Hello viewers of Cool Japan Videos, this is the Tomakomai Tourism Association.

On this account, we’ll introduce the many attractive tourist spots of Tomakomai City, one of Japan’s leading industrial cities and the largest port town in Hokkaido.

Tomakomai is very easy to reach: about a 90-minute drive from Sapporo City and about a 30-minute drive from New Chitose Airport.
When you visit, rental bicycles are available, so we recommend touring while feeling the great outdoors on your skin.

Now, let us introduce Tomakomai City’s proud sightseeing spots.

■ Mt. Tarumae
Designated a natural monument of Hokkaido, this stratovolcano features a globally famous double rim.
You can drive up to the 7th station, and from there it’s about a 50-minute hike to the summit, making it an easy climb to enjoy sweeping views and alpine plants.

■ Midorigaoka Park
From the observation deck on the hilltop plaza, you can take in panoramic views of Tomakomai City.
With fountains and flowerbeds, plus an athletics stadium and a rugby field, many people use it as an outdoor sports park.

■ Kin-Dainuma Park
Centered on Lake Kin-Dainuma, which has a 1.6-kilometer shoreline, the park is surrounded by pristine nature.
You can enjoy facilities year-round, including Arten, one of Japan’s largest auto campgrounds, a canoe base, a park golf course, and the Yunomi no Yu bathing facility.

■ Northern Horse Park
A popular spot where visitors can interact with horses.
You can experience horseback riding, guided pony rides, horse-drawn carriage rides, sleigh rides, riding lessons, the Happy Pony Show, and horse trekking.

Next, we’ll introduce some of the popular local gourmet treats that are one of the pleasures of visiting Tomakomai.

Tomakomai City boasts the largest catch of surf clams (hokkigai) in Japan, often called the king of shellfish.
While they’re known as a premium sushi topping, in Tomakomai you can buy them casually.
As a port town, there’s also plenty of seafood like salmon and atka mackerel, plus local specialties such as haskap berries, Tomakomai ramen, haskap-based sweets called yoitomake, Tarumae jingisukan (grilled mutton), and hokki curry—popular flavors you should try when sightseeing.

We’ll continue to share many more recommended Tomakomai attractions that we couldn’t fit into this post, so please look forward to them!

Yubari City, Hokkaido is located in the central Hokkaido region of central Hokkaido and is a city with many attractive sightseeing spots interwoven with nature and history.

When many people hear the name "Yubari City", the words "Yubari Melon" and "Financially Bankrupt City" may come to mind.

Yubari City also once prospered due to the coal industry, one of the main industries of the Japan.
However, as time changed and the demand for coal decreased, Yubari City was affected by it, and by 1990, all the coal mines were closed and the city was in a difficult situation.
After that, it experienced financial collapse in 2007, but now measures are being taken to revitalize the city.

Yubari City has such a history, but it is about 60 minutes from New Chitose Airport, the northern gateway, and about 90 minutes from Sapporo, making it a popular tourist destination.
At the Yubari City Coal Museum, you can learn about the history of the coal industry in Yubari City and learn about the development of Yubari City.
Dynamic exhibitions that utilize actual coal mining sites as tourism resources are popular and have become a place visited by many tourists.

Yubari City is rich in nature as well as from the summit of Mt. Yubari at an altitude of 1,668 meters, and a 360-degree panoramic view spreads out, and you can see the beautiful scenery of the four seasons.
In addition, with the completion of the Yubari Shuparo Dam in 2015, you can enjoy aquatic activities such as canoeing at Lake Shuparo, which has become the fourth largest water reservoir in the Japan.
At the waterfall top park, colorful flowers and trees grow over, and you can feel the four seasons of Yubari City closely.
The "Chidoriga Falls" in the park is a superb view of countless large and small waterfalls and strangely shaped rocks.

If you come to Yubari City for sightseeing, please enjoy gourmet food and masterpieces.
Speaking of Yubari City, Yubari Melon! Why not taste the sweet and juicy Yubari melon in summer?
Yubari potatoes and canned beans are also popular gourmets.

The population was 116,000 in 1960, when coal mining flourished, but today it is less than 7,000.
Yubari City is sometimes compared to a ghost town, but if you actually visit, you can learn about the history of Japan industry and enjoy nature and gourmet food.

After about 16 years since 2007, Yubari City has reached the goal of paying off its debt in four years.
In order for citizens and tourists to come back to Yubari City after paying off their debts, we would like to introduce the attractions such as sightseeing spots and history of Yubari City in the Cool Japan Video!