On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Hokuryu Town Sunflower Tourism Association
With the designation of Shokanbetsu Prefectural Park as a starting point, the town has embarked on a full-scale tourism initiative, including the construction of new tourist hiking trails and the development of Konpirayama Park. The Hokuryu Town Tourism Association was established in 1972, and we are delighted to announce that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the association.
When it was first established, its main activities were the holding of the Hokuryu Town Cherry Blossom Festival at Konpirayama Park and the "Flower-filled Campaign" as an environmental beautification campaign, but in 1987, the "Town Festival" was renamed the "Sunflower Festival," and the festival came to be run primarily by the Tourism Association, a tradition that has continued to this day.
In particular, since the opening of Sunflower Village in 1989, there have been more opportunities for it to be featured in various media, and many tourists have visited, establishing the image of Hokuryu as "the town of sunflowers." As a result, in 2017, 356,000 people visited the park.
During this time, in 1999, the association was reorganized as the Hokuryu Town Sunflower Tourism Association, and has been promoting sunflower tourism in the town ever since. During the Sunflower Festival, with the help of the members of the Sunflower Tourism Association and many volunteer town residents, they have been able to liven up the festival through various events and sunflower guide tours, and for this I would like to express my sincere respect for them.
Nowadays, many tourists visit our town, not only from within Japan but also from overseas. Although it is a small town, we hope that many people will experience the charm of our town.
In closing, I would like to express my gratitude and congratulations to all the past chairmen and all those who have worked hard to promote tourism in our town.
