insights from frontier Japan

TOYA TOY BOX, an outdoor guide company in the town of Toya in the Iburi region of central Hokkaido, is offering a rare winter canoeing activity that is proving popular. Winter canoeing is not a standard activity, but TOYA TOY BOX has implemented safety measures such as joining two Canadian canoes together, hoping that visitors will enjoy the tranquility of the area and the beautiful lake, which is clearer than in summer.

From February 4, ‘Toyako Onsen Winter Fireworks 2022’ was held for a limited 10-day period in the hot-spring resort of Toyako Onsen in central Hokkaido, with a total of 250 fireworks lighting up the night sky. Firework displays in the hot-spring resort have a long history, after they began as a way of invigorating the area when it experienced a sharp drop in the number of tourists after the eruption of Mt. Usu. The Toyako Onsen Tourist Association held the event again this year to bring a little light relief to the hot-spring resort, where many hotels have closed due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Nurse Fukushi Minami from the town of Kyogoku in Central Hokkaido’s Shiribeshi area has been offering a mobile sales service for her own medicinal blend teas with recipes based in a medicinal herb theme. On September 9, she opened her own shop called “Cokyuu” in Toyako.

Wakasa Resort Co., Ltd., which operates the Usuzan Ropeway in the town of Sobetsu in central Hokkaido, held a grand opening on April 24, for ‘Mt. USU Terrace’ at the summit’s Lake Toya Observation Deck.

The "Toyako Onsen Winter Fireworks Festival" has started. It is lighting up the sky at the Toyako Onsen hot spring district (central Hokkaido). For five minutes from 8:30 every evening, tourists are treated to fireworks and music.

The splendor of a seaplane – fitted with boat-shaped floats instead of wheels – taking-off from the surface of Lake Toya can be seen in the town of Toyako in Central Hokkaido.