Nishiokoppe-mura, Hokkaido, Japan
Nishiokoppe is a Japanese village located in the northern part of the island of Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. Nishiokoppe is about 25 km. (15 miles) from the Sea of Okhotsk. Nishiokoppe lies in the valley of the Okoppe river. Nishiokoppe-mura (similar to a township in the US) includes the villages of Nishiokoppe and Kamiokoppe plus some smaller settlements and a number of dairy farms. It also includes the forested hills on either side of the valley.
About Nishiokoppe
Education in Nishiokoppe
Holidays and Festivals
Nishiokoppe Wildlife Association
About Nishiokoppe
The population of Nishiokoppe-mura is about 1,200 people, most of whom live in the village of Nishiokoppe. Despite its small size, Nishiokoppe includes many facilities, including a small hospital, a nursing home, a home for the handicapped and a number of sports and recreational facilities.
Attractions
Industry
Sports Facilities
Religious Buildings
Education in Nishiokoppe
Nishiokoppe Elementary School
Kamiokoppe Elementary School
Nishiokoppe Middle School
Preschool/Kindergarten
High School
English Education
Holidays and Festivals
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
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Attractions
Komu, The Museum of the Forest (wooden toy center)
Atomu Multimedia Center
Rimu Hotel
Japanese Garden
Kamu (Flower Park)
Nishiokoppe History Museum
Deer Meadow
Nature
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Industry
There are many dairy farms in this part of Japan.
The forests of Nishiokoppe are managed for logging.
There is a guitar factory in Nishiokoppe.
Wild mushrooms are harvested from Nishiokoppe’s forests and mushrooms are grown commercially in Kamiokoppe. A type of alcohol made with matsutake mushrooms is a Nishiokoppe specialty. Other foods produced here include venison and trout.
Sports facilities
Kendo Hall/ Training Center
Many children participate in kendo (Japanese fencing). The swords are made of bamboo. Volleyball, basketball and badminton are also played here.
Forest Park
Nishiokoppe has a nice park. Go-carts and other amusements are available here. In the summer the stage is used for outdoor performances.
In the winter there is skiing in the park. The ski hill has a rope-tow to get to the top. Skiing is free here!
Sports Center
The sports center has a swimming pool and an indoor practice field.
In Nishiokoppe there is an unheated swimming pool, open only in the summer. Village children learn to swim here. Kamiokoppe also has a pool.
This indoor practice field has a dirt floor. Baseball practice is held here in winter. The baseball teams practice year round.
Religious Buildings
The Shinto shrine is the home of the village god. At New Year’s, people come here to pray for the coming year.
Funerals are held in the Buddhist temple.
The temple bell in Kamiokoppe.
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Komu, “The Museum of the Forest”
The Komu is a children’s play center where all the toys are handmade wooden ones. In the Komu there is an indoor playground, a toy room, a room with puzzles, and a small theater. Everything is very beautiful as well as fun! Village children can play here for free!
All the toys here are handmade of wood.
This indoor playground is in the Komu. All the equipment is beautifully made of wood.
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In the Atomu, children can play video games and win prizes. The difficulty of each game is automatically set to the age of the player. The atmosphere here is very different from other arcades! The Atomu game room is very relaxed and beautiful.
The Atomu also houses Nishiokoppe’s telecommunication system. Nishiokoppe was the first community whose local government provided its residents with a fiber-optic system that brings a linked internet, television and telephone service to each home. The local television station as well as the village’s computer server are here.
The video games in the Atomu are surprisingly beautiful.
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Rimu Hotel
The Rimu hotel is an important center of village life. Many public events are held here. There are large and small meeting rooms, a public bath, and even the town library.
This public bath is in the Rimu hotel. Public baths are extremely popular in Japan. The water is hot and the atmosphere is peaceful.
Many parties are held in the Rimu, often in the traditional style, seated on cushions on a tatami mat covered floor.
Japanese Garden
In Nishiokoppe there is a traditional style Japanese garden.
The construction of this traditional tea house includes branches left in their natural shapes.
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Kamu
This flower park is located in Kamiokoppe village. Children also enjoy the 50 yard long slide here!
Nishiokoppe History Museum
Nishiokoppe was founded in 1904 as a logging community. Visitors to Nishiokoppe’s museum can learn about the history and natural history of the area. The museum includes displays on Ainu culture and stone tools found in the area. There are also displays describing early logging, farming , weaving and silk making, firefighting and limestone quarrying, as well as clothing and household objects from the past.
This reconstruction of a traditional Ainu dwelling is in Nishiokoppe’s museum.
Deer Meadow
Deer can be seen up close and fed at the enclosed deer meadow.
Nature
90% of Nishiokoppe is forested. There are many brown bears, deer, foxes and rabbits. In September, pink salmon spawn in the Okoppe river in Nishiokoppe. A Japanese variety of salmon, called cherry salmon, spawns in the mountain brooks.
This waterfall is the site of purification ceremonies in the spring.
The autumn colors around Nishiokoppe are beautiful.
This mountain, Mt. Uenshiri, is the highest mountain in Nishiokoppe-mura. It takes about 2 hours to climb to the top.
Shika deer are very common in Nishiokoppe-mura.
Nishiokoppe Elementary School
There are currently 42 students in grades 1-6 at Nishiokoppe Elementary School.
Children attend school from 8:00 – 3:30 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. School ends at 2:30 on Tuesday and Thursday. First and second graders go home an hour earlier each day.
Everyone eats school lunch. The children serve the food.
Teachers and students eat together. The food is excellent!
After lunch recess, students and teachers clean the school together.
Students must learn over 1000 Chinese characters in elementary school!
Once a week the whole school plays a game together, such as hide and seek. This game is called “fruit basket”.
All children learn to play instruments in music class.
The children grow potatoes and other vegetables each summer.
Students in grades 4 – 6 are in the firefighters’ club, which is similar to the boy or girl scouts. They develop a strong awareness of fire safety and also participate in other activities. Fires have been a serious problem in Japan.
Kamiokoppe Elementary School
The classes in Kamiokoppe school are very small. Currently there are only 11 students in the whole school! However, the staff includes a principal, vice-principal, administrative assistant, nurse, custodian and 4 teachers.
The Kamiokoppe students learn to ride unicycles. They are very good.
Twice a week the students play ping pong after school.
Music is an important part of the curriculum.
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Nishiokoppe Middle School
This building opened in 2002. The interior is very beautiful and well equipped.
There are currently 28 students in grades 7-9 in Nishiokoppe Middle School. Middle school students wear uniforms.
All middle school students are in a club: either music, baseball or table tennis. They practice after school everyday.
The teachers share a common office. Brief staff meetings are held each morning.
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Preschool / Kindergarten
Children between the ages of 2 and 6 go to this preschool. There is no separate kindergarten class in Nishiokoppe.
Preschool is mostly play.
Everyday before lunch the children have a group activity,such as a game.
There is no high school in Nishiokoppe. School attendance after middle school is not mandatory but most young people continue their education at a high school in one of the neighboring towns. Some live away from home in order to attend high school in cities farther away.
English Education
English education is offered at three levels in Nishiokoppe: elementary, middle school, and adult. Each elementary class has one English lesson each week with the visiting teacher from Juneau. Middle school students study English as an academic course with a Japanese teacher who is certified in teaching English. The visiting teacher helps in these English lessons, providing a model of native pronunciation and acting as a resource to explain difficult vocabulary or grammar. The visiting teacher also teaches each class about once a week, focussing on grammar and punctuation. The visiting teacher leads an English conversation class for adults once a week. This class is attended by residents of Nishiokoppe and neighboring towns who enjoy speaking English. The visiting teacher also has many informal conversations with people, helping them maintain or improve their knowledge of English. The visiting teacher and his family also are involved in various cultural exchanges in Nishiokoppe.
English conversation class at Nishiokoppe elementary school.
English class at the middle school.
Elementary School Halloween Party
Calendar of holidays and festivals
January
New Year’s Day
New Year’s is the most important holiday in Japan. On New Year’s eve, homes are thoroughly cleaned to get rid of all of the old year’s dirt and dust. Much food is prepared for the next day, for it is against tradition to use knives and other cutting tools on New Year’s Day.
At midnight, people go to the village shrine to pray for the new year. They also go to the shrine at sunrise to pick a fortune paper. Later, people visit family members. It is a day of relaxing and feasting. Children receive "otoshidama" – envelopes of money, from relatives. Celebrations continue for a week or more.
Decorations such as this are hung over the entrances of homes and businesses on New Year’s Day
This is a traditional New Year’s offering - the white part is mochi, a kind of rice cake, and above it is a mikan, a Japnese tangerine. This offering is usually placed in front of the household shrine and left until January 11th, when it is broken and eaten by the family members. (The mochi is usually dry by this time so it’s cooked in soup)
Coming of Age Day
In January a ceremony is held for young people who turned 20 during the previous year. It marks the transition from child hood to adulthood. A tea ceremony is held as part of this event. A person in not legally an adult until after going through this ceremony.
February
Setsubun
Setsubun is held on or around Chinese (lunar) New Year. In Nishiokoppe, the preschool holds a Setsubun festival. The highlight of setsubun is mame-maki (“bean throwing”) : Parents make costumes of onis (Japanese demons). A few dads wear these costumes. The children throw peanuts at these Onis, shouting, "Onis out! Good luck in!" After a while, the onis promise to be good for the coming year. Everyone is also supposed to eat as many peanuts or roast soybeans as his age on this day, to ensure good health for the coming year.
The Onis
Onis chasing children during mame-maki.
After taming the onis, the children scramble for candy and nuts thrown into the circle by parents.
March
Hina Matsuri – Girls’ Day, March 3
Girls display beautiful dolls for Hina Matsuri. The day is also celebrated by eating and drinking special foods – mochi rice cakes and amazake, a hot drink made from rice.
Graduation
In Japan, graduations are held in March. In Nishiokoppe, the middle schools, elementary schools and even the preschool hold graduation ceremonies.
April
Entrance Ceremonies
Photos:
Middle school entrance ceremony
Elementary school entrance ceremony
The school year starts in April, after spring break. Each school holds an entrance ceremony to mark the beginning of the school year.
May
Kodomonohi – Boy’s Day, May 5
For boy’s day, carp streamers are flown. The top two carp represent the parents, the lower carp represent the sons in the family. Because carp are powerful swimmers, they represent the desire that sons grow to be strong and persistent. Special samurai dolls are displayed in homes with boys, also as symbols of strength, courage and persistence. Presents are given to boys on this holiday and certain traditional foods are eaten. families usually do something fun for children on this day, a national holiday.
Carp streamers
Cherry Blossoms
Japanese look forward to the blossoming of the cherry trees each spring, and enjoy their beauty very much. Cherry trees blossom in May in northern Hokkaido.
Many fun events are held.
The Kamiokoppe elementary school students have a car pushing relay race.
Middle school students perform human pyramids at the festival
The elementary school students perform as a marching band.
June
July
Summer Vacation
In Nishiokoppe, summer vacation begins the last week in July and lasts about three and a half weeks. During the first ten days of vacation, children gather each morning at 6:30 to perform calisthenics. Kids also have plenty of homework to do over vacation!
August
Tanabata
Tanabata is a summer holiday based on a myth about two lovers who were turned to stars and separated by the Milky Way. On the night of Tanabata, it is believed that the lovers are able to be reunited for one night. On Hokkaido, Tanabata is celebrated on August 7th. The children gather at the elementary at dusk for a fireworks display followed by the lighting of sparklers. Afterwards the children, carrying traditional paper lanterns, travel from house to house in groups demanding candy. Their chant translates as: “Candles, candles, give us candles, or we will scratch your face and bite you!” Instead of candles, the children receive candy, snacks, soda pop and other treats. This trick-or-treat like custom is only practiced on Hokkaido.
September
Shrine festival
In September, the Nishiokoppe shrine festival is held to honor the village god. An exquisite golden portable shrine,called a “mikoshi”, is paraded through town by middle school and upper elementary school students, their teachers and village employees. Village residents give offerings and pay their respects to the god, led by a Shinto priest.
The procession is led by the beating of a drum.
Kindergartners also take part in the procession.
The “tengu” is an important part of the procession. By tradition, the tengu costume is worn each year by a 40 year old man.
The procession stops at each neighborhood. The neighborhood’s offerings are presented to the god, and the shinto priests lead the residents in prayer.
The mikoshi is made of gold.
At each stopping point, the mikoshi is shaken violently up and down to cries of “washoi!” It is believed that the god enjoys the motion.
Vegetables from the garden, fruit from the store, fresh salmon and sake are among the offerings to the village god.
While the shrine is being paraded through town, some of the middle school students go around performing the lion dance. Some students drum while others dance in costume. Offerings of money are given. Young children are supposed to kiss the lion to receive a blessing (although many are too frightened!).
In the afternoon following the procession, a children’s sumo tournament is held, attended by parents and grandparents. Winners of each match receive 200 yen (about $2.00), and losers receive 100 yen.
Village Festival
In September, Nishiokoppe and Kamiokoppe hold village festivals, with entertainment, games and activities for children, competitions and food booths. Nishiokoppe’s festival includes a Japanese style barbecue.
Dancers entertaining at the Nishiokoppe village festival.
A relay - style log sawing competition is held annually at the Nishiokoppe festival.
October
School performance festivals
On Hokkaido, schools from preschool through college have performance festivals in the fall. Plays, music, dances and gymnastics are performed. The teachers direct (and often write) the plays, make the costumes and choreograph the dances. Students practice long and hard for this event, and the performances are surprisingly good!
Each year, the Nishiokoppe elementary school 5th and 6th graders perform the “mikagura”, a traditional Japanese harvest dance.
Japanese children begin to learn to play musical instruments at a young age.
The first and second graders perform a play.
Even kindergartners and preschoolers have a performance festival.
November
Culture Day
Culture Day is devoted to the arts and music. Artwork by local residents is displayed and there is a performance of music and dance, also by local residents. Despite its small population, Nishiokoppe produces a surprising amount of very beautiful artwork, including painting, ceramics, calligraphy and other art forms.
Some of the fine ceramics made in Nishiokoppe.
“Ikebana”, Japanese flower arranging.
This koto ensemble performs at the Culture Day festival.
December
Christmas
Christmas has become an important festival in Japan. As in the U.S., Christmas parties are held in December. Christmas trees are displayed. Stores play Christmas songs. On Christmas morning, children get stockings full of presents before heading off to school. Families get together for Christmas dinner. Christmas dinner in Japan features roast chicken and elaborately decorated sponge cakes.
At the end of December, people are busy preparing for the New Year’s festivities. Here, parents of preschoolers pound glutinous rice to make mochi, an important food in New Year’s traditions.
For more information on Japanese holidays and festivals, go to:
www.jinjapan.org/kidsweb/calendar/calendar.html
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