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Eastern Hokkaido Guidebook ".doto" Wins Grand Prize at Japan Local Contents Award 2020
The winners of the Japan Local Contents Award 2020, hosted by the Japan Community Information Promotion Association, have been announced. ".doto," a guidebook showcasing the charms of the Eastern Hokkaido (Doto) region published in June 2020, won the Grand Prize (Cabinet Office, Office for Promotion of Regional Revitalization Commissioner's Award) in the Regional Revitalization Category.
Published in June 2020 as an unofficial guidebook to the Eastern Hokkaido region, ".doto" was created by ".doto (Dot Doto)," a collective of freelance creators based in the Tokachi, Kushiro, and Okhotsk areas of Eastern Hokkaido. The project utilized crowdfunding from the production stage, receiving over 3.3 million yen in support from about 400 people.
Furthermore, the "Production Assistant Plan," which allowed people to join the creators of .doto in making the book, attracted 48 applicants, making headlines for its collaborative creation process involving many volunteers.
After its release, the initial print run of 5,000 copies sold out in about a month. Sold only through direct sales and transactions without distributors, it has surpassed a total of 10,000 copies, conveying the new attractions of the Eastern Hokkaido region.
The Japan Local Contents Award (formerly the Japan Town Magazine and Free Paper Award) is an event that evaluates and awards outstanding media from town magazines, free papers, websites, and videos from all over Japan. Entries are judged from various perspectives, such as editorial quality and reader support. After the application period from summer to fall this year, ".doto" was nominated in the Regional Revitalization and Business categories, and a reader poll for their favorite media was held starting September 25.
Following the award, we received a comment from Kazumori Nozawa of .doto.
We are extremely happy to have received such an award. We were able to create this guidebook with the help of far more people than we ever imagined. I truly feel that we received this award thanks to our readers and the production members who got involved with us.
Lately, we've been hearing more and more people say, 'Things are really getting exciting in Eastern Hokkaido.' We want to continue doing what we can, believing that if each of us takes action, no matter how small, we can make our region and our lives better. (Kazumori Nozawa)
".doto" is filled with the passion and desire of people to share the charm of their own region, and it looks set to become a cornerstone for the future of the Eastern Hokkaido region.
The moment the ".doto" production staff received the award.
Published in June 2020 as an unofficial guidebook to the Eastern Hokkaido region, ".doto" was created by ".doto (Dot Doto)," a collective of freelance creators based in the Tokachi, Kushiro, and Okhotsk areas of Eastern Hokkaido. The project utilized crowdfunding from the production stage, receiving over 3.3 million yen in support from about 400 people.
Furthermore, the "Production Assistant Plan," which allowed people to join the creators of .doto in making the book, attracted 48 applicants, making headlines for its collaborative creation process involving many volunteers.
After its release, the initial print run of 5,000 copies sold out in about a month. Sold only through direct sales and transactions without distributors, it has surpassed a total of 10,000 copies, conveying the new attractions of the Eastern Hokkaido region.
".doto" won the Grand Prize in the Regional Revitalization Category of the Japan Local Contents Award 2020.
The Japan Local Contents Award (formerly the Japan Town Magazine and Free Paper Award) is an event that evaluates and awards outstanding media from town magazines, free papers, websites, and videos from all over Japan. Entries are judged from various perspectives, such as editorial quality and reader support. After the application period from summer to fall this year, ".doto" was nominated in the Regional Revitalization and Business categories, and a reader poll for their favorite media was held starting September 25.
Following the award, we received a comment from Kazumori Nozawa of .doto.
Members of .doto. From left: Kazumori Nozawa (Obihiro City), Chihiro Nazuka (Kushiro City), Takuro Nakanishi (Kitami City), Kashiko Sudo (Kushiro City), Asami Jinguji (Taiki Town)
Photo: Keisuke Harada https://www.instagram.com/inakaworks/
We are extremely happy to have received such an award. We were able to create this guidebook with the help of far more people than we ever imagined. I truly feel that we received this award thanks to our readers and the production members who got involved with us.
Lately, we've been hearing more and more people say, 'Things are really getting exciting in Eastern Hokkaido.' We want to continue doing what we can, believing that if each of us takes action, no matter how small, we can make our region and our lives better. (Kazumori Nozawa)
".doto" is filled with the passion and desire of people to share the charm of their own region, and it looks set to become a cornerstone for the future of the Eastern Hokkaido region.
