EDITORIALS
Running with dogs on the white Tokachi Plain. The best activity made possible by Massing Works
Skiing and snowboarding are not the only winter attractions in Hokkaido. Dog sledding, an exhilarating and speedy ride through a silver world, is a special activity made possible by the vastness of the land. In winter, vast fields are covered with snow, and the Tokachi Plain spreads out in a field of pure white snow. Seeing this beautiful scenery, Takeshi Takita of Massing Works thought, "I want to do dog sledding here someday.
I love the outdoors. And he loves dogs. We asked Mr. Takita, who has spent many years making his dream come true, to talk about the appeal of dog sledding.
I was shocked when I experienced dog sledding for the first time, which I had seen on a daily basis.
Mr. Takita was born in Wakkanai City, which was the setting for the movie "Antarctic Tales," which depicted the drama of a sled dog on an Antarctic expedition. Dog sledding competitions, which began as a result of the movie, are still held today, and Mr. Takita himself has seen dog sledding as long as he can remember.
During the bubble era, even in the summer, there were events where ice was spread on the shopping streets and dogsleds were driven. As a child, I was just overwhelmed by this amazing world.
After graduating from junior college and working at various jobs, Takita began working as an outdoor guide at Lake Shikaribetsu Nature Center in Shikaoi Town. It was around this time that he began to own a dog, which he had always loved. On his off days, he actively participated in dog sports events, and as part of this trend, he had the opportunity to go to see a dog sledding competition for the first time in many years.
The moment I saw it, I had a flashback to a powerful memory from my childhood. The excitement of dogs eager to run, the gentle communication between humans and dogs on sleds, and above all, the beauty of dogsleds running smartly across the snowfield. All of these things caught my attention and made me want to try it myself someday."
Takita-san started dog sledding as a hobby and was impressed by the wonderful experience. He was impressed by the wonderful experience of dashing across a snowy field without the sound of the engine. As a lover of the outdoors, he decided that he would like to offer dog sledding tours as an activity so that more people could experience dog sledding. The Tokachi Plain was a candidate as a field for this project.
The Tokachi Plain in winter is really beautiful. Relatively flat fields go on and on, and when covered with snow, it is a great snowfield that is endlessly white. And in Tokachi, there is a very high percentage of sunny days, as in "Tokachi-hareru" (clear skies in Tokachi). Temperatures are as cold as minus 20 degrees Celsius or below, and when the weather is fine, the Hidaka and Taisetsu mountain ranges can be seen in the distance. I imagined how wonderful it would be to run with my dog in this environment.
After several years of canvassing, they finally found a plot of land in the town of Shikaoi.
The first step in realizing his dream was to find land. In order to build a dog sledding kennel, we needed to choose a remote rural area so that the dogs' noises would not disturb the surrounding community.
The best site is the former site of an abandoned farm. In order to find such a site, I thought it would be better to work in the agricultural industry and gather information, so I started working as a milk tester for cows in the town of Kaoi, where dairy farming is thriving.
Every month, I visit 40 to 50 barns to submit milk samples to the testing laboratory. During these visits, in conversation with producers, I asked, "I would like to do dog sledding tours in the future. I asked them if they knew of any land that I could rent. I didn't find anything right away, but six years after I started working there, I got some information that there was a good piece of land available.
Once negotiations were concluded with the landowner and he agreed to take over the field, I began by asking the producers in the village if they would be willing to allow me to run a course on the snow-covered field in the winter. However, we had already become acquainted with most of the producers, and it was already known that "Takita seems to want to do a dog sled tour. Thanks to our steady activities, we were able to move relatively smoothly toward opening the business.
We started by developing the land, which was in a state of disrepair, in order to build a large kennel. If a dog were to escape from the kennel, it could attack cattle in the surrounding area. So we built a fence around the kennel from the ground up to prevent the dogs from escaping.
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