Hokkaido's winter highlights aren't just about skiing and snowboarding. Dog sledding, an exhilarating activity where you speed through a world of silver, is a unique experience made possible by this vast land. The Tokachi Plain becomes a massive, pure white snowfield in winter as its expansive fields are covered in snow. It was this beautiful scenery that inspired Takeshi Takita of Mushing Works to think, "I want to do dog sledding here someday."

He loves the outdoors. And he loves dogs. We spoke with Mr. Takita, who realized his long-held dream, about the allure of dog sledding.

The Shock of His First Dog Sledding Experience, Something He'd Seen His Whole Life

Mr. Takita was born in Wakkanai City, which was also the setting for the movie *Antarctica* (*Nankyoku Monogatari*), a dramatic story about the sled dogs of the Antarctic expedition team. The dog sledding race, which started because of the movie, is still held today, and Mr. Takita says he has been seeing dog sleds since he can remember.

"During Japan's bubble economy era, they even held events where they'd lay ice in the shopping arcades in summer to run dog sleds. As a child, I was just completely in awe, thinking, 'What an incredible world.'"

After graduating from junior college and working various jobs, Mr. Takita began working as an outdoor guide at the Shikaribetsu Lake Nature Center in Shikaoi Town. It was also around this time that he got a dog, something he had always wanted. He actively participated in dog sports events on his days off, and through this, he had the opportunity to see a dog sledding race for the first time in a long while.

"The moment I saw it, the intense memories from my childhood came flooding back. The excitement of the dogs, eager to run, the gentle communication between the people on the sleds and the dogs, and above all, the beauty of the dog sleds gliding smartly across the snowfield. I was captivated by it all and started to think that I wanted to try it myself someday."

He then took up dog sledding as a hobby and was moved by the wonderful experience. The strange sense of exhilaration, gliding across the snowfield without the sound of an engine. Being an outdoor enthusiast, he began to think, "I want to offer dog sledding tours as an activity someday to let more people experience it." The Tokachi Plain became his chosen field for this endeavor.

"The Tokachi Plain in winter is truly beautiful. The relatively flat fields stretch on and on, and when covered in snow, they become an endless, pure white snowfield. And Tokachi has a very high rate of clear days, known as 'Tokachi-bare.' The temperature drops to below minus 20 degrees Celsius, and on a clear day, you can see the Hidaka and Daisetsuzan mountain ranges in the distance. I imagined how wonderful it would be to run with the dogs in this environment."

After Years of Inquiries, He Finally Found Land in Shikaoi Town

To make his dream a reality, the first step was to find land. To build a kennel for the sled dogs, he needed to choose a remote rural area to avoid disturbing the neighbors with the dogs' barking.

"The best option would be a plot of land from a farmer who has retired. To find that, I thought it would be better to get a job in agriculture myself to gather information, so I started working in dairy quality inspection in Shikaoi Town, which is known for its thriving dairy industry."

To submit milk samples to the inspection agency, he visited 40 to 50 barns every month. During his conversations with the farmers, he would ask, "I want to start a dog sledding tour business in the future. Do you know of any land I could rent?" He didn't find anything right away, but after six years on the job, he finally got a lead on a good piece of land.

Once negotiations with the landowner were successful and it was decided he would take over the field, he started by getting permission from the farmers in that community. He asked them, "I want to start a dog sledding tour. Would it be possible to create a course and run the sleds on your fields when they're covered in snow in the winter?" However, he had already become acquainted with most of the farmers, and it was widely known that "Takita wants to do dog sledding tours." Thanks to his grassroots efforts, he was able to move forward with opening his business relatively smoothly.

"To build a large kennel, I first had to start by developing the land, which was completely overgrown. If a dog were to escape, there's a risk it could attack the nearby cattle. So, I fenced the area around the kennel and devised ways to prevent escapes from scratch."