Not many people may know the name "Chiroro Megalith." The megalith is a huge rock that appears out of nowhere in the nature of Hidaka Town. It weighs an astounding 180 tons and is said to be the largest crystalline schist in Japan. Why is something this large located in this place? We investigated the matter to find out. The Chiroro boulder would surely not budge even if dozens or even hundreds of strong men challenged it. It was actually a Hidaka stone that was excavated from the Penke Yuktra Sinai River in Hidaka in 1974 by Genjiro Kuribayashi, the first president of Hakko Gakuen, whose hobby was collecting minerals. Although they managed to transport it to the current mouth of the valley, they were not given permission to transport it on the public road beyond that point. In the end, they never went any further, and when Kuribayashi passed away in 1977, the plan was abandoned.

(Photo courtesy of Hidaka Town Hall)

In 1984, the Chiroro megalith was donated to Hidaka Town. The land on which the megalith occupies was previously rented by Kuribayashi, but is now rented by Hidaka Town. The megalith is also being cleaned by the Hidaka Regional Revitalization Council, which shows that the town is faithfully carrying on Kuribayashi's wishes. Thus, this mysterious sight of a huge rock in the middle of nature has been protected by human hands for over 40 years. When you first see this rock, you may feel a little strange, but after a while, it will somehow start to look right. It may even start to look like a dilapidated battleship or a washed up humpback whale... it really stimulates your imagination. By the way, the origin of the word "Chiroro" is not clear, and there are various theories about its origin, such as that it is an old Ainu word, or that it is a corrupted version of the original pronunciation "Chiroro." However, the Chiroro megalith still exists in the same place. <Interview cooperation> Hidaka Town Hall, Hidaka General Branch Office Address: 299-1 Honmachi Higashi 3-chome, Hidaka-cho, Saru-gun, Hokkaido Phone: 01457-6-2008 Official site: http://www.town.hidaka.hokkaido.jp