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A Hidden Message on the Town Hall's "404 Error Page"?! Uncovering the Mystery of Aibetsu, Hokkaido's Error Page
There's a rumor that a certain message is hidden on the official website of Aibetsu, Hokkaido, a town known as the "Mushroom Village." It seems this message can't be found on any regular page, but only appears on an error screen... What could it possibly say? And what is the intention behind it?
The Message is on Aibetsu Town's "404 Error" Page
The hidden message is located on the "404 Error" page of the Aibetsu Town website. Normally, a 404 error page simply says "404 Not Found" when a URL is incorrect, but the one for Aibetsu Town looks like this:
The "404 Error" page on the official website of Aibetsu Town, Hokkaido
After a brief apology for the error, the page goes on to talk at length about the charms of Aibetsu as the Town of Mushrooms. And at the end, it even cheekily includes a link to their Furusato Nozei (Hometown Tax Donation Program) page... It's an incredible amount of effort for a page that isn't normally supposed to be seen.
There's a Message on the "403 Error" Page Too
Even more surprisingly, another message was hidden on the "403 Error" page, which appears when someone tries to access a page they don't have permission to view, such as administrator-only pages.
The "403 Error" page on the official website of Aibetsu Town, Hokkaido
Along with a message appropriate for a 403 error page—"This page contains secret information about the production of our delicious mushrooms and is not open to the public"—it also features a passionate message about the Town of Mushrooms and a link to the Furusato Nozei program, just like the 404 page.
For anyone who stumbles upon this page, it's a little thrilling, and it also has a heartwarming sense of humor.
Inspired by Creative Websites from Overseas
Why was such an elaborate message hidden on the error page of a town hall website? We asked Masafumi Takekawa, who was in charge of the project as a member of Aibetsu's Community-Reactivating Cooperator Squad at the time, about his intentions.
"Pages like this are almost nonexistent in Japan, but I heard that there's a growing movement overseas to add a unique touch of originality to error pages, including 404s. That was the inspiration."
"Instead of just ending with 'This page does not exist,' I thought it might have a small effect in retaining visitors. Whether they arrived by mistake or followed a link from Google, I wanted to say, 'Since you're here, why not take a look around?' That's why I decided to create it."
Aibetsu Town's humorous and captivating error page was born from Mr. Takekawa's spark of inspiration and his love for the town.
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