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“A Town So Cool It’s Funny”: Hokkaido Kushiro’s Brilliant Posters Go Viral, Sparking Quips Like, “Is Your Thermometer Broken?”
Average Summer Temperature of 22°C?! Brilliant Posters from the “Too-Cool Town”
Ever seen a screen like this? An impressive shot showing just how extremely cool Kushiro is.
The poster depicts a weather forecast screen where nearly all of Japan is sweltering in temperatures over 30°C, while Kushiro is, astoundingly, below 20°C. It’s accompanied by the phrase, “Sorry, I can't go back now.” This screen apparently reproduces the actual weather and temperatures from August 8, 2023, and looking at it this way, it’s clear that Kushiro's temperature is in a league of its own.
This catchphrase and the poster visuals were created by .doto, a collective of creators from the Doto (Eastern Hokkaido) region of Hokkaido. Produced as part of a PR campaign for “Kushiro City, a place with overwhelmingly cool summer temperatures,” a total of 18 different posters were made. Each one features content that will have those who know Kushiro's coolness nodding in agreement, thinking, “Yes, exactly!”
Furthermore, these posters won the grand prize at the “SCC Award 2025,” which honors advertisements and their creators on the theme of Hokkaido. We spoke with Chihiro Nazuka of .doto, who was directly involved in the production, to hear about the story behind their creation.
Aiming for “Copy That Locals Can Say Naturally—Without Exaggeration, but with Affection”
Chihiro Nazuka of .doto, who worked on the posters.
This project began when the Kushiro Chamber of Commerce and Industry approached us with a request to “promote Kushiro's coolness.” While the characteristic of being “cool even in summer” was already known, figuring out how to communicate it was challenging. For the people of Kushiro, the cool summer isn't always a positive thing; in fact, many feel, “I wish the temperature would rise a bit and feel more like summer.” It's been almost 10 years since I returned to my hometown, and at first, I also had a hard time accepting the chilly summers.
On the other hand, I often heard locals laughingly share stories like, “The temperature for Kushiro on the weather forecast is so abnormally low that people apparently call in asking if the thermometer is broken.” Although they wish for more summer-like weather, they are aware of Kushiro's uniqueness somewhere deep down, and while they talk about it in a self-deprecating way, it seemed to me they felt a little bit of pride in it.
That's why I felt we needed “copy that locals can say naturally—without exaggeration, but with affection.” The phrase “Kushiro, a town so cool it’s funny” embodies that sense of distance and feeling.
Additionally, our company has members who have moved from mainland Japan and members living in the Kansai region. Their suggestions about “things that surprised them when they came to Kushiro” and “the fun aspects of Kushiro” from a slightly detached perspective also had a big impact on this copywriting process. What we value most of all are the casual words and behaviors of locals and tourists. We believe that's where the essence of Kushiro and the seeds for the next copy are hidden.
Something that tickles the pride of Kushiro's people while being interesting to outsiders. We search for “Kushiro-isms” every day, always keeping that balance in mind.
Creating a “Special Day for Doto”! .doto’s Unending Challenge
Meanwhile, .doto is currently running a crowdfunding campaign to create “DOTO FUN,” an annual “special day for Doto.” They also plan to publish “.doto EXTRA,” a revised and expanded edition of “.doto vol.1,” which was originally published in 2020 as the “unofficial guidebook to Doto.”
These posters, born from a deep dive into the “essence of Kushiro” based on the perspectives of both locals and tourists to please everyone, are truly a masterpiece that only .doto, an organization rooted in the Doto region, could create. With events like “DOTO FUN” on the horizon, the challenges for .doto continue.
Interview Cooperation & Image Provision: .doto General Incorporated Association
■X: @dot_doto_yuchi
■Instagram: @dotdoto_official
■Click here for the crowdfunding campaign “We want to hold ‘DOTO FUN,’ a festival to create a ‘special day for Doto,’ with 1,000 people!”
