insights from frontier Japan

As a tribute to the area's status as a major horse ranching area, central Hokkaido's Shizunai Eclipse Hotel (Shinhidaka-cho) changed its breakfast ticket to a design that looks like a horse race betting ticket. The design has met with popularity among hotel guests and has even become a popular topic on social media as well.

Dessert parlor "peekaboo" in the Shizunai area of Shinhidaka in the Hidaka region has started selling a gelato made from local Shinhidaka-grown "Taiyo no Hitomi" cherry tomatoes and basil for an Italian flavor experience. The new gelato has garnered resounding praise.

Shizunai Agricultural High School in the town of Shinhidaka is the only high school in Japan with a production class for racing horses. On August 25, a one year old horse from the school was put up for auction at the "Summer Sale" in Shinhidaka, and was purchased for the winning bid of 25 million yen.

Hidaka Kombu Kelp is a specialty of the Pacific coast area of the Hidaka region. The process of sun-drying the kelp has begun, with the rows of drying kelp forming a striped pattern across the coastline.