoke about the numerous buildings he has worked on, including the New National Stadium, the nursery school currently under construction, and how to improve the appeal of Himawari no Sato. An audience of approximately 200 people from within and outside the town listened intently. |
