The ‘Gemini meteor shower’ could be observed as it lit up the sky in some regions of Hokkaido on the night of December 13. As many meteors appear in the night sky, the Gemini meteor shower is known as one of the three major meteor showers, along with the Quadrantids and Perseids meteor showers.　

According to a technician at the Galactic Forest Observatory of the Stars of the Sky in the town of Rikubetsu in the Tokachi region of eastern Hokkaido, “The Gemini meteor shower has a long period of activity and can be observed for about a week after its peak. Take your time and look for it over an extensive area.”

In Toyokoro, also in the Tokachi region, ten meteors were confirmed in the sky above the town’s famous Japanese elm tree during a 4-hour period from 6 p.m. Over a dozen people gathered in the vicinity to photograph the night sky with the huge tree, estimated to be about 150 years old, in the foreground.