Work to lay electricity cables underground, which the Ministry of the Environment began in the Shikotsuko Onsen (Lake Shikotsku Hot Spring) district last May, has been completed, improving the scenery by removing visible electricity cables and utility poles. The spread of the Coronavirus has resulted in a lull in the number of tourists visiting the district, but those concerned are hoping the crowds will return once the pandemic has been brought under control.

　The cables were laid underground in the shopping street where restaurants, cafes and souvenir shops are concentrated, as well as in the central plaza on the lake side of the shopping street. In addition to the removal of the electricity cable and 18 utility poles, repaving work was also carried out and completed at the end of February at a total cost of approximately 190 million yen.

　According to the Ministry for the Environment Hokkaido Regional Environmental Office, not only has the view of the lake from the shopping street been improved, but also the risk of power cuts caused by cables being downed by falling trees has been reduced. In addition, damage caused by crows that target tourists, which has become conspicuous in recent years, may also be reduced, as there are no longer any cables on which the crows can perch.

　Hokkaido Regional Environmental Office’s Shikotsu-Toya National Park Office Manager says, “Once the Coronavirus pandemic has been brought under control, the area will once again bustle with tourists from Hokkaido and beyond. We want them to enjoy the atmosphere in which the sky has become wider and brighter.”