A town where rich nature and diverse cultures come and go.
The only town in Japan with two seas, the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan
Taking advantage of its blessed natural environment, Yakumo Town is home to all primary industries. Specialty products include dairy products, scallops, abalone, glutinous rice, and green onions. In recent years, Yakumo has also been focusing on the farmed salmon business called “Futakai Salmon. It is also the birthplace of the wooden carved bear, once a staple of Hokkaido souvenirs, which has recently experienced a resurgence in popularity. The town is blessed with such rich resources and culture.
Meet a variety of people from Japan and abroad.
Starting from the guesthouse “SENTO,” various foreign guests have visited and interacted with the people of the town. In addition, many projects are being undertaken centering on this SENTO and the “Pechorella Schoolhouse,” a former elementary school, which attracts many visitors from Japan and other countries. The thriving cross-cultural exchange is another characteristic of Yakumo Town.
Yoshihiro Akai
Executive Director of NPO Yakumo Genki Mura, Director of Kiren Corporation, and Representative of Discover Southern Hokkaido. After graduating from junior high school in Yakumo, he spent high school and university overseas (New Zealand and Canada) and worked as an office worker in Tokyo for two years before making a U-turn to his hometown of Yakumo to show the world the charm of rural Japan. He has been engaged in various activities to bring vitality to the region by connecting the region and the outside world from various angles, including the creation and operation of “SENTO,” a guesthouse and cafe in a former bathhouse, and “Pecorella Academy,” a campground and co-working space using an abandoned elementary school, as well as developing and selling local resources as tourism products and developing businesses through wide-area cooperation including neighboring areas. From 2023, based on the above-mentioned bases, he will work on product development and sales of workcations that combine experience content utilizing regional resources.
