[O-02] Natural disasters and people -Listen to the voice of the Earth on the Japanese Geoparks-

[O02-P06] Holding of event the Lake Shikaribetsu Igloo Village under COVID-19 measures

*Kanamori Syosaku¹, Hiroki Matsumoto¹, Onishi Jun¹ (1.Tokachi-Shikaoi Geopark Promotion Council)

Keywords:COVID-19, geopark

Tokachi Shikaoi Geopark is a geopark that covers the entire area of Shikaoi Town in the Tokachi region of Hokkaido. Theme of the geopark is “The story of life developed by volcanoes and freezing.” There are several geopark sites related to the cold climate. Lake Shikaribetsu in the northern part of Shikaoi Town is a representative site of Tokachi Shikaoi Geopark, and it freezes completely in winter. Since 1980, an event entitled "Shikaribetsuko-Kotan",which means “Lake Shikaribetsu Igloo Village”, has been held at Lake Shikaribetsu in winter. Kotan means village in Ainu language. At this event, many buildings called igloos are built using snow and ice on the frozen lake. There are many interesting activities such as ice bars, open-air bath, concerts in the igloos. This "Shikaribetsuko-Kotan" is also an important “site” of Tokachi Shikaoi Geopark.
"Shikaribetsuko-Kotan" in 2021 is held for about two months from January 30, 2021 under measures against COVID-19, while many domestic events have been canceled due to the influence of the corona disaster. In this presentation, we will report how the event was and discuss the ideal way of events under the influence of COVID-19.