Historical Walking Tour in Mikasa Geopark
1-DAY
DIFFICULTY
GREEN SEASON
1 day
Min. 15, Max. 40
Walking
- HIGHTLIGHTS
-
- A unique walking tour: The guide will introduce the history and culture of the mining town.
- Dance the old charcoal miner’s, "Hokkai Bon Odori" together with locals.
- LOCATION
-
Central Hokkaido, Mikasa City
Mikasa City Museum Explain the history of Hokkaido
Coal Mine Site of Ikushunbetsu in Mikasa
Historical Straddle Tunnel Cross the era
Dance the "Hokkai Bon Odori" together with locals!
OVERVIEW
In 1868, the year of the Meiji Restoration, the modern history of Hokkaido began. In this guided walking tour, we would like to introduce the coal mining area of the Sorachi region, which offers an excellent opportunity to learn about the history of the dawn of Hokkaido.
Over the last 100 years, the population of the region has seen rollercoaster-like growth and declines. Today’s tour explores the principal reasons behind that. The core theme of our tour is “coal”. The Sorachi region is a microcosm of Hokkaido’s history. Thus, with this theme in mind, we would like to step through the region’s past, present, and future in the form of guided walking tours so that you can experience the history visually.
Mikasa is striving to regenerate itself as a place where visitors can experience a unique history, one which is a representative example of that of Hokkaido.
Now, let us set out on a journey where you can experience 100 years in just a few hours!
ITINERARY
8:30 AM
Meet at your hotel in central Sapporo. Then, you will travel by bus from Sapporo to Mikasa.
10:30 AM
Arrival at Mikasa City Museum, the guide will explain the modern history of Hokkaido and
the culture unique to the coal mine town that has supported Hokkaido’s industry,
11:00AM
Move to the open-air museum. You can enjoy learning about the geography and geology of the region, such as terrain, strata and coal mine.
12:30PM
Lunch
1:30PM
Walk around the former Ikushunbetsu coal mine. The area once had a population of 15,000 people. However, the after the coal mine was shut down, became a ghost town and returned to the forest. The area grew and declined rapidly, like a roller coaster.
3:00PM
Tea time at Mikasa “High School Restaurant”
4:30PM
Let’s dance the “Hokkai Bon Odori” together with locals! “Bon Odori” is a dance that is performed all over Japan dance during the “Bon” period in August. . All participants will wear “happi coats”, which are light costumes for Japanese festivals, hold a uchiwa, and dance around the yagura to traditional Japanese music.
5:30PM
You will be taken back to Sapporo by bus. The journey takes about 90 minutes.
LUNCH
Have lunch at the scenic spot along the river at the open-air museum area, Katsurazawa Kamui Kotan. Here you can enjoy the food culture unique to the coal mine town: “Geo Ben” (a combination of “Geopark” and “Bento lunch box”) and hot soup. It might be a challenging meal for some because the ingredients may be unfamiliar. However, through this lunch, you will be able to feel the unique food culture of this Sorachi region.
TEA TIME
You can relax here and enjoy interacting with the students who run sell the pastries made by young people in this area, This restaurant is
a symbol of the future as faced with the crisis of closing down after
the abandonment of the coal mine, Mikasa High School has revived the area brilliantly with innovative ideas and action. Here you can experience the town’s hope for its future.
Tour Operator / Contact
TOBU TOP TOURS Co.,LTD Sapporo Branch
- Address
7F Park East Sapporo, 1-3, South 1 East 1, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0051 Japan
- TEL
+81 (0)11-221-0821
- Official web site
https://tobutoptours.com/en/
Awareness of environmentally friendly action and the protection of our precious nature has always been at the core of our corporate philosophy. We feel that we need to do more than our obligations to ensure that our business and participants have a positive impact on the community. Our important goal is also to encourage guests to spend more time in Hokkaido’s natural environment, protecting the natural environment and taking action to respect the indigenous culture.
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