At Ashoro’s cider brewery, Brunk Hard Cider Works, the production of next year’s hard cider has begun! The apples picked at Hidamari Farm have already been processed, and today we are pressing apples from Kitami. Sounds exciting. Brunk Hard Cider※ is available at the Roadside Station Ashoro Ginga Hall 21 shop, the official online store, and other outlets. Be sure to give it a try! ※A sparkling alcoholic drink made from apples.

From November 1st, "Amber Night & Marche" is being held at Roadside Station Garden Spa TokachigawaOnsen! With the amber color that symbolizes the mall hot spring as its theme, you can enjoy today’s drinks and snacks while admiring a symbol tree featuring motifs unique to Tokachi—nature, farming, and animals. You can also buy items at the daily-changing marche stalls and try a tasting set. The tasting set changes by day, so you might discover different drinks each visit. 😊 Non-alcoholic options are of course available! Spend a long autumn evening at Amber Night & Marche. 😊 [Event Period] Friday, November 1, 2024 – Wednesday, December 25, 2024 [Reception Hours] 19:30–21:00 [Closing Time] 21:30 [Admission Fees] Adults (junior high school and older) ¥1,000; Elementary school students ¥500; Infants free "Amber Night & Marche" will be held at Roadside Station Garden Spa TokachigawaOnsen from November 1st! The event, themed on the amber color that represents the marsh hot spring, invites you to enjoy drinks and snacks while admiring a symbol tree that reflects Tokachi’s distinct nature, agriculture, and wildlife. You can compare drinks and shop at the marche stalls, which change daily. The tasting set varies by date, so every visit might offer different drinks to sample. Non-alcoholic choices are also available! Spend a long autumn evening at Amber Night & Marche. 😊 [Event Period] November 1, 2024 – December 25, 2024 [Reception Hours] 19:30–21:00 [End Time] 21:30 [Admission Fees] Adults (junior high school and older) ¥1,000; Elementary school students ¥500; Infants free

This year’s rental bicycle service has ended. The Shintoku Station rental bicycle service, which many people used, ended on Thursday, October 31. We are grateful to everyone who used it and pleased that it concluded without any major accidents this year.

We put up a poster for Upopoy at Karikachi Pass, featuring Anna Yamada—who played one of the protagonists, Ashiripa, in this year’s widely discussed live-action adaptation of Golden Kamuy—whom we welcomed as an ambassador. Not only Anna Yamada and Ashiripa fans, but all Golden Kamuy enthusiasts and anyone passing nearby are encouraged to stop by and take a look.

A scenic view of the large autumn-colored hairpin curve from a parking space near marker 5 on Route 38, stretching from Shintoku Town toward Karikachi Pass. Trees around the area were cleared this summer, so the sweeping curve now stands out clearly.

Tomuraushi Onsen Tōtaisetsusō will be temporarily closed today. A landslide occurred in front of the hotel due to last night’s rain. As a result, the hotel is closed temporarily today, so please be aware. The reopening date is currently undecided.

From late night to early morning, the temperature in Shintoku Town is 3°C. At Karikachi Kogen Park, which sits about 150 meters higher in elevation than the town center, the first snow has fallen!

Takkutetsu Kinokotown, which opened this spring, has created a shop card as a “travel memento!” Be sure to pick up one as a keepsake of your visit to Shintoku Town or Kinokotown.

Sahoro Resort Bear Mountain will end operations for this season on Sunday, October 20. The brown bears, who brought enjoyment to so many visitors this season, are beginning preparations for hibernation. Operations are scheduled to resume next season around Golden Week. #Hokkaido #Tokachi #Shintoku Town #Shintoku Town Tourism Association #brown bear #Bear Mountain #Sahoro #National Route 38 #Hokkaido Garden Path #hibernation #See you next year

Notice of the Hokkaido International Film Festival + Taiki From Friday, October 18th to Sunday, October 20th, the Hokkaido International Film Festival + Taiki will take place at the Taiki Town Lifelong Learning Center. Films connected to Hokkaido and Tokachi, as well as works unique to Taiki Town, a town of space, will be screened.🚀 Each film costs 1,000 yen (except for the opening and closing screenings), making it much cheaper than watching movies at a cinema. High school students and younger can watch for free.🎞️ In addition, directors and cast members of several films will attend as guests, so you might hear behind-the-scenes stories! Scheduled screenings include Bokuhaga Uchuu ni Itta Riyuu (The Reason I Went to Space), The Talkative Photo Studio, The New Nemuro Pro Wrestling Story, Hello Mom, and Uchuu Nanchara Kotetsu-kun, among many others! An international feature competition jury will also take place. Whether you love films or rarely get the chance to see them, come to Taiki Town and enjoy the screenings! Tickets are available at Roadside Station Cosmo-ru Taiki, the Taiki Town Hall Planning and Commerce Division on the second floor, and online. For more details, search for "Hokkaido International Film Festival".

Shintoku New Soba Festival is about to begin! Preparations are underway for the 10:00 start.

The 49th Umaissho “Shintoku” Heavy Snow Festival This event has arrived again this year! The Heavy Snow Festival is a food celebration where you can eat and buy Shintoku’s high-quality vegetables and soba. The big draw is the all-you-can-stuff local vegetables (500 yen) and freshly harvested, freshly ground, freshly made, and freshly boiled new-season Shintoku soba. You’ll also find fresh fruit brought from Shintoku Town’s sister city, Higashine City in Yamagata Prefecture. On the stage there are magic shows and live performances, and if you buy meat at the venue you can borrow charcoal and a grill free of charge to enjoy a BBQ.

Autumn colors are beginning. I went to Tokachi Dam to prepare for the Kinaushi Shrine Enshrinement Anniversary Festival held on Tuesday, October 1st. Daytime temperatures in town rise to around 20°C, but nights fall into the single digits, and I expect mountain valleys are even cooler. I also received word that fall colors have started at Tomuraushi Onsen Higashi-Taisetsu-so, so they may have advanced considerably in the past week. In a typical year, the colors peak around early next month near Tomuraushi Onsen Higashi-Taisetsu-so, while the area around Kuttari Lake near Tokachi Dam reaches its best in mid-month. Please come and see the unspoiled wilderness painted by autumn foliage.

Karikachi Trail Running The rain that fell from last night into the early morning cleared, and the 12th Karikachi Trail Running began with its starting gun! Runners tackled three courses that use the former Karikachi Line railway bed to run through nature. Participants numbered 143, coming not only from Hokkaido but also from as far away as Tokyo, Nagoya, and Fukuoka. With a temperature of 17°C and a pleasant autumn breeze, conditions were ideal for the event.

Under a clear Tokachi sky today, the Shintoku Shrine autumn festival features a mikoshi offering and a parade through the town. The shaded areas are already cool, but sunlit spots still feel like summer. Local volunteers, sweating as they go, are preserving and passing on the town's traditions.

Thank you for waiting! The outline for the 21st Shintoku New Soba Festival, held on Sunday, September 29, has been announced. This year, seven local soba shops and soba enthusiasts from town will take part, with 9,000 servings of soba prepared. In addition to freshly harvested, freshly milled, freshly made, and freshly boiled soba with excellent flavor, each shop will offer creative twists to enhance their dishes—such as spicy daikon grated soba, unagi soba, and large prawn tempura soba—so please enjoy delicious soba in Shintoku on the day.

From today until September 6, The Royal Express, operated by Tokyu Corporation and JR Hokkaido, will stop at Shintoku Station every Friday, so the tourism association greeted and welcomed passengers on the station platform. The Royal Express, named to evoke elegance and a sense of occasion with a concept of beauty and a sparkling journey, is a special train notable for its royal blue livery; it runs with a diesel locomotive (DE15) and a power car coupled together. At Shintoku Town Tourism, they offered hospitality in hopes that the sparkling beauty of Hokkaido, Tokachi, and Shintoku Town—no less dazzling than the train—would reach the passengers.

Sahoro Lake Campground Reopens! Thank you for waiting! Sahoro Lake Campground, which had been closed since Saturday, May 25 due to a water system failure, has reopened for use from Saturday, July 27. Please note that Tokachi Dam Campground remains closed because bears are still being sighted.

The Takatoshi Land episode filmed in Shintoku Town will be broadcast. On Sunday, July 14, at 4:05 PM on the Fuji TV network, "Discover! Takatoshi Land SP: Aiba, Yasumura and a Four-Person, Whirlwind Trip Around Hokkaido" will air. The four travelers give a full showcase of Shintoku Town's charms, so please do watch!!!

The buckwheat flowers have begun to bloom! The flowers have started to appear in the buckwheat fields known as "Soba Road," near the Soba House along National Route 38. The bloom will expand from here, and by late July to early August the fields will be blanketed in a carpet of pure white buckwheat flowers.

September 15th The 12th Karikachi Trail Running event has been confirmed!🏃🏃🏃 Starting and finishing at Karikachi Kogen Park, where the Karikachi Line and Shinnai Station once stood, this race sends about 200 participants across four courses—22 km, 12 km, 5 km, and 4 km—along the old Karikachi Line railbed, forest roads, and other natural trails. Under a crisp autumn sky, come feel Hokkaido’s vast wilderness as you run the route people once traveled by train since the Meiji era.

On today’s UHB Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting evening program "Min Tere", Tsuru-ajisai at Karikachi Kogen Park will be featured around 5:15 PM and around 6:30 PM. The climbing hydrangeas are still in full bloom. See these flourishing flowers on TV and visit the site this weekend to enjoy them in person.

🌿 Haskap picking has begun 🫐 Haskap picking started on June 20 at Mukai Haskap Orchard in Taiki Town! Many berries are still unripe, so they should peak for picking toward July.✨ For details, visit Taiki Town’s tourism site Visit! Taiki.

We created a leaflet with directions to Masudayama so visitors can enjoy the views of trains passing along the Sekisho Line, a frequent subject of inquiries to the tourism association. Parts of the route are unpaved and some sections are rough, so please drive with great care. Also, since this is a natural mountain area, be aware of possible brown bear sightings. Detailed precautions are listed on the leaflet titled "Important Notice for Those Heading to Masudayama," so please read it. This information pop-up is also posted under "News" on the Shintoku Town Tourism Association website.

We did a test setup of “Hammocks Among the Birch Trees,” planned for this summer. Despite struggling with more sagging than expected, we finally created a soothing time. If you are planning a summer trip along the Obihiro–Asahikawa–Furano route, why not relax among the birch and hammocks at Karikachi Kogen Park? Details will be posted later on the tourism association’s website and social media. #Hokkaido #Tokachi #Shintoku #Shintoku Tourism Association #Route 38 #Hokkaido Garden Path #Karikachi Kogen Park #birch #hammock #relaxation

We joined the townwide ‘National Route 38 Environmental Beautification Activity’ organized and carried out by local residents, and planted seedlings of 6,000 red salvias and dusty miller along 43 blocks of Route 38 in Shintoku, where the sky was still cloudy after the rain. This road is known as the Hokkaido Garden Path and is used by visitors traveling between Obihiro and Furano or Asahikawa. We hope it will offer a warm welcome to drivers on summer sightseeing trips and lift their spirits.

Yesterday, on Sunday, I started from Karikachi Pass and hiked up to Sahoro-dake. Along the way I passed the summit of Sakurayama and reached the Sahoro-dake summit in about two and a half hours. Blessed with fine weather, I enjoyed views of the Tokachi Plain below and, in the distance, Mt. Tomuraushi—one of the Daisetsuzan range—and the Hidaka Mountains, which are scheduled to be designated a national park in July. On the trail I also delighted in the white flowers of Chishima-zakura beginning to show as they turn into leaf cherry, savoring all the unique pleasures of mountain hiking. #Hokkaido #Tokachi #Shintoku #Shintoku Tourism Association #Karikachi Pass #Sahoro-dake #Sakurayama #Tokachi Plain #Daisetsuzan range #Mt. Tomuraushi #national park #Hidaka Mountains #Chishima-zakura #mountain hiking #National Route 38

Advance Notice: Climbing Hydrangeas Blooming It’s still a bit early, but from mid-June to early July hundreds of estimated climbing hydrangea plants that twine around the larch growth forest in Karikachi Kogen Park will begin to bloom. Their cream-colored, 5 mm flowers form clusters that make the larch trees look as if they are wearing dresses. This year has been warmer than usual, so blooming may occur earlier; we will announce it once the flowers open. The usual peak viewing season is from early to mid-July.

Yesterday, tourism association staff accompanied members of the Shintoku Mountaineering Club and the police to Komadori-sawa, the midpoint, to carry out marking work to prevent hikers from getting lost on the trail up Mt. Tomuraushi. They marked two guiding arrows and a ❌ sign indicating impassable sections on the snow using red lime. With the summer mountain season approaching, we hope people enjoy Mt. Tomuraushi with a realistic climbing plan and adequate equipment. Also, since there are still few climbers now and bears may appear near the trail, please include a bell or whistle and consider carrying bear spray when making your plans.

The seasonal Tomuraushi Line bus service has been approved. This summer, as last year, a route will run between Shintoku Station and Tomuraushi Onsen. Will this summer be as hot as last year? Seek cool relief, immerse yourself in the healing power of vast nature, and discover hidden hot-spring baths. Take this chance to visit Tomuraushi Onsen as well as go mountain climbing!