Within a half an hour drive from Sapporo and New Chitose Airport, there

is a place called Ecorin Village in Eniwa-city. It is conveniently located for tourists since you can stop by on your way to/from the airport. Eniwa is known as a garden city of Hokkaido.
 

“Eco” means to develop sustainable society by reducing the burden on the

environment. “Rin” means to value the connection with the natural environment, including plants and animals. Ecorin Village consists of Welcome center, English gardens, animal farms, restaurants, a camping ground and a single tomato plant. You can enjoy sheepdog shows at the vast farm in the typical scenery of Hokkaido. You can also appreciate seasonal flowers at the Galaxy ‘Ginga’ Garden in the summer months (from April to October).
 

 

The village is divided into free admission and paid areas. In the east area,

there is a welcome center, a seedling and gardening goods shop for plant lovers, World largest tomato plant where nearly 20,000 tomatoes can be grown from a single seed, and a restaurant. In the west area, there is the Ginga Garden and the Midori Ranch, where you can experience tour of the two facilities with a one-day passport.
 

 

“Eco-rin Village” is managed by a local company that operates restaurants

throughout Japan, which began researching food ingredients in search of safe, secure, and healthy food, and then expanded its efforts into the environment. There is a biogas plant, a compost, a recycling system of used oil, and a geothermal heat pump, all of which are linked to the SDGs.

The restaurants use only pesticide free rice from contract farmers. It is

produced without using insecticides or fungicides and with only one use of herbicides. The “winter-flooded rice paddies” have been experimented for biodiversity in Ecorin Village. Wild water fouls can inhabit in pesticide free environments and weeds can be controlled by rice paddy irrigation in the winter. Food waste is recycled into compost for use in the Ginga Garden and Flower Farm, is also recycled by sending to the biogas plant for liquid fertilizer and power generation.
 

 

The Ginga Garden has many themed gardens, including an Edible Rose Field

and a Rose Garden, where you see more than 1,000 species of seasonal flowers. Edible rose jam can be purchased at the Welcome Center.

At the Midori Ranch, sheep, alpacas, llamas, miniature horses, and other

animals graze and are on display. Sheepdogs lead a herd of sheep under the direction of the staff in the show.
 

 

You can also enjoy a farm tour on the tractor pulling wagon around the

pasture and see Galaxy Garden, a unique experience in Hokkaido.
 

 

Why don’t you stop by on the day of arrival or departure?

By Masako Amino
 

Special thanks to Ecorin Village for providing us beautiful photos.