Hokkaido Official Tourism Site HOKKAIDO LOVE!

The Tokachi Millennium Forest is a magnificent natural setting at the foot of the Hidaka Mountains. The forest was created with the aim of leaving a great legacy to mankind a thousand years from now. Take a Segway guided tour (2 hours, reservation required by 17:00 the day before) to enjoy a Segway ride through the meadows and forest, and enjoy the spectacular view as far as the eye can see. Other activities include a classroom lecture on dairy farming in Hokkaido, a cheese-making experience, and the “Tokachi Natural Cheese Making Experience,” where you can bake a pizza with the cheese you made and enjoy it as a meal.

At Kyodogakusha Shintoku Farm in Tokachi, you can eat some of Hokkaido’s freshest and tastiest cheese. The on-site fromagerie is integrated with a cow farm to make cheese from scratch and serve it in a farm-to-table fashion. The Kyodogakusha Shintoku cows graze on windswept fields at the base of the picturesque mountains during the warm months of the year and give fresh milk that creates high-quality cheese packed with the flavors of the land. It is one of few Japanese kinds of cheese to have migrated, with success, to Europe.

RYUGETSU’s local factory is where Hokkaido’s renowned sweet, “Sanporoku,” is made. Come and watch the process from the observation line where you can witness the production operation taking place under their motto of safety and peace of mind. At the lovely adjacent café, you can see the colorful garden and taste the pride of RYUGETSU in its cakes and Hokkaido milk soft serve ice cream. While here, don’t miss the sweet-making experience workshop which children and adults of all ages can enjoy! Choose from various courses, such as cookies, cake decoration, and more to make your very own confectionary!

The first municipal winery in Japan, the Tokachi wine production facility. It was renovated in June 2020. The view from the small hill overlooking the Tokachi Plain is breathtaking. How about purchasing wine in the shopping area or enjoying delicious dishes at the restaurant? The DCTgarden IKEDA, produced by Miwa Yoshida from the local band Dream Come True, is also adjacent.

Tokachigawa Hot Spring is a unique hot spring in Japan that gushes out "mall hot spring" containing high levels of plant organic matter. The hot spring gushes out through layers of plants that have been deposited over a long period of time, making it one of the rarest springs in the world, and it has been selected as a Hokkaido Heritage Site. The smooth water, which is derived from plants, warms the body to the core after just a short soak, and keeps the body warm afterwards. It is also known as "hot water for beautiful skin" because it has a moisturizing effect like lotion. The hot spring resort area is dotted with numerous lodging facilities, including luxury inns with open-air baths and large hotels with many guest rooms. Visitors to Tokachigawa Hot Spring can enjoy experiences and events throughout the four seasons, such as hot-air balloon rides where they can view the magnificent scenery of Tokachi from above, and the "Sairinka" event in winter, which takes visitors into a fantastic world created by the night sky, snow, and countless light objects.

At the Tokachi Nature Center, you can enjoy various outdoor activities in Tokachi’s wilderness for a truly immersive and satisfying nature experience guided by professionals. If you can visit in the Summer, why not try activities like early morning hot-air ballooning which allows you to gaze down on the earth from 30-meters up in the air, river rafting, stand-up paddling, or all-included barbecues? In the Winter, activities like snowshoeing and eagle watching can’t be beat! The program is packed with tours showing off the area’s natural attractions, and with many of them suitable for children, they are also recommended for families!

The garden on the hill creates a variety of colorful spaces, including a rose garden with approximately 800 roses, a garden of herbs, fruit trees, and edible flowers. Equipped with a café offering a wide variety of sweets, the garden proposes a culture of enjoying agriculture and food and spending time in the garden. Picnics at your favorite spot in the garden are also recommended!

Obihiro Racecourse (Banei Tokachi) holds the world's only "Banei Horse Racing. In Banei Horse Racing, horses weighing around one ton pull heavy iron sleds weighing up to one ton to compete in a race for power, speed, and endurance. The horses run along a 200-meter-long course, including two hills, pulling heavy sleds, and it is a powerful sight to behold. The power of the horses, which were used for farming in the pioneer days of Hokkaido, has been passed down to the present day and still impresses people as a part of Hokkaido's heritage.

Tokachimura, located next to Obihiro Racecourse, offers a variety of "delicacies" of Tokachi. The direct sales area offers a wide variety of fresh vegetables and ingredients purchased from Tokachi producers. Local gourmet foods such as desserts and pork bowls are well known as a "treasure house of food.

A dense collection of yatai (food stalls) at the center of Tokachi offers a unique glimpse into the abundant food culture of the region. Rows of closely-packed stalls create an exciting atmosphere that bustles with locals and tourists from evening until late into the night. There are 20 unique yatai, including izakayas, bars, French, Chinese, Korean, and home-style Japanese cooking. The community surrounding the yatai is a warm one, and visitors to the market can order dishes from any number of stalls even while dining at one particular shop. The open-concept layout of the yatai gives the summer nights a festive atmosphere, while heaters warm up the insides during winter. With this setup, patrons can enjoy the rich food and drinking culture of Tokachi all year round.

Spread across about 145,000 square meters, this expansive site features multiple art museums where you can leisurely enjoy art amidst the beautiful nature of the Tokachi region. The village includes the 'Museum of the Northern Land,' which hosts special exhibitions, the 'Kyuichiro Aihara Museum' dedicated to Western-style paintings, and the 'Junsaku Koizumi Museum' for Japanese-style paintings. Each building is connected by walking paths. There is also a restaurant that uses local agricultural products, so be sure to enjoy a delicious meal.

Image courtesy: 663highland, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.