A Town That's Just Right for Both Kids and Working Adults

"I want to raise my children in a place where they can run free!" "But I want to keep my current job!"

This is a common thought for many families who are starting to think about building a house. Nanporo is one of the towns that can make such wishes come true.

That's because Nanporo Town is adjacent to municipalities like Ebetsu, Iwamizawa, and Kitahiroshima. It's also located just under an hour's drive from Sapporo, so even if your workplace is in Sapporo or Ebetsu, you can move to Nanporo and keep your job. Currently, about half of the working residents of Nanporo commute outside the town.

Furthermore, with the spread of remote work due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nanporo is gaining attention as a potential place to relocate.

Additionally, since its primary industry is agriculture and the terrain has little elevation change, you can see endless green fields in the summer and a vast, pure white landscape in the winter. The ability to raise children in an environment where you can gaze at magnificent scenery and a wide-open sky, unobstructed by buildings and power lines, is truly appealing.

The reasons why Nanporo is chosen as a place to relocate are not limited to its geographical and environmental advantages.
Let's take a look at Nanporo's child-rearing support system!

Unique Child-Rearing Support Unique to Agriculturally Rich Nanporo!

While various municipalities offer different child-rearing support systems, Nanporo has some unique programs of its own.

Here are a few interesting ones!

●Child-Rearing Support Rice!
In Nanporo, a town known for its rice cultivation, there is a "Child-Rearing Support Rice" program born from the desire for children to eat locally grown rice. Children from 0 years old to the 3rd year of junior high school receive a gift of 10kg of rice per person annually. This is a program unique to Nanporo.

●Full Subsidy for Rice, Noodles, and Bread in School Lunches!
To let elementary and junior high school students and their parents know that rice and wheat are produced in Nanporo and how delicious they are, the town covers the cost of staple foods in school lunches.
It's a wonderful system that allows children to eat delicious staple foods while reducing the burden of school lunch fees.

Please check the link below for other programs.
Child-Rearing Support (Comprehensive Support Center for Child-Rearing Generations)

Building a Home in Nanporo? Check out "Nanporo New Town Midorino" and Its Subsidy Programs!

For families with children who are thinking, "I want to live in Nanporo with its great environment and excellent child-rearing support!" the recommended place to build a new house is "Nanporo New Town Midorino." There are also subsidy programs you can use. They are surprisingly generous, so you won't want to miss out.

●What is Nanporo New Town Midorino?
It is a residential area where each plot averages about 90 tsubo (approx. 297 sq. meters), providing ample space to enjoy activities like home gardening and barbecues. The area around Nanporo New Town Midorino is well-developed with large parks, walking paths, an elementary school, the town office, and national roads, making it a very comfortable place to live.

●Kita-Smile Village
The "Kita-Smile Village" is a project where architects and local construction companies, who are Hokkaido-recommended housing providers (Kita-Smile Members), collaborate to propose lifestyles unique to Nanporo, a town of greenery, agriculture, and living.
Here, you'll find beautifully designed, high-performance houses. This is recommended for those who want to be particular about every detail.

●Housing Construction Subsidy Program! Land Price is Half Off!
To support families with children in building their own homes, Nanporo Town started the "Nanporo Town Child-Rearing Generation Housing Construction Cost Subsidy Project" on April 1, 2016. The purpose of this system is to promote the revitalization of the town, curb population decline, and encourage permanent settlement by providing subsidies exclusively for child-rearing generations.

A Family-Friendly Town! Grow Together with the Community

Nanporo is a town with a population of 7,384 (as of March 2022). Because it's a small town, one of its best features is the close-knit relationships you can have with the local community.

The town has a variety of sports clubs for soccer, baseball, basketball, badminton, judo, and more, and sometimes the instructors are staff from the town office.

Additionally, an AI on-demand bus called "AI-Route" is in operation, allowing children to get to their lessons and people without cars to travel safely within the town.

If you live in "Nanporo New Town Midorino," many of your neighbors will be from similar generations who have also relocated, so you don't have to worry about the difficulty of fitting into an existing community.
The town is also rich in local play areas, including large parks that attract many visitors from outside the town.

Mr. Kitajima, who is in charge of relocation at the town office, makes it a point to not only convey the "livability" but also the disadvantages to those who come for consultations about housing construction and relocation.

"There are no large commercial facilities, and since there's no JR station in town, it's better to have a car. There are many 'inconveniences' compared to a city. But we often hear from people who moved here after understanding these points say things like, 'There are some inconveniences, but the town is so livable it more than makes up for them!' I'm very happy when I hear that!"

Why not visit Nanporo once to experience its vast scenery and comfortable lifestyle firsthand?

What's It Really Like to Live in Nanporo? Voices of New Residents

So, what do people who have actually moved to Nanporo think?

On the Nanporo Town website, in the "Nanporo Relocation Stories," you can read the stories of the Morishita family, who moved from Sapporo, and the Munakata family, who moved from Ebetsu.

In fact, Mr. Kudo from the Nanporo Town Office, who we interviewed this time, is also a new resident from outside the town and lives in Nanporo New Town Midorino! We asked him what life in Nanporo is like.

"It's a small town, so the human connections are warm, and it's very easy to live here. I moved here with my family when I changed jobs to the Nanporo Town Office, and I was impressed by how many of the office staff are positive and have a 'let's figure it out' attitude when problems arise. Personally, I feel the warmth of the people, it's easy to live, and I don't feel any inconvenience."

A Message from the Nanporo Town Office

"The number of houses has increased over the past few years, and a community among residents is gradually forming. It is growing into an area where you can live with peace of mind.
Just a few tens of minutes by car from the city, Nanporo is a place where you can raise children freely. Please come and visit us!"

With new houses being built one after another, all eyes are on the exciting future of Nanporo Town.