Nice to meet you all!
This is the Industrial Promotion Division of the Oketo Town Town Hall.
We will tell everyone who watches the COOL JAPAN VIDEOS the charm of Hokkaido Oketo Town, so thank you!

This is my first post, and I would like to introduce what kind of town Oketo Town is and deliver the charm of Oketo Town!
Hokkaido Tokoro DistrictOketo Town is a peaceful town surrounded by beautiful nature located in the eastern part of Hokkaido with a population of 2,669 (as of January 31, 2023).

There are plenty of opportunities to interact with warm people and you can feel the charm of the region.
In addition, the climate and weather of Oketo Town is characterized by a large temperature difference between day and night, and little snow and rain.

Access to the Oketo Town is convenient by combining airplane and car!
It takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes by car from Memanbetsu Airport (Ozora Town) to Oketo Town, and driving while surrounded by nature is the real pleasure of a pleasant trip.
By bus, take the Kitami Bus (Memanbetsu Airport Line) from Memanbetsu Airport (Ozora Town) and transfer to the Kitami Bus Terminal (Rikubetsu Line) at Kitami Bus Terminal (Kitami City) for a total of about 1 hour and 40 minutes Oketo Town.

Next, we will introduce the sightseeing spots and ways to enjoy Oketo Town where you can enjoy different expressions throughout the year!

●Lake Oketo, Kanoko Dam (Kanoko Dam)
"Oketo Lake" is an artificial lake created by damming the Shikanoko Dam.
With a circumference of 13.4 km, there are many wild birds and wild grasses, and it is one of the attractions.
You can also enjoy fishing in the lake! In summer, you can enjoy mountain trout and American trout, and in late December ~ mid-February, you can also enjoy "Japanese smelt fishing". (There is no rental of fishing gear, so please prepare your own fishing gear and tent.) ）

●Rainbow Falls
Shikanokozawa, located downstream of the Shikanoko Dam, has a magnificent natural beauty.
One of them, the 13-meter-high Rainbow Falls, is popular for its picturesque scenery!
Trees and flowers are in full bloom around the waterfall, and it is a spot visited by many photographers.
In winter, Rainbow Falls is lit up and icefall tours are held.

●Oke Craft Center "Forest Craft Museum"
"Oke Craft" is a regional craft brand in Oketo Town.
The activity began in 1983 by combining "oke" (bending tub), which was produced as a local industry, "oke" of Oketo Town, and "craft".
24 private workshops in Oketo Town produce tableware and other items that can be used in everyday life.
Okecraft can also be purchased from the website.
At the Forest Craft Museum, we exhibit and sell products made in the area, such as plant dyeing, as well as oke crafts! You can also tour the production scenery and facilities.

"Okecraft" is also popular as a thank-you gift for Oketo Town Furusato Nozei!
The texture of the wood, such as the couple's bowl made of Ezo spruce and the mouth-watering cutlery, is outstanding.
Please check the Furusato Nozei sites.

●Oketo Katsuyama Onsen Yuyu
"Oketo Katsuyama Onsen Yuyu" is a facility full of attractions such as accommodation, hot springs, gourmet food, and sightseeing.
There are 4 cottages in total, and you can enjoy the camping feeling with free BBQ space.
There is also a restaurant and a café corner in the building. Weekday lunch menu is also recommended.
At the day-trip hot spring, you can enjoy the hot spring that flows directly from the source (Katsuyama Onsen).
You can enjoy a large bathtub, sleeping bath, open-air bath, pottery bath, etc., and there is also a dry sauna room!
In addition, there are plenty of sightseeing spots such as oke and lake around the facility.

●Minamigaoka Ski Resort
It is also recommended to enjoy it at the ski resort in winter!
"Minamigaoka Ski Resort" is a reasonably priced ski resort with a one-day ticket of 1040 yen for adults and 520 yen for children (junior high school students and younger).
There is a wide range of courses from beginners to advanced, so you can fully enjoy skiing.

Please feel the charm of nature and the warmth of the local area in the Oketo Town.

This account will provide you with Oketo Town information.
Thank you in advance!

Tomakomai City's unexplored area "Shichijo Otaki"

Shichijo Otaki is located in the national forest of the Maruyama district near the border between Tomakomai City and Chitose City, and is a spot where you can see a large waterfall 16m high and about 2.3m wide up close!

Shichijo Otaki, with its deep green trees and majestic waterfall, is a spectacular view.

In order to enter the national forest where Shichijo Otaki is located, you need an application for approval from the Eastern Iburi Forest Management Office, so please check with the Eastern Iburi Forest Management Office below for details.

【Eastern Iburi Forest Management Office】
Address: 3-4-1 Hinode-cho, Shiraoi-cho, Shiraoi-gun, Hokkaido
TEL：0144-82-2161

Nice to meet you, Omu Town Tourism Association!
Hokkaido Omu Town faces the Sea of Okhotsk.
The sunrise from the horizon is also a symbol of the town.

In COOL JAPAN VIDEOS's first post, we will introduce you to Omu Town and the highlights of Hokkaido Omu Town where you can enjoy delicious food.

There are no trains Omu Town, so you can get there by car, rental car, or bus.
It takes about 4 hours 30 minutes ~ 5 hours 30 minutes by expressway from Sapporo.
If you are traveling by air, please use Asahikawa Airport or Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport.
It takes about 3 hours by car from Asahikawa Airport Omu Town and about 1 hour Omu Town from Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport.

The climate (weather) in Omu Town is cool throughout the year, especially from January to March, when drift ice docks in the Sea of Okhotsk, so the temperature is low.
In winter, the temperature may drop to minus 20 degrees Celsius on some days, so be careful about the cold when visiting.

Next, we will introduce the representative sightseeing spots of Omu Town.
The recommended base for sightseeing in Omu Town is "Roadside Station Oumu" in the center of Omu Town city.
You can also sell Omu Town specialties, look for souvenirs, and enjoy local gourmet foods such as "Dattan Soba".
Dattan soba (Dattan Soba) is also called "bitter soba noodles" and contains about 100 times more "rutin", which is a type of polyphenol and the source of bitterness, about 100 times more than normal soba noodles, but now it is easy to eat because we have planted a variety called "Manten Kirari" that softens the bitterness and retains the nutrients.
Rutin has a powerful antioxidant effect, so it can be expected to prevent weekly illness and improve blood sugar and blood pressure, making it a soba noodle that has been attracting attention due to the health boom in recent years.

There is also an observation deck modeled after an airship 24 meters above the ground, and it is also a spot where you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of Obu.

Located about 12 minutes by car from downtown Omu Town, Cape Hinode is a superb view point of sunrise.
On the small hill of the cape, there is also the all-glass "Cape Hinode Observatory La Luna", and there are binoculars that can be used free of charge at the observatory. "La Luna" means "moon" in Italian.
It is said that it was named "It seems that the moon floats above the cape."
You can enjoy the scenery of the Sea of Okhotsk in summer and the panoramic view of over 180 degrees in front of you during the drift ice season in winter.

There is "Omu Town Cape Hinode Campsite" about 7 minutes on foot from Cape Hinode.
It consists of a free site and bungalows, and is bustling during the summer camp every year.
You can spend a comfortable time surrounded by nature.

There is also Hotel Cape Hinode around this campsite where you can take a day trip, so please use it when sightseeing Omu Town.

Here, we will deliver information on Omu Town's specialties and recommended gourmet food!
The specialty of Hokkaido Omu Town is delicious seafood nurtured by rich nature.
Among seafood, fresh scallops, hairy crabs, and salmon are gaining popularity.
Since you can fully enjoy the bounty of the sea, processed products are also recommended as souvenirs!

Hokkaido Omu Town's hometown tax payment offers thank-you goods that take advantage of these rich nature and local specialties such as delicious marine products.
The popular "saltwater sea urchin (Ezobahun sea urchin)" (2023 has already ended) is grown by eating the nutrient-rich Rishiri kelp that grows in Obu, and is characterized by its rich taste.
In addition, the mineral-rich scallops caught in Omu Town, where scallop fishing is popular, can be grilled, fried, and of course sashimi.

Omu Town, the breeding and production of "Angus beef" is also thriving.
In general cattle barn, they are raised on high-calorie food, but Angus cows are raised on large pastures and are characterized by relatively low fat and a lot of redness.
As a gift in return for hometown tax payment, "Angus beef set (frozen)" is also available, so please enjoy it.

Please experience the charm of Omu Town in your own way, such as superb scenery rich in nature, gourmet food, and outdoor activities.
In the future, COOL JAPAN VIDEOS will continue to deliver fascinating Omu Town information.
Thank you very much!

Hello COOL JAPAN VIDEOS viewers!
Nishiokoppe Village This is Kurashima, Regional Revitalization Cooperation Volunteers in charge of tourism.

I would like to deliver the charm of Hokkaido Nishiokoppe Village [tourist information]! Thank you in advance.

Hokkaido Nishiokoppe Village is located inland in the Sea of Okhotsk in the eastern Hokkaido region, has a population of 1,002 (as of the end of July 2023 (Reiwa 5)), and forests account for about 90% of the village's area.
The contrast with forests and snowy landscapes is beautiful, and the walls of major buildings such as public facilities are unified in orange.

The temperature difference in our village is large, and it can be -20 degrees Celsius in winter and over 30 degrees Celsius in summer.
Although it is a harsh natural environment, it is full of hidden areas and sightseeing spots such as rich nature and waterfalls!

Then, Hokkaido Nishiokoppe Village
Here are some of the attractive sightseeing spots.

The "Ice Tunnel" at the foot of the Mt. Uenshiri is a fantastic popular tourist destination where the ice world spreads!
The tunnel created by the water flowing down due to the melting snow in spring is located in a mountain valley, so the ice does not melt even in summer, showing a mysterious world.
It is usually closed due to the risk of collapse, but in July this year, it was opened for one day only for the first time in four years.

"Roadside Station Nishiokoppe Kamu" is a spot where a flower park and Roadside Station are fused!

In the Roadside Station building, there is a wooden contraption organ "Otogibayashi" that plays sound with the power of the wind, which is rare in Japan, and the shop also sells dairy products such as soft-serve ice cream using grass-fed milk from Nishikobu, as well as processed Yezo sika deer products (processed skin products, pet food, etc.).

In the attached flower park, you can enjoy a garden based on the concept of a "natural garden" that reproduces natural plants and flowers that grow according to the climate and climate of the Nishiokoppe Village.

Located about 10 minutes by car from the Roadside Station Nishiokoppe Kamu, the Forest Museum Komu is an art museum based on the concepts of "seeing," "touching," "playing," and "creating."
Not only are about 3,000 wooden toys and works on display, but you can also actually touch and play with large wooden playground equipment.

Among them, the "wooden sandbox" containing 160,000 wooden balls is a popular work! You can enjoy the woodworking bath surrounded by the scent of wood.
In addition to seeing, you can also experience actually making it at the "Woodworking Experience Class"!
Enjoy a luxurious time to experience art in the forest.

The sightseeing spot "Gyoja no Taki" where you can feel the power of nature is a waterfall with a drop of 20 meters.
At the end of the Meiji era, it began to be called Gyono Falls because there was a woman who prayed for the cure of her parents' intractable illness after being struck by the waterfall.
In the upper reaches of Gyoja Falls, there is the beautiful brick-colored riverbed "Akaiwa Falls" and the "Kuroiwa Falls" that flows through the primeval forest of the Ezo spruce, and you can enjoy three waterfalls on one route.

Next, we will introduce campsites where you can enjoy magnificent nature and the outdoors!

The Forest Park will undergo large-scale renovation work over two years, 2022 (Reiwa 4) and five years, and preparations are underway for the renewal and opening of the 2024 (Reiwa 6), including the maintenance of tent sites and the installation of new playground equipment.
In 2023 (Reiwa 5), the tent site is available until October 15, but the playground equipment cannot be used.
In addition, there is a paid log house in the park that can be used all year round, and a BBQ house that can be used for day trips.

Surrounded by primeval forest, "Uenshiri Campground" is a recommended campsite for wild camping because there are no cooking facilities.
Like the Ice Tunnel, it is located in Mt. Uenshiri and offers free access to one bungalow that can accommodate up to 10 people.
In addition, there is a risk of brown bears around the primeval forest, so be careful when using it.

Nishiokoppe Village is also known for the guitar factory "Okhotsk Musical Instrument Industry", where instruments with beautiful tones are born.
Okhotsk Musical Instrument Industry, which was founded in the form of taking over the timber company, currently produces 20,000 guitar bodies a year.
There is also a showroom in the annex of the guitar factory that you can enter for free, so you can feel free to visit it.

Access to the Nishiokoppe Village is
It takes about 1 hour and 45 minutes from Haneda Airport to Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport.
From the Osaka area, from Kansai International Airport and Osaka International Airport, take New Chitose Airport (about 1 hour 50 minutes), take JR to Asahikawa Station (about 2 hours 10 minutes), transfer to JR Limited Express and get off at Nayoro (about 1 hour), and take a bus to Nishiokoppe Village (about 1 hour).
It takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes by bus from Okhotsk Monbetsu Airport to Nishiokoppe Village.

Beautiful scenery such as ice tunnels, delicious food, etc.
You can enjoy a variety of experiences in Nishiokoppe Village.
We will continue to tell you about the charm of Hokkaido Nishiokoppe Village,
Thank you in advance!