The sound of blessing echoes through the sky after the rain! The 39th Hokuryu Town Sunflower Festival 2025 Opening Ceremony marks an emotional start

Tuesday, July 22, 2025

The 39th Hokuryu Town Sunflower Festival 2025 Opening Ceremony

The Himawari no Sato opening ceremony was held at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, July 20th, at the Himawari no Sato Tourist Center.
On the first day of the 39th Sunflower Festival, the rain that had been falling since early morning stopped, and the festival was held in grand style with many tourists watching.
The 39th Hokuryu Town Sunflower Festival 2025 will kick off on Monday, August 18th, and will run for approximately one month.

1. Taiko drum performance: Hokuryu Taiko

The brave beats of the Hokuryu Taiko drummers resonate throughout the venue as they play two songs, "Yamabiko" and "Senrai no En."

2. Opening remarks

The general moderator will be Junichi Iguchi, head of the Industry Division of Hokuryu Town Hall.
Himawari Saki will also be joining in to support the event!

Masahito Fujii, Chairman of the Hokuryu Town Sunflower Tourism Association

"The Sunflower Festival is now in its 39th year. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Mayor Sasaki, all those involved, and the many tourists who have come to visit us today for making this possible.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those involved in the event, the volunteer groups, and the townspeople who helped with mowing the grass over the three days, and we ask for your continued cooperation during the event.

The Sunflower Festival will run for 30 days from today until Monday, August 18th.

During this period, there will be the Hokuto Pro Wrestling Hokuryu Tournament, the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force concert and vehicle exhibition, a live style concert, a Taiko Festival, a Watermelon and Melon Festival, the Hokusho Road Race Tournament, and on the final day, the Hokuryu Bon Odori Festival and fireworks display. We hope you will come and join us.

We have also installed a live camera so you can check the status of the sunflowers in bloom.

Himawari no Sato is a 23-hectare park with 2 million sunflowers planted, and over 240,000 visitors visit every year.

Starting this year, we will be collecting parking fees. We have been considering adjusting the fees for over 20 years. We have been working hard to use the funds saved to show you even more beautiful sunflowers, so we appreciate your understanding.

At Sunflowers of the World, we also have junior high school students as guides, so we hope you will enjoy your visit.

Earlier, we had some lively performances such as drumming and brass band music, and after this we will have the traditional rice cake throwing.

The Himawari Tourist Center has a wide selection of food, drinks, souvenirs, and more, so we hope you will enjoy using them.

Finally, I would like to conclude my opening remarks by praying that the Sunflower Festival will end safely. Thank you very much for coming today!' said Chairman Fujii.

3. Guest Congratulatory Speech

Mayor Yasuhiro Sasaki of Hokuryu Town

"New Year's in Hokuryu Town begins today! We have been growing sunflowers for about 50 years. This is the 39th Sunflower Festival, and next year will mark the 40th.

Today's performance will begin with small children playing the drums, followed by a brass band performance by junior high school students. The junior high school students will be introducing sunflowers from around the world.

Hokuryu Town's Sunflower Festival is a festival that is created by the townspeople, from small children to older people.

The population of Hokuryu Town has fallen below 1,600, but this small town is about to take on a big challenge.

Over 200,000 people visit Hokuryu Town over the course of a month. People from both inside and outside the town exist as "Himawari Town residents," so during this period the town becomes a town of 200,000 people.

There will be fun events almost every day for the next month. The townspeople will enjoy it together with you. We hope you will come to Hokuryu again and again.

"Thank you very much to everyone at the Tourism Association for your cooperation. I would like to conclude my remarks by expressing my sincere gratitude to you all," said Mayor Sasaki.

Hokuryu Town Council Chairman Nakamura Shoichi

"It has been raining since the day before yesterday, which is a good thing. I think this rain will make the beautiful sunflowers bloom. Everyone please enjoy yourself without any worries. Thank you very much," said Chairman Nakamura.

JA Kitasorachi, Minoru Nagai, Representative Director of the Hokuryu District

"The long-awaited rain has finally fallen, and we are delighted to see the beautiful sunflowers in bloom. We look forward to the future growth of Hokuryu Town's crops. This summer, the sunflower watermelons and melons have grown to be delicious. We hope you will enjoy trying them," said Nagai, representative director of the Hokuryu district.

Junichi Fukase, Chairman of the Hokuryu Land Improvement District

"We will be throwing rice cakes later, so please make sure the children go to the front as it is very narrow and dangerous," said Chairman Fukase.

Masakazu Yoshio, Chairman of the Voluntary Association

"During the Sunflower Festival, the Hokuryu Voluntary Association will work to ensure that tourists have a fun and enjoyable time with smiles on their faces. We appreciate your cooperation," said Chairman Yoshio.

Mr. Watanabe, Sunflower Committee Chairperson, Hokuryu Junior High School

"Hello everyone! I'm Watanabe, a third-year student at Hokuryu Junior High School. Hokuryu Junior High School is growing sunflowers in the World Sunflower Corner. Please come and see them! I'll be giving a tour on Friday, July 25th, so I look forward to seeing you," said Chairman Watanabe.

4. Brass Band Performance: Hokuryu Junior High School Brass Band

The Hokuryu Junior High School Brass Band will perform two songs: "Ame Nochi Haru Ya" and "Himawari no Yakusoku."

5. Mochi throwing (60kg of red and white mochi)

Red and white celebratory rice cakes fly through the air with celebration and joy!!!

Please look forward to the encounter with the beautiful sunflowers of Sunflower Village and the touching drama that begins here and unfolds!!!

With boundless love, gratitude, and prayers, we send our heartfelt thanks to the magnificent sunflowers of Sunflower Village, who, like the rays of the sun, shine with a radiance that brings prayers for world peace and spreads happy smiles and inspiration to the world.

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Other photos

Photos of Hokuryu Town Sunflower Village 2025 (443 photos) can be found here >>

Related pages

The 39th Sunflower Festival (Hokuryu Town, Hokkaido) will be held! July 20, 2025 (Sunday) - August 18, 2025 (Monday)
❂ Duration: 30 days ❂ Area: Approximately 23 hectares ❂ Number of trees: 2 million ❂ Best time to see: Early August

◇ Photography, editing, and website management: Noboru Terauchi Writer: Ikuko Terauchi