insights from frontier Japan

　The fresh fish department in the basement of the Fujimaru department store in the city of Obihiro reopened after refurbishment on April 1, with a sales counter directly managed by the Obihiro Regional Wholesale Market opening there. The procurement power of the market has been put to good use, with a wide selection of fresh fish from Hokkaido and beyond, and a commemorative bluefin tuna filleting display held at the opening.

The Obihiro Region Wholesale Market (Obihiro) in the Tokachi area plans to strengthen new business from the new fiscal year. Product development using imperfect produce is the business core. This summer, it will sell high quality gelato made from Furano grown melons as a private brand.

Wintertime in Eastern Hokkaido is packed with amazing scenery and experiences not available elsewhere in Japan, like drift ice, art made from snow and ice, and the ice horizon expanse. The "East Hokkaido Express Bus" is a seasonal bus that travels to all sorts of tourist spots in wintertime Eastern Hokkaido. It gives you easy access to famous spots difficult to reach by car. Visit Eastern Hokkaido aboard buses in search of amazing experiences only available there!

A training workshop for learning about the culture of the indigenous Ainu people and thinking of ways to utilize it as a tourism resource was held in eastern Hokkaido's Obihiro City.

At Obihiro Zoo in eastern Hokkaido's Obihiro City, Hokkaido raccoon dogs are drawing attention for their ways of looking for food in a pile of red and yellow autumn leaves and burrowing into the leaves to relax.

Rare training involving caring for the rear hoof of a reticulated giraffe without the use of an anesthetic has been successfully completed in Hokkaido, at Obihiro Zoo.

The film “Ito” was filmed in various places around Hokkaido such as Hakodate City and northern Hokkaido, and has been released at movie theaters nationwide. It is a romantic movie that uses “Ito”, a popular song by Miyuki Nakajima, a singer from Sapporo, as a motif. The film's lead roles are played by popular actor Masaki Suda and Nana Komatsu. Fans have been going to location sites since before the film was released, raising hopes in local spots for a "film location tourism" economic effect.

Obihiro Shrine presented a “Hana Chozu,” which is a new practice of placing flowers in the shrine water basin used to purify the hands and the mind before praying there. Visitors could be heard commenting, “It's so beautiful,” and, “This is pretty.”

On June 17, a consortium formed by groups including JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperative) Makubetsu, Hokkaido Obihiro Agriculture High School, and Hokkaido Obihiro Technical High School conducted a trial flight of a drone for agrochemical spraying at Obihiro Agriculture High School. Approximately 80 students learned the advantages of smart agriculture that reduces the burden of agricultural work with advanced technologies.