Friday, April 11, 2025
On Wednesday, April 9th, Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki conducted an April search for the attractions of Hokuryu Town.
- 1 Karaoke Contest (Heishui Karaoke Club)
- 1.1 Greetings from Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki
- 1.2 Greetings from Masayuki Takatsuki
- 1.3 Jun Takahashi, Director
- 1.4 Moderator: Susumu Asano (resident of Hekisui)
- 1.5 1. Hideki Matsuura's "Freezing Rain" by Akio Kayama
- 1.6 2. Fumiko Kawashima's "Noto Peninsula" by Sayuri Ishikawa
- 1.7 3. Osamu Sunagawa's "Crossing the Pass" by Kohei Fukuda
- 1.8 4. A user suddenly joined us: Okawa Eisaku of "Sazanka no Yado"
- 1.9 5. "Tottori Sand Dunes" by Mie Iwakura and Kaori Mizumori
- 1.10 6. Hideki Matsuura's "Detour" by Gouki Kotokaze
- 1.11 7. Fumiko Kawashima's "Life is a Naniwabushi" by Tomoe Kimura
- 1.12 8. Mie Iwakura's "Yuuzuki Okesa" by Yoshimi Tendo
- 1.13 9. Osamu Sunagawa's "Nambu Cicada Shigure" by Kohei Fukuda
- 2 Facility Tour
- 3 YouTube videos
- 4 Other photos
- 5 Related articles
Karaoke Contest (Heishui Karaoke Club)
Mayor Sasaki visited Eirakuen Special Nursing Home (Director Jun Takahashi) to encourage the karaoke competition held at the home. Four members of the Hekisui Karaoke Club (Representative Kumiko Asano) performed beautiful songs for the residents.
This time, we were joined by Masayuki Takatsuki (22 years old), a new member of the Hokuryu Town Regional Revitalization Cooperation Team who was appointed on Tuesday, April 1st, and was introduced to everyone. While studying at the Faculty of Information Media at Hokkaido Information University, Takatsuki was active as a member of the Hokuryu Town projection mapping production team! Thank you very much.
Greetings from Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki
"I visit Eirakuen about once a month, walking around the rooms and seeing everyone's faces and talking to them.
Today, Asano-san will be the MC and the members of the Hekisui Karaoke Club will be performing songs, so I came to listen to everyone's songs.
We also visited to introduce and encourage Director Atsushi Takahashi, who took up his position on April 1st, and the hard-working staff members.
The young man I would like to introduce to you today is Masayuki Takatsuki, who came to Hokuryu from Sapporo on April 1st as a member of the Hokuryu Town Regional Revitalization Cooperation Team. He is a lively and very kind 22-year-old who has come to Hokuryu Town to revitalize the town.
Greetings from Masayuki Takatsuki
"Hello everyone! Everyone calls me 'Masa-kun'.
As a member of the Hokuryu Town Regional Revitalization Cooperation Team, my main job is to spread awareness of Hokuryu Town through social media and other online platforms. I look forward to working with you."
Everyone cheered, "Do your best!"
Jun Takahashi, Director
"Thank you very much for your warm encouragement to Takatsuki-san! I am Takahashi, who took over as director in April. I will leave it to Asano-san to continue the proceedings from here on out," said Director Takahashi.
Moderator: Susumu Asano (resident of Hekisui)
"At the karaoke competition held on January 31st, four members of the Himawari Karaoke Club sang. Today we will introduce songs by four members of the Heisei Karaoke Club."
1. Hideki Matsuura's "Freezing Rain" by Akio Kayama
Asano-san"Mr. Matsuura used to work as an employee at Hekisui Post Office, but now he has retired and is enjoying the rest of his life by growing vegetables in his fields."
Asano-san"I worked as the director of this facility 17 years ago. It's been 17 years already, but does anyone know me? (Several people raise their hands and say yes!) I live in the town, so I would be happy if you would say hello."
2. Fumiko Kawashima's "Noto Peninsula" by Sayuri Ishikawa
Asano-san"Mr. Kawashima is in the Furusaku area of Hekisui."
3. Osamu Sunagawa's "Crossing the Pass" by Kohei Fukuda
Sunagawa"I turned 80 at the end of last year. I look forward to working with you."
Asano-san"This year marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of this facility in April 1986. At the time, it started with 50 beds.
At the time, I was working in the Resident Affairs Division of the town hall, and in order to recruit users for this facility, I visited all the town's residents aged 65 and over with pamphlets about the facility and explained it to them. Thanks to this, four months later, on August 1st, 50 people had gathered and the facility was full. The facility currently has 80 beds.
Four years later, in 1990, the number of beds was increased to 92. However, due to a shortage of staff and other factors, the hospital is not currently at full capacity. Today, about 70 people have taken part in this event, which I am very grateful for.
4. A user suddenly joined us: Okawa Eisaku of "Sazanka no Yado"
The audience cheered and applauded with lots of waving.
5. "Tottori Sand Dunes" by Mie Iwakura and Kaori Mizumori
Mayor Sasaki and Takatsuki clap along and watch with amusement.
6. Hideki Matsuura's "Detour" by Gouki Kotokaze
7. Fumiko Kawashima's "Life is a Naniwabushi" by Tomoe Kimura
8. Mie Iwakura's "Yuuzuki Okesa" by Yoshimi Tendo
9. Osamu Sunagawa's "Nambu Cicada Shigure" by Kohei Fukuda
Asano-san"I hope to practice more in the future, get better and better, and make it possible for everyone to enjoy themselves. I would like to end by wishing you all good health and happiness. Thank you!"
During the karaoke performance, the staff at Eirakuen were constantly checking on the users, paying close attention to the details, and keeping a watchful eye on the users' feelings throughout, dealing with various issues with care and kindness.
Facility Tour
After this, Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki and Masayuki Takatsuki were given a tour of the facility by Director Jun Takahashi.
Mayor Sasaki spoke to each and every user in a kind and polite manner, exchanging words with them. Everyone was smiling and looked very happy to be there.
With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers, we hope to gently embrace the hearts of our users, providing a warm and soothing experience at Eirakuen...
YouTube videos
Other photos
Related articles
◇ Photography, editing, and website management: Noboru Terauchi Writer: Ikuko Terauchi

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