Japan’s newest national park finally has a (long) name

A stretch of Japanese mountains terminating at an ocean promontory is being upgraded to a national park, but there’s an ongoing dispute over what to name it. 

Hidaka-sanmyaku Erimo Quasi-National Park is a protected area in Japan’s northernmost major island of Hokkaido. The region is found west of the cities of Obihiro and Memuro, east of Hidaka. 

Boasting verdant forests, the Hidaka Mountains, and Cape Erimo stretching into the Pacific Ocean, the protected area is administered by the Hokkaido prefectural government. Japan’s quasi-national parks are typically operated by prefectural governments. In the case of the Hidaka Mountains, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment is planning to change this. 

The ministry says it will change the name of the park, as well, to Hidaka-sanmyaku Erimo Tokachi National Park. And not everyone is happy with this decision.

Moving to national control 

The ministry says it will assume control of the protected area this summer after Hidaka-sanmyaku Erimo Quasi-National Park is upgraded to the status of a full national park, joining the other 34 national parks in the Ministry of the Environment’s system. 

The normal procedure would see the park’s name remain the same except for the last bit, having officials renaming it Hidaka-sanmyaku Erimo National Park. But local tourism officials have been pressing the Ministry to insert the name “Tokachi” into the new moniker, arguing that the Tokachi region is better known than the Hidaka Mountains and that a different name would boost tourism. 

In response to the pressure, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment recently announced that it will christen the newly named “Hidaka-sanmyaku Erimo Tokachi National Park” this summer, bringing the number of national parks under its authority to 35. 

The area under protection will also be expanded. Maps outlining the ministry’s plans for the new national park show that the area to be placed under national park protections is almost twice the size of the existing quasi-national park. 

“Situated in south-central Hokkaido, the Hidaka Mountains are a major mountain formation born from the collision of continental plates during the Neogene geologic period,” the Ministry said in a recent report outlining the forthcoming national park. “Forests and rivers of great ecological quality can be found from the ridgeline to the mountains’ foothills, home to high-quality ecosystems for stripped owls and mountain hawk eagles, and unique geology and environments supporting ancient and rare habitats.” 

Naming dispute lingers

The announcement of the new longer name was dropped in mid-March. But the dispute isn’t over quite yet. 

According to the Mainichi Shimbun, opponents to the incorporation of “Tokachi” into the park’s name are urging the Ministry to reconsider. The opposition stems in part from the fact that most people in Hokkaido and Japan understand the Tokachi region to refer to the plains found east of Obihiro, not the mountains to its southwest. 

The paper says members of the Tokachi Nature Conservation Association have started collecting signatures for a petition aimed at convincing the Ministry of the Environment to abandon its plans to insert “Tokachi” into the new national park’s name. The association is being joined by other like-minded groups. 

The opponents to the new name say they aim to gather signatures expressing opposition to the naming from throughout Hokkaido by mid-April. The petition would then presumably be handed to the Ministry of the Environment authorities. 

The groups say they are opposed to the idea of incorporating the Tokachi region into the Hidaka mountains, even if only in the name. The Ministry of the Environment’s map of the future national park shows that it will encompass protected areas already part of the existing quasi-national park’s boundaries. The actual Tokachi Plains region is left out of the planning document. 

Whatever its name, the new park will offer visitors mountain climbing, nature viewing, seascapes, vast mountain vistas, and more. 

The ministry says the redevelopment of the park will center on existing infrastructure with plans for more walkable green spaces, overnight lodging, shelters, ski areas, improved roads for vehicle access, and enhanced hiking trails.

A most scenic island

Hokkaido, Japan’s largest province by area, already hosts the largest number of national parks of any single prefecture in the country. The addition of Hidaka-sanmyaku Erimo Tokachi National Park to that roster expands its lead. 

Visitors to Hokkaido can already enjoy six national parks situated across this beautiful northern island: Daisetsuzan National Park, Kushiro Shitsugen National Park, Rishiri Rebun Sarubetsu National Park, Shikotsu-Toya National Park, Akan Mashu National Park, and Shiretoko National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The quasi-national park’s status upgrade will deliver the prefecture its seventh national park. 

According to an informational website managed by the City of Obihiro, the region was first designated as a protected provincial park in 1950. It was designated as a quasi-national park in 1981. Officials started considering a reclassification to national park status beginning in 2007. 

Conservation officials announced the decision to designate the Hidaka Mountains and Cape Erimo as a national park in mid-2023. The proposal was opened to public comments last November and December. 

The new status and name will become official sometime this summer but no definitive date has been given. 

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