&Tobetsu
The entire blue carpet here is flax flowers, grown to squeeze oil from them
Flax has been grown for fabric from the 1890s in Hokkaido. Tobetsu started in 1893, growing them until the 1960s. Natural disasters and the spread of synthetic fabrics put a stop to cultivation, but since 2001, flax oil has started a resurgence of growth. The flax cultivation committee and the Flax Public Company Ltd. have teamed up to manufacture flax oil, soaps and other related products. From late June to early July, the blossoming blue flowers make for a beautiful scene, and a source of tourism as people flock to see it. Flax blooms early in the morning and scatters before noon. Its transience is part of its appeal. The fields flax is grown in differ by the year, but in early summer, some part of Tobetsu Town will always be covered in a blue carpet. Since it’s a crop, please watch from the sides without entering the field.
The flax fields of Tobetsu town
- 【Address】Depends on the year
- 【Business Period】Late June-early July
- 【Official website】http://www.amakousya.co.jp/
- 【Contact Us】0133-25-3730(Aso-Kosha/Flax Public Company Ltd. open 9 :00-17:00 on weekdays)
- 【Map Code】Depends on the year