EDITORIALS
The "Chiroro megalith" sits in a meadow. What is the mysterious and strange nature of the megalith?
Not many people may be familiar with the name "Chiroro no megalith. The Chiroro no megalith is a large stone that seems to have suddenly appeared in the midst of nature in Hidaka Town.
It weighs a whopping 180 tons. It is the largest crystalline schist in Japan. Why is something of such a large scale located here? I tried to find out.
The Chiroro boulder is a huge rock that would not be scared away even if dozens or hundreds of big, strong men challenge it. It was the Hidaka Stone, which was dug out of the Penkayuktorashinai River in Hidaka in 1974 by Mr. Motojiro Kuribayashi, the first president of Hachiko Gakuen, who enjoyed collecting ores. He managed to transport it to the current Sawaguchi, but permission to transport it on public roads beyond that point was not granted. In the end, the project never progressed, and when Mr. Kuribayashi died in 1977, the project was abandoned.
In 1984, the Chiroro megaliths were donated to the Town of Hidaka. The site occupied by the megalith, which is private land, was also previously leased by Mr. Kuribayashi, but is now leased by Hidaka Town. The Hidaka Community Revitalization Council is also cleaning up the megaliths, which shows that the town is carrying on Mr. Kuribayashi's legacy.
Thus, the mysterious sight of a megalith appearing in nature has indeed been protected by human hands for more than 40 years. When you stand in front of this megalith, you may feel uncomfortable at first, but after gazing at it for a while, you will somehow feel at home. Moreover, it starts to look like a decaying battleship or a humpback whale washed up on the beach. ...... It stirs the imagination in a way that is hard to imagine.
Incidentally, the origin of the word "chiroro" is not known for sure, although there are various theories that it is an archaic Ainu word or that it was pronounced "chiriri" and then became "chiriri". The only thing that is known is that it still exists as the giant stone of Chiroro.
<Corresponding author
Hidaka General Branch Office, Hidaka Town Hall
Location: 3-299-1 Honmachi Higashi, Hidaka-cho, Saru-gun, Hokkaido
Phone: 01457-6-2008
Official website: http://www.town.hidaka.hokkaido.jp
It weighs a whopping 180 tons. It is the largest crystalline schist in Japan. Why is something of such a large scale located here? I tried to find out.
The Chiroro boulder is a huge rock that would not be scared away even if dozens or hundreds of big, strong men challenge it. It was the Hidaka Stone, which was dug out of the Penkayuktorashinai River in Hidaka in 1974 by Mr. Motojiro Kuribayashi, the first president of Hachiko Gakuen, who enjoyed collecting ores. He managed to transport it to the current Sawaguchi, but permission to transport it on public roads beyond that point was not granted. In the end, the project never progressed, and when Mr. Kuribayashi died in 1977, the project was abandoned.
(Photo courtesy of Hidaka Town Hall)
In 1984, the Chiroro megaliths were donated to the Town of Hidaka. The site occupied by the megalith, which is private land, was also previously leased by Mr. Kuribayashi, but is now leased by Hidaka Town. The Hidaka Community Revitalization Council is also cleaning up the megaliths, which shows that the town is carrying on Mr. Kuribayashi's legacy.
Thus, the mysterious sight of a megalith appearing in nature has indeed been protected by human hands for more than 40 years. When you stand in front of this megalith, you may feel uncomfortable at first, but after gazing at it for a while, you will somehow feel at home. Moreover, it starts to look like a decaying battleship or a humpback whale washed up on the beach. ...... It stirs the imagination in a way that is hard to imagine.
Incidentally, the origin of the word "chiroro" is not known for sure, although there are various theories that it is an archaic Ainu word or that it was pronounced "chiriri" and then became "chiriri". The only thing that is known is that it still exists as the giant stone of Chiroro.
<Corresponding author
Hidaka General Branch Office, Hidaka Town Hall
Location: 3-299-1 Honmachi Higashi, Hidaka-cho, Saru-gun, Hokkaido
Phone: 01457-6-2008
Official website: http://www.town.hidaka.hokkaido.jp
Writer's Profile
Hokkaido Sightseeing Turtle Writer, Bubu-Neko
I'm "Bubaneko," a writer with many connections to Hokkaido's sights and tourist facilities. There are many wonderful resources, even the ones we take for granted when we live in Hokkaido. I will be sharing these wonderful attractions of Hokkaido with you.
