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Akan-Mashū NP, Hokkaido
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At Poronno, potatoes freeze outdoors all winter; the spring thaw ferments them, and washed starch becomes potche-imo dumplings. Passed down from grandmother to mother, the family recipe now even tops seasonal pizza.
At the Kotan’s July Kapachep-nomi, people thank Lake Akan’s himemasu. Eggs from this landlocked sockeye were sent to Lake Shikotsu in 1894; later, the fish was introduced to lakes across Japan.
Started in 1950, Akan’s Marimo Festival is a rescue campaign: poaching and falling lake levels threatened the algae, so residents rallied to protect it and return marimo to the lake. Ainu prayers and dances still carry that story through the Kotan.
Akan’s traditional dances range from cranes, swords and bows to gestures of everyday work—gathering wild plants, weaving and herding horses. The wider Ainu dance tradition, including Akan’s, joined UNESCO’s list in 2009.
At the Kotan’s Ikor theater, “Lost Kamuy” blends traditional Ainu dance with contemporary movement, 3-D computer graphics and 7.1-channel sound. Five projectors help make the stage feel three-dimensional.
Maeda Mitsuko provided land free so Ainu households dispersed around Akan’s hot-spring town could gather. Families also migrated from across Hokkaido, making today’s Kotan a community shaped by postwar movement.
At 12, sculptor Fujito Takeyoshi was already carving bears under his father. At 30, he opened Kuma-no-ya and an atelier at Akan; his subjects later ranged from bears to wolves, sea otters and crabs.
Ikor’s “Iomante Fire Festival” is a stage interpretation, not the rare bear-sending rite itself. The Kotan explains that real iomante is spiritually central; the production was created to help audiences understand its atmosphere.
The mukkuri mouth harp is played without blowing across it: a plucked reed vibrates at the lips, while mouth shape and breath change its sound. At the Kotan, artisans offer visitors mukkuri-making sessions.
A craftsman from Akita spent 8 years apprenticing in the Kotan, then designed colorful tonkori-shaped keychains because souvenirs modeled on the traditional Ainu string instrument were hard to find.
The Kotan’s craft training center is called Harikiki—Ainu for “work hard” or “make an effort.” Its open-factory format lets visitors see trainees learning skills such as woodcarving, embroidery and textile work.
