（Photo: Provided by the award-winning organizations）

The Kuriyama Town Hasanbetsu Satoyama Project Executive Committee, Yubari River Nature Restoration Council, and Kuriyama Great Purple Emperor Butterfly Association were honored with the “Tezukuri Furusato Award” (Handmade Hometown Award) by the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism for their project “A Hometown River Where Fireflies Dance and Salmon Swim Upstream: Creating a Satoyama Village from Children’s Songs.”

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism presents the “Tezukuri Furusato Award” to recognize outstanding achievements where social infrastructure that creates regional charm and character works together with excellent community-led activities. In fiscal year 2025, 10 organizations were selected from 24 applications nationwide in the general category for their exceptional grassroots initiatives, with this being the sole recipient from Hokkaido.

The certificate presentation ceremony was held on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at the main hall on the first floor of Kuriyama Town Comprehensive Welfare Center “Sharuru,” attended by the Director of Sapporo Development and Construction Department and the Director of Ebetsu River Office, among others. The Director-General of Hokkaido Development Bureau presented the certificate and commemorative shield to the award-winning organizations.

Presentation by the Director-General of Hokkaido Development Bureau

From left: Executive Committee Chairman of Kuriyama Town Hasanbetsu Satoyama Project Executive Committee, Director-General of Hokkaido Development Bureau, President of Yubari River Nature Restoration Council, President of Kuriyama Great Purple Emperor Butterfly Association