Solaputi Kids' Camp

 Solaputi Kids’ Camp

Hello, I’m Aino. I will tell you about a special camp named Solaputi Kids’ Camp in Hokkaido.

picture is from Solaputi Kids’ Camp HP

 Solaputi Kids’ Camp is located in Takikawa. This facility has 16 hectares of land. This camp is for children with childhood cancer, heart disease, and so on and they are invited to join the camp for free. The special point of this camp is that the medical equipment is completely prepared. No other facility like Solaputi Kids’ Camp exists in Japan. Thus, this camp can welcome those children and their families.

What is there?

 This facility breeds horses so that children experience horse riding. And there is a tree house that some people dreamed of living in when they’re children in the forest. Of course, this house was designed for children who can’t move without wheelchairs. There are many other facilities for children to play in .

These pictures are from Solaputi Kids’ Camp HP

This camp is for the whole family

This camp is not only for children with disease, but also their parents, brothers, and sisters. In many cases, siblings often endure more than necessary and can’t play freely. Also, they can’t go out with their families. However, this camp enables siblings to enjoy playing with their families. At the end of this camp, all the participants have time to share their thoughts. At that time, some parents cried saying “I saw my son’s smile for the first time in a long time.” Hearing their words like that, the staff thought that it was really good to plan this camp. 

Most of the staff here are volunteers. And this camp is run with the support of many organizations, healthcare professionals, and local people. It takes about one year to plan and prepare for each participant. The staff recruit medical staff, communicate with children’s exclusive doctors, take into account everything that children can and can’t do, and make careful adjustments to ensure children are safe and secure.

そらぷちキッズキャンプの紹介(2017年版)(Introduction of Solaputi Kids’ Camp)

 

 I am proud of this camp and want to support it. If you are interested in this camp and supporting it, please visit Solaputi Kids’ Camp HP (solaputi kids' camp）.

Let's go Setsugetsukaro to feel nature!

 Let's go Setsugetsukaro to feel nature!

 Hi, guys! How have you been recently? Unfortunately, as much as you may want to travel, you can’t go anywhere at the moment because of COVID-19. But, don’t worry. If you live in Hokkaido, you can visit places that will impress you.

Attractive points of Hokkaido

Did you know in 2020 Hokkaido was No.1 in an annual popularity survey for each prefecture in Japan 2020? Hokkaido has more fascinating spots than any other prefecture.

Also, there is cleaning the air, magnificent nature, and fresh foods.

Today, I’ll tell you about a comfortable place in Setsugetsukaro.

What is Setsugetsukaro?

This place is a cafe and camping space. In the past, the building used to be an elementary school. Its name is Futaba elementary school. So, It is still in the same shape as it was back then.

 In addition, Setsugetsukaro is a secret spot amongst people who live in Hokkaido. Moreover, this place is so large that you don’t have to worry about social distancing, noisy sounds, and what other people think. However, of course, you should be careful to avoid catching a cold when you camp outside because of COVID19.

 

You can feel good in Setsugetsukaro.

Please look at the picture below.

 What do you feel about those scenes?

I think that nature makes us spend time relaxing and gives us a lot of energy.

The last photo is of Mt. Yotei. If you visit here, you can see a lot of beautiful landscapes. Furthermore, when you climb Mt.Yotei by gondola, you may encounter mystical things. This is Unkai.

Generally, people say that June is the best time to watch the Unkai, which are clouds appearing as if they are a sea.

  Nowadays, we are exhausted due to the suffering caused by the coronavirus.

If the state of emergency has been lifted across the country, let’s go there and have fun!!

Thank you!!!

Mitsuboshi

 Hi everyone！

 

Today, I’m going to tell you about my favorite sweet shop in Tomakomai.

 

I will introduce Mitsuboshi.

So many tasty sweets are sold at this shop, for example cakes, dorayaki, and yokan.

It is very famous for some unique sweets, especially Yoitomake.

It is one of the best cakes of Mitsuboshi.

Firstly, I would like to tell you about the meaning of Yoitomake.

In the past, in Tomakomai, there were so many people who worked at a paper mill.

They had to cut down plenty of wood to make paper.

Then they shouted “Yoitomake” to encourage each other when they carried heavy wood.

Yoitomake is derived from worker’s voices, also the shape of Yoitomake is a log like this picture. It is so interesting, isn't it?

 

Haskap is necessary to make Yoitomake. Haskap is a tasty fruit, however, it is hard to get it because it is rare and difficult to grow naturally, there are few places that are comfortable for haskap to grow. Moreover it is so hard to preserve its freshness.

Yoitomake is famous for being difficult to eat because it is extremely sticky.

I would like you to try it!

There are some shops in Sapporo, you can get it easily!

In this COVID-19 situation, you have few options to relax, it is good for you to have tasty sweets!

 

See you next time, bye!

 

Koki

(Resource : Official website of Mitsuboshi)

Yubetsu

 I recommend you to visit Yubetsu town because there are many places which are worth visiting. Yubetu is one of the towns belonging to Hokkaido and only 8,410 people live there. This town is very known for its tulip park. However, this town has other sightseeing spots too. So I will introduce Yubetsu town. I’m glad you will know much about Yubetsu town and get interested in it.

Tulip park

The tulip park is the most famous place in Yubetsu. We can see many kinds of tulips for free. There are colorful tulips such as red, yellow, pink, and white. If you don’t know much about tulips, you are able to ride on a bus which goes around its park and the service charge is three hundred yen. In addition, we can buy tulip bulbs and one of them is 70 yen per bulb. When you become exhausted by your daily  work or you want to go to a tourist spot, I recommend that you visit there.

 Local museum

 We can enter this for free and there is earthenware and stoneware. It shows Yubetsu town’s history. The most famous fossil is a piece of Naumann elephant’s tooth because it was found in Yubetsu for the first time. You are able to learn history, I recommend it for people who are interested in history and study Japanese history.  

Amusement park

Yubetsu town also has an amusement park named Family Ai Land YOU. It is located on a hill where we can see Saroma lake so the view is beautiful. You shouldn’t underestimate it as a local amusement park because it has a ferris wheel, go-karts, and a cycle monorail. We can enter it for free and we are able to ride on attractions for one hundred yen. Its attractions are made for small children. I recommend this amusement park for families.

 

Yubetsu town is very far from Sapporo and we have to drive a car. So I recommend that you visit there with your family or friends.

北海道湧別町～オホーツク海とサロマ湖を望むチューリップのまち (yubetsu.lg.jp)

Rokkatei

The History of Rokkatei

In 1933, Obihiro Sensyuan, which was Rokkatei’s original shop, was opened. It manufactured white chocolate for the first time in Japan in 1968. Thanks to this great achievement, 9 years later, Rokkatei was opened. Rokkatei was named after the snow with the wish to become a shop which represents Hokkaido. This affects the name of the confectionery like Yukiyakonko. 

Recommended product

There are many delicious products in Rokkatei. Among them, the most recommended is Marusei Butter Sand. Marusei Butter Sand puts cream which is made from white chocolate and raisins between two biscuits. It is very delicious and good for souvenirs of  Hokkaido. By the way, Marusei Butter Sand is my fathers' favorite sweet.

Cultural Activities

Rokkatei is a confectionery factory, but they work on some cultural activities such as an art museum, a library and a concert hall. In particular, I would like to introduce Seroi, which is a children's poetry magazine. In 1960, Seroi was published with elementary school and junior high school teachers’ help to make an opportunity of creating poetry for children. We can see Seroi on the internet for free. There is a lot of pretty poetry. It is very interesting and we are sometimes impressed.   

Make an Order Online

You can order Rokkatei’s pastries online, so even if you are in Okinawa prefecture, you can enjoy them. Not only Marusei Butter Sand, but also other sweets and original goods can be ordered. It is good to enjoy them by yourself, but Rokkatei’s confectionery is suitable as a gift. Because, as you can see, the wrapping paper is so cute and Rokkatei launches new products according to the season, so you can have a lot of sweets throughout the year. 

Haskap

 What is Haskap?

It is a turquoise colored fruit like a blueberry. Haskap has cream-colored flowers in spring and oval-shaped fruits are produced in summer. When you harvest  the berries, you have to do it by hand and be careful. Haskap is very delicate due to containing much water and its skin thinness. Also Haskap is mainly produced in Hokkaido such as Tomakomai or Shiretoko because cold regions are suitable for this fruit to grow.  So haskap is rare.

Haskap tastes very sour but it contains rich nutrition and protects us from anemia or osteoporosis. So haskap is called perpetual youth and longevity fruit.

Haskap and Hokkaido

The name haskap comes from the Ainu language, Hashikapu. Hashikapu means a little present on the end of the branch.

Haskap has grown in Sakhalin and Siberia a long time ago. Several different kinds of migratory birds come to Japan in autumn every year. So, they brought the Haskap’s seeds to Hokkaido.

There are so many popular haskap-flavored sweets in Hokkaido. Today, I will introduce some of those sweets which are related to haskap.

The first one is haskap jewelry. This sweet is made from cookies, butter creme, chocolate, and haskap jam.

 

The next one is haskap jelly. This jelly tastes sweet and sour. You can enjoy it at a normal temperature, but my recommendation is to freeze this jelly. It tastes like sorbet.

The sweets made from haskaps are really tasty, so I want you to try them someday.

Yurie, Ayame

北海道特産果実「ハスカップ」の魅力とは？不老長寿と言われる理由！ – こだわりのもり、おいしさのもと morimoto｜北海道千歳市の菓子工房 もりもとのウェブサイトへようこそ (haskapp.co.jp)

ハスカップとは？どんな果物？どんな味？特徴・効能や食べ方を紹介！(2ページ目) | BOTANICA (botanica-media.jp)

The Ekorin Village in Eniwa

The Ekorin Village in Eniwa

The Ekorin Village is a theme park in Eniwa where you can enjoy seeing animals and learn about nature with your friends or family. The theme park’s concept is that future children can live happily. So the park send out a lot of information about environmental problems, agriculture, farming, cultures, eating habits,etc.

The theme park is run by Afure Inc which also runs that famous Japanese-style hamburger  restaurant, Bikkuri donkey. The company has been doing various kinds of activities, leading to solving environmental problem so that they can give an amazing future to children. One of the activities is the Ekorin Village. This is why the theme park makes an eco-friendly effort.

For example, the beautiful garden is made from scrap wood, food waste, and recycled waste from its restaurants which is turned into organic fertilizer. There are also wash-free toilets. This is so you can realize what you should do for animals, vegetation, or the environment while enjoying touching or seeing the animals and experiencing the events in the park.

 

The theme park has three areas: First, Ginga Garden, which was designed by an English woman.So it has an atmosphere like Europe.Also, it hosts the rose festival which is famous in Eniwa and takes place every year.

Second, green pasture, where you can see and touch animals such as sheep, alpacas, goats, llamas, and horses. Many people who love animals gather and enjoy it here.

Third, flower pasture. There, you can buy a lot of seedlings, gardening goods and souvenirs. The most popular souvenir is tomato flavored chips.

 

Why don’t you go and see Ekorin Village? Whether you like animals or plants, there is plenty for everyone to do. You can enjoy your time there while learning important things about the environment.