Makubetsu Community Revitalization TeamMAKUBETSU LOCAL TEAM
Website of the Makubetsu Community Revitalization Team: our work, members, social media and recommended spots

Makubetsu Community Revitalization Team

In Makubetsu,

we're working hard
on vacant houses.

Generous town grants are drawing people who want to rent.
Our team members support you all the way.

If you own a house like these, just get in touch!

Inherited but unused — I'd love someone to cherish it!

A home full of memories

Living alone now, it's more than I need

A house too big for me

Left like this, it'll end up empty!

Not now, but someday

We'll do our best
to find someone
you're happy with!

Just asking
is fine!

Vacant houses: feel free to ask!

Help desk

Vacant House Use
Support Center
“Makuren”

050-8887-3990

Mon–Thu 13:00–16:00

Examples

before

after

Meet our members and their missions!

Building a tourism app

Profile

Tourism app,
digital support, etc.

Churui area

Profile

高橋 一球

News from Churui, and projects built
on its sights and local products

Ainu culture

Profile

横井 彰

Running the Ainu culture center,
supporting Ainu groups

Our team on Instagram

Moments from our work around town.

Our own picks

Sights, food and sweets our members love, with a little more detail than a guidebook.

Our team Instagram is being updated!
We share our daily work in Makubetsu
and what we love about the area.

makuren2026@gmail.com

What our team does

Updates!

Uihyeong Jung (John)
fuzzwaa makubeat
高橋一球, Churui area
横井彰, Ainu culture

Uihyeong Jung (John)

I'm John, from Korea. Through an app and YouTube,
I want to share the scenery and moments that make
Makubetsu in Tokachi special, as I see them.

Some companies in Churui work with real care
on products that could become local specialties.
I want to share what is good about them,
and to learn and grow alongside them.

Honestly, I knew nothing about the Ainu before I came here.
Working with Ainu people and those around them,
learning as I go, I have been surprised and moved many times.
I want to share what I have felt,
from my own point of view.

Michi-no-Eki Churui roadside station
Mukkuri, a traditional Ainu instrument

Team memberSocial mediachiikiokoshi.4958782

Team memberSocial mediaainu_mosir

EN before: an old kitchen with partitions and an earthen floor. EN after: a relaxing room with bookshelves and chairs. EN EN

A house left empty for years. We checked the building and worked out together how it could be used.

After the repairs it needed, it became a warm place where neighbours can drop in and meet.

1 / 3
The Itaomachip plank boat under a sail woven with an Ainu patternThe side of the Itaomachip, with its wave-patterned boardsThe Itaomachip seen from the bowThe Itaomachip on display at the entrance of the Ainu Culture Exchange CenterA hull carved from a log, with side boards lashed on with ropeBookmarks with Ainu stories, being made as a gift for visitors
People with “Slow down” flags calling for safe driving outside Michi-no-Eki ChuruiPeople lining the highway with flags, asking drivers to drive safelyA local resident holding a “Road safety” flagGetting ready to hand out tote bags of vegetables in the Michi-no-Eki Churui car park
The Ainu Cultural Exchange Center lobby and tablesCirotto pattern guide and colouring sheetsColouring sheets of traditional Ainu clothingDisplay of visitors’ colouring artwork

From the Ainu Culture CenterItaomachip plank boat

From Michi-no-Eki ChuruiRoad safety campaign

From the Ainu Culture CenterColouring patterns and displaying artwork

MAKUBETSU LOCATION GUIDE Simplified guide map ● 10 SPOTS
Obihiro AirportSatsunai Sta.Makubetsu Sta.

One shared ticket covers three facilities: the Ainu Culture Exchange Center exhibition hall, the Furusato Museum and the Churui Naumann Elephant Museum.

Exhibition room of the Ainu Culture Exchange CenterA dugout canoe on displayAttush on displayEveryday tools on display
Makubetsu Ainu Culture Exchange Center
Inside the Makubetsu Furusato Museum: a diorama of a settlers’ bamboo-grass hut and their daily life
Makubetsu Furusato Museum

Tokachi Hills
Full of events and photo spots!

Three spots to look out over Makubetsu's wide landscape

Makubetsu seen from Akenogaoka
The Tokachi Plain and Hidaka Mountains from Maruyama Observatory
Maruyama Observatory
Totoro-do fishway viewing roomViewing window at Totoro-do
Totoro-do fishway viewing room
MAKU app icon MAKU Tokachi · Makubetsu
Local Guide
Email the vacant house help desk See post 1 on the team's Instagram (opens Instagram) See post 2 on the team's Instagram (opens Instagram) See post 3 on the team's Instagram (opens Instagram)
Illustration of Pira-ri in Akenogaoka Park and the Makubetsu landscape

幕別町に協力し隊！

Makubetsu Community Revitalization Team

Chapter 1

In Makubetsu,we are working hard
on vacant houses.

Generous town grants are drawing people who want to rent. Our team members support you all the way.

If you own a house like these, just get in touch!

I inherited it but don't use it. I'd like someone to look after it!A home full of memories
I live alone now and can't keep it all upA house too big for me
Left like this, it'll end up empty!Not now, but someday
We'll do our best to find
someone you're happy with!
Just asking
is fine! Two pigs and a house, standing for the vacant house help desk
Feel free to ask!Vacant house help desk

Makubetsu Vacant House Use Support Center (Makuren)

TEL 050-8887-3990Mon–Thu 13:00–16:00
makuren2026@gmail.com
Makubetsu Vacant House Use Support Center (Makuren)
Makubetsu Vacant House Use Support Center (Makuren)

CASE STUDY

Examples

1 / 3
EN before: an old kitchen with partitions and an earthen floor.EN
before
EN after: a relaxing room with bookshelves and chairs.EN
after

Chapter 2

Meet our members and their missions!

Each of us shares what makes Makubetsu special, in our own way.
Uihyeong Jung (John) smiling at his laptop
TOURISM APP / YOUTUBE

Building a tourism app

I'm John, from Korea. Through an app and YouTube, I want to share the scenery and moments that make Makubetsu in Tokachi special, as I see them.

PROFILE
Uihyeong Jung (John)
MISSION
Tourism app, digital support and more
MAKU Tokachi · Makubetsu Local GuideDownload the app

APP PREVIEW — tap for next

Instagram fuzzwaaYouTube makubeat
高橋一球, smiling
CHURUI AREA

Churui area

In Churui there are companies building their business with real care, making products that could become local specialties. I want to tell people what is good about them, and to learn and grow alongside them.

PROFILE
高橋 一球
MISSION
News from Churui, and projects built on its tourist spots and local products
Instagram chiikiokoshi.4958782
Michi-no-Eki Churui roadside station
Team memberSocial media
横井彰, smiling
AINU CULTURE

Ainu culture

Honestly, I knew nothing about the Ainu before I came here. Working with Ainu people and those around them, learning as I go, I have been surprised and moved many times. I want to share what I have felt, from my own point of view.

PROFILE
横井 彰
MISSION
Running the Ainu culture center, and supporting Ainu groups
Instagram ainu_mosir
Mukkuri, a traditional Ainu instrument
Team memberSocial media

Chapter 3

Our team on Instagram

Moments from our work around town.

Chapter 4

Our own picks

Sights, food and sweets our members love, with a little more detail than a guidebook. Hover over or tap a pin for details.
Map of recommended spots in Makubetsu, from Honmachi and Satsunai in the north to Churui in the south Obihiro AirportSatsunai Sta.Makubetsu Sta.

One shared ticket covers three facilities: the Ainu Culture Exchange Center exhibition hall, the Furusato Museum and the Churui Naumann Elephant Museum.

Exhibition room of the Ainu Culture Exchange CenterA dugout canoe on displayAttush on displayEveryday tools on display
Makubetsu Ainu Culture Exchange Center
Inside the Makubetsu Furusato Museum: a diorama of a settlers’ bamboo-grass hut and their daily life
Makubetsu Furusato Museum

Tokachi Hills
Full of events and photo spots!

Three spots to look out over Makubetsu's wide landscape

Makubetsu seen from Akenogaoka
The Tokachi Plain and Hidaka Mountains from Maruyama Observatory
Maruyama Observatory
Totoro-do fishway viewing roomViewing window at Totoro-do
Totoro-do fishway viewing room
Makubetsu, underfoot.On a cover, a town’s story.Birds and swans come to life in this little manhole notebook. Take a look

Makubetsu on film

A Bon dance

Makubetsu: scenery and everyday life

 Magazines in the stationery shop

A small stationery shop, open for over 50 years

Your “Makubetsu sunsets”

Send us the sunsets you find in Makubetsu. Our team will choose some and show them on this page.

Send a photo by email If people appear in a photo, please ask them first. We remove location data from photos before posting.

Ainu game “Ukoniash”

Move one step at a time along the lines and get your three sticks to the other side. Try the MAKU app's mini game here.

App StoreGoogle Play

CONTACT / LET'S TALK

It's fine if you can't
put it into words yet.

Vacant houses, things you'd like to try here, questions before moving. Come and talk to us.

Makubetsu, underfoot.

Watch on YouTube ↗

Ukoniash

An Ainu territory game

Line up your sticks on the far side

Ukoniash is a simple game said to have been played on lines drawn on a wooden board or in hearth ash. This is a short version.

Decide who goes first in the middle.

Who goes first?Roll the sticks to decide who moves first.

How to play

  • Decide who starts by agreement, or with “Roll the sticks” in the middle of the board.
  • Your sticks have blue cords; your opponent’s have red.
  • Each turn, move one stick one step along a line to an empty neighbouring hole.
  • No diagonal moves and no jumping.
  • If a player cannot move, the player who blocked them moves again.
  • The first to line up all three sticks on the far row wins.
See the Riwka article Watch how to play

Culture notes

Riwka describes Ukoniash as a territory game enjoyed by the Ainu people.

It was played on lines drawn in hearth ash or on wooden boards; a wooden board is kept in a museum in Russia.

This screen reuses no photos or videos; it was rebuilt for the MAKU app from published sources.

The blue and red cords and the roll for first move were added by the app to make it easier to play.

 Poster of the Honmachi Town Walk stamp rallyClick to enlarge
EVENT / 2026.09.19 · Finished

Honmachi Town Walk
Stamp Rally

Our team's third event has ended. Thank you to everyone who joined the stamp rally around town, and to all the shops that took part.

DATE
2026.09.19
TIME
10:00—18:00
AREA
Makubetsu Honmachi area
 INFORMATION

Coming soon

We are checking the details before publishing.

Click or scroll to zoom, drag to move. On a phone, pinch to zoom.

Poster of the Honmachi Town Walk stamp rally
Once a public contact is set, you can reach us from here.