insights from frontier Japan

Amid rapidly accelerating depopulation, many municipalities in Hokkaido are facing the problem of how to stop the flight of the young, working age generation in order to sustain their community. As overseas workers have become more and more important, municipalities are coming up with ideas to welcome them as members of communities while trying to stop young people from leaving their hometowns. The Hokkaido Shimbun visited some cities and towns that continue to seek coexistence with foreign residents even under the coronavirus pandemic.

On December 27, four spotted seals that had been cared for at the Okhotsk Tokkari Center Seal Land in the city of Mombetsu in the Okhotsk region of eastern Hokkaido, were returned to the sea from Mombetsu Port. The seals have transmitters attached to their backs and, in addition to ecological research, the seals will also play a role in environmental research in the Sea of Okhotsk.

The Okhotsk region welcomed the New Year with clear blue skies on January 1, and the first sunrise could be seen in many places. Many people gathered at Bihoro Pass and Mombetsu Port before dawn.

A cruise to view scallop fishing from the drift-ice sightseeing boat Garinko-go Ⅲ ‘IMERU’ off the coast of Mombetsu in eastern Hokkaido, began on July 22.

Thai technical trainees in eastern Hokkaido's Mombetsu City taught parent-child groups how to prepare traditional Thai food. The lesson was held on November 29 in the cooking room of Okhotsk Sea Ice Park.

The newly built ice-breaker cruiser ‘Garinko-goⅢ IMERU’ arrived in the port of Mombetsu in northeastern Hokkaido on November 24. A port entrance ceremony was held in front of the Mombetsu City Marine Exchange Center, in which approximately 100 city residents took part in a tour of the more spacious, 3-tier boat’s interior. The boat will enter service on January 9 next year.

In July, Hokkaido's famous summer lavender flowers have become perfect for viewing in many locations, and some lavender fields were crowded with tourists including the popular tourist farm “Farm Tomita” ( https://www.farm-tomita.co.jp/ ) in the Furano region, which has 20 hectares of lavender fields.