What exactly is the "Sumikkomachi Collaboration"?

"Corner of prefectures", "corners of specific regions", and areas with "Sumi" in their place names or regional names have been recognized as "Sumikko Towns". This is the 10th anniversary project of "Sumikko Gurashi" that was planned with the hope that "corners will connect with each other and become a big circle of smiles".

Five locations were selected from across the country, including Wakkanai City, Kurashiki City in southern Okayama Prefecture, Shimonoseki City in Yamaguchi Prefecture at the westernmost tip of Honshu, Sumida Ward in Tokyo, and the Osumi Peninsula in southeastern Kagoshima Prefecture.

The collaboration was initiated by citizens’ voices

"One day, a local citizen asked us to apply for the Sumikkomachi Collaboration. I knew about Sumikko Gurashi, but I had no idea this project existed, so I was surprised."

The person who spoke to us was Rina Fukuhara of the Wakkanai City Hall Tourism and Exchange Division.

"If we could collaborate with a character that is loved by people of all ages, from small children to adults, we could spread the appeal of Wakkanai, the top city in Japan, not only to local residents but also to Sumikkogurashi fans all over the country," he said in his application.

There were many applications for this project, and the selection was highly competitive, so she was very anxious until the results were announced, but she was selected. The reason was that "everyone recognizes her as being from the northern corner of Hokkaido."

The decision to collaborate quickly became a hot topic among local residents, with happy reactions coming in from people who were already big fans of Sumikkogurashi, as well as people who had never even heard of the project before.

There seems to be no end to the people who come to pick up the collaborative tourist guide map, and the locals who take pictures of the posters and guide map and post them on social media. On social media, the hashtag "Sumikatsu" (living life) is popular, and fans from all over Japan are visiting the northernmost city.

Various events liven up Wakkanai!

For this collaboration, promotional posters were put up in four "corner stations" in the north, south, east and west of Japan (※This has now ended). JR Wakkanai Station was chosen as the northern corner station, and a tweet introducing it received about 5,000 responses.

On November 28, 2022, the "Sumikko Town Certification Ceremony" was held at Wakkanai Soeko Port Market, and "Neko", who was appointed as the Sumikko Town PR Ambassador, presented the "Sumikko Town Certification Ceremony" to Nakata Shinya, Chairman of the Wakkanai Tourism Revitalization Promotion Council.

In addition, the children of Wakkanai Hikari Kindergarten and Kirakira Nursery School gave the cat a "collection of cats" and its favorite food, fish, as a present. You can see the video of this event on the official Instagram account of the Wakkanai City Tourism and Exchange Division ( @japan.go.wakkanai ).

The posters are posted in various places around the city and are also popular photo spots. The collaboration event is still in planning. There will be a new announcement soon, so keep an eye out for new information.