As of May 2019

HOKKAIDO
BUSINESS LOCATION GUIDEBOOKThe Perfect Place for Diversiﬁcation of Risk
Hokkaido, the Perfect Place
for Diversification of Risk
With its natural splendor, fresh, delicious food and unique history and culture, Hokkaido has a lot to offer.
Its star is growing in Asia and worldwide, with a constant influx of domestic and overseas tourists.
For businesses putting together a BCP, Hokkaido is also the perfect place for diversification of risk and a
backup center for industrial activities, thanks to the low risk of a disaster occurring in both Hokkaido andregions such as the Tokyo metropolitan area at the same time, abundant existence of renewable energy
sources, extensive land, sea and air transport infrastructure and a cool, snowy climate that can be used tosupport environmentally friendly business activities.
These benefits have already attracted many businesses to Hokkaido. It is used as a processing andassembly site by many companies to decentralize their manufacturing bases or restructure their supplierchain, and has been adopted as an expansion site for companies in the food production industry, where it
is well recognized for its abundant, high-quality ingredients that can be used for processing.
Environmentally friendly data centers have also been established, as energy can be conserved to a large
degree by making use of the cold air outside, and numerous companies have moved their head offices here.
The merits of Hokkaido are now attracting more attention than ever, both within and outside Hokkaido.
Hokkaido is full of great possibilities and potential for unlocking the future of your business.
On September 6 last year, Hokkaido's viability as a BCP site was put to the test by a more severe
earthquake than ever before, which caused major disruptions to people's lives and the region's economic
activities. We are deeply grateful for the concern and support expressed to us by so many people.
Normal life and economic activities have resumed in almost all of Hokkaido, and the supply of products
and services by Hokkaido-based companies is now just the same as before the earthquake. Even the most
severely damaged areas are well on their way to recovery.
Now that Hokkaido is back on its feet, this booklet has been created to further promote Hokkaido as abusiness location by providing companies outside Hokkaido with a deeper understanding of locations in
Hokkaido. We hope that you will consider this excellent region in northern Japan when expanding yourbusiness.
It is our sincere hope that Hokkaido will bring major business opportunities for you.

(1) Low Risk of a Disaster Occurring in both Hokkaido andRegions Such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Area at the Same Time(2) Energy Supplies(3) Diversiﬁed Transport Infrastructure

3 Key Points in
Finding the“Perfect Place forDiversiﬁcation of Risk”

Risk of a Disaster Occurring in both Hokkaido and
1 Low
Regions Such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Area at the Same Time
Hokkaido, the Perfect Place for Diversiﬁcation of Risk
Hokkaido is less likely than other areas to be aﬀected by typhoons and lightning, and its distance from regions such as the Tokyo
metropolitan area means that if a natural disaster such as an earthquake occurs in a region such as the Tokyo metropolitan area, the riskof it aﬀecting Hokkaido too is low, making Hokkaido the ideal location for dispersing risk.

Basic Details of
Hokkaido▶ Population: 5,339,539▶ Area: 83,423㎢▶ Households: 2,772,845▶ Municipalities: 179 cities,

towns and villages

President of the Committee for the Promotion of Investment in Hokkaido

Naomichi Suzuki, Governor of Hokkaido

Tokyo(1) Low Risk of a Disaster Occurring in both Hokkaido andRegions Such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Area at theSame Time …………………………………………… 3(2) Energy Supplies ……………………………………… 4(3) Diversified Transport Infrastructure ………………… 5■ Eco-Friendly Business Location
Utilization of Renewable Energy and Cool Weather … 8■ A Hotspot for Excellent Human Resources and Research Institutions(1) High-quality Human Resources …………………… 10

Current Main Industries■ The Perfect Place for Diversification of Risk

NagoyaOsaka

Industrial
Areas

Hokkaido's Competitive Edge

Contents

1,100 km1,500 km1,600 km■ Data Centers ………………………………………… 17■ Food-related Industry …………………………… 18

Fukuoka
2,200 km

■ Automobile-related Industry …………………… 20■ IT-related Industry ………………………………… 22■ Industrial Support Services Industry …………… 23■ Health and Longevity-related Industries …… 24■ Industrial Base ……………………………………… 25■ Tomakomai Tobu Area …………………………… 26■ Ishikari Bay New Port Area ……………………… 27

Support for Emerging Businesses…………………… 12■ Fulfilling Lifestyle(1) Open, Individual Local Communities ……………… 14(2) The Perfect Environment for Living and Working … 16

2

BUSINESS LOCATION GUIDEBOOK HOKKAIDO

Incentives(2) Experimental Institutions Provide Strong■ Incentive System …………………………………… 28■ One-stop Service for Locating your Business… 31■ Support Desk for Corporate Cooperations
and Incorporation of Farms ……………………… 31

BUSINESS LOCATION GUIDEBOOK HOKKAIDO

3

2 Energy Supplies

3 Diversiﬁed Transport Infrastructure

Japan's Largest LNG Terminal
In 2012, the Ishikari Bay New
Por t LNG Terminal began
operations in Ishikari. Theliqueﬁed natural gas (LNG)
t e r m i n a l s t o r e s 18 0 , 0 0 0kiloliters of gas. In addition to
supplying LNG to Sapporo bypipeline, it is used to supply
LNG to companies throughout
Hokkaido. A second LNG tankholding 200,000 kiloliters was
put into operation at the LNG
terminal in September 2016, a
third holding 230,000
kiloliters commenced
op er ations in 2018 and afourth (also 230,000 kiloliters)
is scheduled to be completed
in 2020, setting the terminalon course to be the largest inJapan.

Hokkaido ‒ Close to the Rest of the World■Hokkaido's LNG Supply Framework
Transportation of LNG by truck
Transportation of LNG by domestic boats
Transportation of LNG by import boats
Transportation of natural gas by pipeline

LNG import boats

Looking at a map of the northern hemisphere,
you can see that most advanced industrialized
Arctic passage
nations are concentr ate d in the s ame
latitudinal “belt.” You can see that Hokkaido isactually the closest region of Japan to the restof the world. Furthermore, the distance of the
Arctic passage is around 60% of that of thesouthern route connecting Europe and the Far
Suez Canal
East, and is therefore attracting an increasing
amount of attention for new routes.

LNG

LNG

Strait of Malacca

LNG

LNG

Kushiro LNG
Terminal

LNG
Tomakomai-Yufutsu Gas Field
and 2nd LNG Facilities
Hakodate Port Factory(Source: Hokkaido Gas Co., Ltd.)New Chitose

minutes by train from( 36)
Sapporo city center

Asahikawa

Power supply

30 minutes by car from( Approx.
)
Asahikawa city center

KushiroElectric power facilities are currently being built in Hokkaido toensure a steady supply of electricity in future. Unit 1 at the newthermal electric power station in Ishikari Bay New Port
(569,400kW, operation commenced February 2019) and theShin-Kitahon HVDC Link connecting Hokkaido and Honshu(300,000kW, operation commenced March 2019) are playing a
key role in measures to ensure an even steadier and morereliable supply of electricity. Various measures concerning supply
and demand of power in the Hokkaido area are underway toensure that backup power of at least 3%, the minimum needed
to ensure a steady supply of power, will be available in the eventof an unplanned outage in large-scale power supply facilities
during winter, when demand for electricity is at its peak.

HokutoConverter
StationTransformer
substation
Converter
stationObihiro40 minutes by car from( Approx.
)
Obihiro city center

Hakodate(

Approx. 20 minutes by car fromHakodate city center)(

Approx. 30 minutes by car from Abashiri city center andapprox. 40 minutes by car from Kitami city center

)

Chubu

Kansai/
Itami

Total number of
departing andarriving ﬂights(Domestic)

1：40
106
1：45
14
1：45
12
1：45
14
1：30
16
1：55
10

1：50
36
1：55
2
─
─
─
─
1：35
2
2：05
2

2：20
44
─
─
2：30
2
─
─
1：40
4
─
─

─
364
─
16
─
28
─
14
─
40
─
24

1：15
32
─
─
─
─
─
─
─
─
─
─

Top: Flight time
Bottom:Number of ﬂights departing and arriving each day

New route
300,000kW

1 return ﬂights per day

New Chitose - Narita

5-7 return ﬂights per day

New Chitose - Kansai

2 return ﬂights per day

New Chitose - Chubu

2 return ﬂights per day

New Chitose - Narita

5-7 return ﬂights per day

New Chitose - Narita

1 return ﬂights per day

New Chitose - Chubu

2 return ﬂights per day

Air Services Make it Easy to Get Around HokkaidoJAL, ANA and Hokkaido Air System (HAC) provide air services within Hokkaido.
With 9 routes and around 30 return ﬂights per day, this is a quick and easy way
to get around Hokkaido.

■Map of Air Route Network
within Hokkaido
HAC
JAL
ANA

Wakkanai

Rebun
Rishiri

Mombetsu
Memanbetsu
AsahikawaNakashibetsu
Okadama
Kushiro
New Chitose

Okushiri

ObihiroAs of May 2019
Hakodate

Existing route
600,000kW*Owned by ElectricPower Development
Seikan Tunnel Co., Ltd. (J-POWER)

Route of Shin-Kitahon HVDC Link
(Source: Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Inc.)

BUSINESS LOCATION GUIDEBOOK HOKKAIDO

40 minutes by car from( Approx.
)
Kushiro city center

Memanbetsu

Imabetsu
Converter
StationIshikari Bay New Port Power Station (LNG thermal power station)(Source: Hokkaido Electric Power Co., Inc.)

Vanilla Air
Spring Airlines Japan
Air Asia Japan■Flight Times and Number of Flights from Major
Hokkaido Airports to Airports Outside Hokkaido
Haneda Sendai

3-5 return ﬂights per day

Kushiro - Kansai

Jetstar Japan

There are 13 airports throughout Hokkaido. These airports are connected by various
services in addition to providing services to destinations outside Hokkaido. The large
number of air routes makes it easy to travel to, from and around Hokkaido, making it
a valuable place for both your business and your daily life. There are around 480
ﬂights departing and arriving in Hokkaido each day. There are services to major cities
outside Hokkaido from 10 airports, including services to Tokyo from 9 airports. There
are also 17 regular international services to destinations such as South Korea (3routes), China (6 routes), Taiwan (2 routes), Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia andYuzhno-Sakhalinsk from airports such as New Chitose, Hakodate and Asahikawa.

LNG

Domestic LNG

As of March 2019

New Chitose - Kansai

Peach Aviation

Network of 13 Airports throughout Hokkaido

LNG
boats

■LCC Services

Hokkaido

LNG

LNG

4

In 2012, a low-cost carrier (LCC) began providing services between Honshu (themainland) and Hokkaido. There are now 5 LCCs providing services, with lower
fares than major airlines.

Southern route

Ishikari LNG
Reception
Facilities

LCC Services Make Hokkaido Even More Accessible

The route between New Chitose Airport and Haneda Airport is the busiest of allof Japan’ s domestic routes, with 53 return ﬂights per day. Operating from 6 AM
to 12 AM, there is an average of 3 return ﬂights per hour. With 19.43 million
passengers on domestic ﬂights, New Chitose is Japan's second busiest
domestic airport after Haneda (As of FY 2017). A new international terminal was
opened in March 2010.

Convenient Morning-toNight Schedule
There are ﬂights between Hokkaido and Honshu fromearly in the morning to late at night, making it possible totake business trips without needing to stay the night. The
ﬁrst ﬂight from Haneda to New Chitose departs at 6:15am
and the last ﬂight from New Chitose to Haneda departs at
9:50pm.

New Chitose Airport■Departure Times of First and Last Flights between Major Hokkaido
Airports and Major Airports Outside Hokkaido
New Chitose

Asahikawa

KushiroObihiroHakodate

Memanbetsu

First ﬂight Last ﬂight First ﬂight Last ﬂight First ﬂight Last ﬂight First ﬂight Last ﬂight First ﬂight Last ﬂight First ﬂight Last ﬂight

HanedaAirport
Chubu Centrair
AirportKansai/Itami
Airport7：30 21：50 9：15 20：10 9：55 20：10 8：55 20：05 9：15 19：35 9：35 20：10
6：15 21：00 6：55 17：50 7：45 17：50 6：55 17：45 7：15 17：30 7：10 17：45
same as8：40 21：25 15：30 on the left
7：15 19：30 13：05

same ason the left

－
－

－

－

－

same assame assame ason the left

14：20 on the left

13：05 on the left 16：50 on the left
same as

－

－

－

11：00

7：40 20：25－－

12：30 on the left

same as－－13：20 13：50－－

8：00 20：20－－

9：50 on the left

same as－－11：05 11：45－－

Top: Hokkaido airport → airport outside Hokkaido Bottom: Airport outside Hokkaido → Hokkaido airport

As of May 2019

BUSINESS LOCATION GUIDEBOOK HOKKAIDO

5

Smooth Road Transportation
with Little Traﬃc Congestion

Railways (JR Shinkansen)

National highway

Railways (JR conventional line)

Air route

Railways
Railways(Donan Isaribi Railway Line)(Donan Isaribi Railway Line)
Sections of high-standard
Sections
high-standard
arterialofhighways
in service
arterial
highwaysin service
Sectionsof high-standard
arterial of
highways
under construction
Sections
high-standard
arterial highways under construction
As of March 2019

Motorways, such as high standard arterial highways, are constantly
being developed in Hokkaido to ensure smooth road transportation. The
total planned national motorway length is 1,825km connecting major
cities across southern,
central, northern, andeastern Hokkaido, of
which 1,165km is alreadyopen for use as of theend of March 2019.

Regular Sea Routes Allowing Mass Transport
The mass transport ferry provides a coordinated link between land and air routes. There are 35 ports in Hokkaido, including theinternational ports of Muroran and Tomakomai, that are serviced by 11 ferry routes between Hokkaido and Honshu. There are 17 regular
intra-regional cargo routes, and 11 regular overseas cargo routes from ports such as Ishikari Bay New Port and Tomakomai Port.

Ferry route

Ferry route

Global hub port

Global hub port

Important port

Important port

*Operate seasonally■Regular Shipping Routes for Main Ports (As of October 2018)●Ferry●Regular Domestic Cargo●Regular Overseas Cargo*Operate seasonally

As of March 2019

Rebun Airpor

Rebun Airport

Muroran Hachinohe - Miyako

Wakkanai
Wakkanai Airport

Rishiri Airport

Tomakomai Sendai Nagoya

Hokkaido Shinkansen will Further
Increase Business Opportunities

Selected to be developed andpromoted as a key port

With the stretch of the Hokkaido Shinkansen between Shin-Aomori and
Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto opened in March 2016, it is now possible to reachShin-Hakodate-Hokuto from Tokyo in as short a time as 3 hours and 58
minutes. The stretch between Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto and Sapporo wasapproved in 2012 and construction began in the same year. It is
expected to be opened at the end of FY 2030.

Maizuru
Niigata

361km

ShinHakodateHokuto
KikonaiOnuma

Oku-Tsugaru
Imabetsu
Shin-Aomori

SetanaOkushiri
AirportEsashiShin-Hakodate-Hokuto
KikonaiWakkanai
241km
3：40

Otaru

0：36
16km

Sapporo
0：52
0：37

4：17 (Via Hokkaido National Motorway) 45km
1：07
5：00 (Via Nakayama Pass)
New Chitose 62km
245km
248km
Airport
0：44
3：27
0：31 21km 0：25

Muroran
3：09
191km
2：31

Hakodate

1：07
68km
0：52

3：00
195km
2：24

Tomakomai

2：53

159km 2：53

2：13
121km
1：32

BUSINESS LOCATION GUIDEBOOK HOKKAIDO[Tomakomai] - [Muroran]* Hachinohe - Miyako - Sendai Hitachinaka - Yokohama

1 scheduled
departure per week

(service does not always stop in Muroran)[Tomakomai] - Hachinohe -Tomakomai - Tsuruga

20：00～21：00

1 daily departure

Kawasaki - Oppama- Sendai

3 scheduled
departures per week

Otaru - Niigata

16：00～16：45

6 scheduled
departures per week

[Tomakomai] - Tsuruga

6 scheduled
departures per week

Otaru - Maizuru

20：55～21：45

1 daily departure

3：40～4：00

16 daily departures

1：30

2 daily departures

Hakodate - Oma[Tomakomai] - Sendai-Shiogama Nagoya - Sendai-Shiogama[Tomakomai] - Hachinohe Nagoya - Sendai-Shiogama

Sapporo3 scheduled
departures
every 4 days
1 scheduled
departure
every 4 days
1 scheduled
departure per week

Nagoya - Tokyo - Sendai-Shiogama

Nemuro Nakashibetsu Airport[Tomakomai] - [Kushiro] -[Tomakomai] - [Kushiro] -TanchoKushiroAirportYubariSendai-Shiogama - Tokyo - Osaka -NemuroNagoya - Sendai-Shiogama[Tomakomai] - Tokyo - Shimizu -Kushiro2 scheduled
departures per week

1 serviceevery 2 weeks

Shimizu - Tokyo - Tacoma -Busan - [Tomakomai] - Busan
Busan New Port - Busan - Sendai Hachinohe - [Tomakomai] -1 scheduled
departure per week
1 scheduled
departure per week

Busan - Busan New Port
[Tomakomai] - Busan - Busan New Port 1 scheduled[Ishikari Bay New Port] departure per week
[Tomakomai]
Dalian - Qingdao - Shanghai Niigata - Fushikitoyama [Otaru] - Maizuru - Dalian

1 scheduled
departure per week
(2-week ship route)

Busan - Akita - [Tomakomai] Busan - Busan New Port - Ulsan Shanghai

1 scheduled
departure per week

Busan - Shimizu - Sendai - Hachinohe [Kushiro] - [Tomakomai] [Hakodate] - Busan - Hitachinaka Busan - Ulsan - Gwangyang -1 scheduled
departure per week

Ningbo - Shanghai - Busan
Dalian - Qingdao - Busan - Kanazawa Niigata - [Tomakomai] - [Kushiro] Sendai - Onahama - Shimizu -1 scheduled
departure per week

Busan - Ulsan - Gwangyang - Dalian
1 scheduled
departure per week

Shanghai - Ningbo - Busan - Shimizu Hitachinaka - Onahama - Sendai -Osaka - Shimizu - Tokyo - Sendai

1 scheduled
departure per week

[Kushiro] - Ibaraki (Hitachi)

1 daily departure[Kushiro] - Tokyo - Funabashi

1 scheduled
departure per week

1 scheduled
Hachinohe - [Tomakomai] - [Muroran] - departure per week
Sakata - Busan - Ulsan - Gwangyang Shanghai
Busan - [Tomakomai] [Ishikari Bay New Port] Busan New Port -Busan -Oshamambe

1 scheduled
departure per week

Manila South Port - Busan
Vladivostok - [Otaru] -MuroranYakumoHiroo

ToyamaKomatsu
Hakodate
Chubu
Itami
Kansai
Tokyo
Kobe
Chubu
Okayama
Aomori *Kansai
Ibaraki
Oma
Itami
Hiroshima
NaritaFukuoka
Miyako Okinawa
Hachinohe*IzumoHakodate
Airport

Aomori
Akita
Hanamaki
Yamagata
Sendai
Niigata
Fukushima
NaritaTokyo
ShizuokaMatsumotoTokushima*

Hachinohe
Akita
Sendai
Niigata
Oarai
NagoyaTsurugaTokyo
Chubu*Itami*Kansai

Rail freight transportation is the most environmentally friendly cargo transportation method, witharound 1/10 of the CO2 emissions per transportation unit of trucks. There are 14 stations in Hokkaido
handling container trains, which are connected to around 150 stations throughout Japan. The
stations are serviced by around 20 trains per day bound for outside Hokkaido. Most are 12 ft
container trains, but some of the freight trains can hold 31 ft containers with the same loading
capacity as a large truck.

2：50
149km
2：56

NemuroSee “Northern Road Navi” operated by the Public Works Research Institute(Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Regions)Northern Road Navi: http://www.northern-road.jp/navi

Red text：JR

6

IwanaiVancouver[Tomakomai] - Keihin

6 scheduled
departures per week
2 scheduled
departures per week
1 scheduled
departure per week
2 scheduled
departures per week

Osaka - Tokyo - Sendai-Shiogama

JR Freight Covers All Areas of Hokkaido

2：10
Sections where the national motorway is used
Black text：Time required from one center to anotherBlue text: Shortest distance when national highways and prefectural roads are used（

1 scheduled
departure per week

[Tomakomai] - Busan Hakata - Osaka - Nagoya -[Tomakomai] - Yokohama

Number ofservices

Route name
Vancouver - Tacoma -1 scheduled
departure per week

Sendai-Shiogama - Tokyo -Abashiri

2：13

Kushiro 124km

31：20～34：00

FuranoKitami
1:09
54km
0：50

ObihiroTsuruga

Number ofservices
11 scheduled
departures per week

Tokyo
Chubu
*Kansai*Itami

Fushikitoyama - Vladivostok

Tokyo*Itami*Chubu2 scheduled
departures per monthTokyo

Samani

Hachinohe

1：49
140km
1：25

Niigata 18：15～20：00

5 scheduled
departures per week

Tokachi-Obihiro Airport

Aomori

Asahikawa

17：45～19：15

Tomakomai(Unit: Hours: Minutes)

0：47
39km 0：32

Asahikawa
Airport▼

4：14[Tomakomai] - [Kushiro] - Tokyo

39：30[Tomakomai] - Ibaraki (Hitachinaka)-

Sendai-Shiogama - Tokyo -Memanbetsu
AirportNew Chitose Airport■Traveling Times between Major Cities by JR and Road

Ishikari

Abashiri

Fukagawa

Opened March
26, 2016

Tohoku Shinkansen[Tomakomai] - Tokyo

15：00

ObihiroWork commenced
in 2005

Mimmaya

1 daily departure
1 scheduled departure
every other day
12 scheduled
departures per week

Hakodate - Aomori

Iwamizawa

Scheduled to becompleted by theend of FY 2030

Hakodate

Shimizu - Oita

Airport▼Seikan Tunnel
54km

Approx.
149km

Mombetsu

Work commenced
in 2012

Higashi Muroran

4 daily departures[Tomakomai] - [Kushiro] -Takikawa

KutchanMori

7：15～8：30

Akita 10：30～12：05

Tomakomai Akita - Niigata Tsuruga

KitamiIshikari Sapporo
Okadama
Otaru

SapporoYakumo

10：00～11：05

NagoyaTomakomai Akita - Niigata

Okhotsk
Mombetsu
Airport

Shintotsukawa

Taipei
Tianjin

Oshamambe(Temporary name)

NayoroBeijing
HaboroTaipeiYuzhno-Sakhalinsk
Guam
Shibetsu
Changsha
Daegu
Rumoi
TianjinHangzhouAsahikawaShizuoka

JR conventional line
Donan Isaribi Railway Line
Shinkansen station
Conventional line station(Temporary name)Otaru

Shin-Yakumo

Kuala Lumpur
Kaohsiung
Honolulu
Bangkok
Seoul
Busan
Hong Kong
Shanghai

Selected as a key porton the Sea of Japan

Hokkaido Shinkansen

Approx.
212km

BeijingShanghaiTaipei
Seoul

Route name[Tomakomai] - Ibaraki (Hitachinaka)

SendaiTomakomai - Oarai

Tokyo

Number ofservices
6 scheduled
departures
per week

Tomakomai Hachinohe

New Chitose Airport Interchange

Shin-Otaru

Navigation
time (Hours)

Route name

）

Tokyo
*ChubuTokyo

Selected as a strategicinternational bulk port(grains)■Travel Times between Major JR Freight Terminals in Hokkaido (Revised March 2019)
Destination

SapporoTomakomai

Asahikawa

Hakodate

ObihiroKushiroSendai15 hours 35 minutes

14 hours 25 minutes

18 hours 08 minutes

12 hours 20 minutes

33 hours 20 minutes

37 hours 50 minutes

Tokyo(Sumidagawa) 18 hours 10 minutes

19 hours 45 minutes

25 hours 25 minutes

15 hours 20 minutes

24 hours 36 minutes

27 hours 40 minutes

Nagoya30 hours 25 minutes

29 hours 45 minutes

37 hours 45 minutes

26 hours 40 minutes

41 hours 30 minutes

49 hours 00 minutes

Osaka

28 hours 27 minutes

27 hours 22 minutes

51 hours 52 minutes

24 hours 37 minutes

50 hours 47 minutes

55 hours 17 minutes

Fukuoka

38 hours 09 minutes

42 hours 24 minutes

66 hours 14 minutes

37 hours 49 minutes

45 hours 59 minutes

69 hours 39 minutes*Indicated times are the shortest time between departure from the handling track and the start of unloading

BUSINESS LOCATION GUIDEBOOK HOKKAIDO

7

Eco-Friendly Business Location
Utilization of Renewable Energy and Cool Weather

Utilization of Clean Energy and Cool Weather

Richer in Renewable Energies than Anywhere Else in Japan■Abundance of New Energy Sources in Hokkaido

Hokkaido's Renewable
Energy Potential
Hokkaido has an abundance of diverse energy sources, including solar power,
wind power, biomass, geothermal power and coal, and has greater potential foruse of new energy sources than any other prefecture in Japan.

Wind Power Generation

No.1 nationwide

Geothermal powerNo.1 nationwide

Medium/small-scale hydro-electric power
generation (less than 30,000 kW)

No. 2 nationwide

Solar power generation (non-residential)

No. 2 nationwide(Source: Initiatives for Increased Implementation of
New Forms of Energy in Hokkaido, Hokkaido Government (November 2017))

Wind Power Generation

Solar Power Generation

Wind turbines are mainly being introduced on the Sea of Japan coast of
Hokkaido due to the excellent wind conditions. As of the end of March 2018,
302 wind power generators have been installed, with an overall capacity of
355,985kW, making this area one of the most advanced regions in Japan forwind power generation.

■Status of General Subprefectural Bureau Installations
Number of power plants
12Wind turbines
112
Output of power plants 104,545kW●Solar Power Generation Eﬃciency
・1℃ Cooler = Up to 0.4% Greater Output!
(At 0℃ or above) (Source: Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association)

Number of power plants
9Wind turbines
62
Output of power plants 66,490kW■Annual Average Amounts of Solar Radiation at
Optimal Inclination
LegendSoya

Number of power plants
7
Wind turbines
10
Output of power plants 16,380kW
Number of power plants
5Wind turbines
17
Output of power plants 21,080kW

Solar power generation converts sunlight directly into electricity. It is a cleansource of energy that does not produce CO2 emissions, and is expected to be
key in the accomplishment of a low-carbon society. In addition to using thesesources in public facilities and homes, Mega Solar sites are being developed
throughout Hokkaido, making use of the prefecture's abundant solar radiationand vast land.

19～
18～
17～
16～
15～
14～
13～
12～
11～
10～
9～
8～
7～
Less than 7

Rumoi
Kamikawa

Okhotsk

Sorachi
NemuroShiribeshi
Ishikari

Tokachi

KushiroIburi
HidakaHiyamaNumber of power plants
4Wind turbines
10
Output of power plants 12,970kW

OshimaMeteorological Oﬃce

4-Factor AutomatedMeteorological Data
Acquisition System(AMeDAS)

Number of power plants
2Wind turbines
2
Output of power plants 1,970kW
Number of power plants
Wind turbines
Output of power plants

Number of power plants
6 Number of power plants
Wind turbines
60 Wind turbines
Output of power plants 82,500kW Output of power plants(Source: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Hokkaido Industrial Safety and Inspection Department)

Snow and ice energy is a novel way of storing snow and ice collected during thewinter for use in air conditioners and refrigerators in the summertime. Thissystem is attracting attention as an eco-friendly source of energy, and has
already been introduced to some parts of Hokkaido.
Another technology is “Free Cooling,” which generates cold water through thedirect use of cold outdoor air from cool and cold seasons (i.e., seasons otherthan summer) in heat exchange instead of using cooling machines. This
technology saves a great deal of energy, especially in facilities that use
refrigeration throughout the winter.
Such utilization of the cool weather not only reduces the cost of cooling
products, equipment and air-conditioning within buildings, but also contributes
to low energy consumption, and allows increased control of CO2 emissions. It is
expected that this technology will be seen increasingly more in industrial
facilities such as factories.

●Snow and Ice Energy Supply
Methods for Rooms and Warehouses
1) Cold Water Heat Exchange
Cycle Method
Melt water or antifreeze cooled with snow is circulated into the primary side ofa heat exchanger with a pump, cooling the liquid circulating through thesecondary side (Antifreeze, etc.)

Heat
exchanger
P
P

Melt water

4.21

Kitami3.93 Sapporo 3.82 Hakodate 3.78

4.19 Fukuoka 3.94

Osaka

3.91 Tomakomai 3.81

Tokyo

Tsuchiya Dairy
Equipment MFG. Co.

Curlplex Obihiro Ice Shelter

295

Snow/Ice

KOKUSAKU KENSETSU Corporation

Asahikawa Toyooka Center Building

330

Snow

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Administrative building

250

Ice

SHIMIZU CORPORATION
Hokkaido Branch Oﬃce

Single occupancy housing
Amitie Miyanomori

40

Snow

Seiko Epson Corp. Sapporo
SoftCenter

Snow-cooled air-conditioning
systems

70

Snow

Daika

Low temperature icechamber storage facilities

302

Ice

Denso Hokkaido Corporation

Cold water exchange stylesnow cooled air-conditioning

327

Snow

Tokyo Regional Civil Aviation
Bureau, New Chitose Airport
Oﬃce-CENTRAL LEASINGSYSTEM Co., LTD.

Snow mountain coolingsupply systems

74,400Snow

Amino Up Chemical Co., Ltd.

Eco-House snow cooled
air-conditioning systems

200

Snow

TOYOTA MOTOR HOKKAIDO, INC.

Snow and ice air conditioning
systems

500

Snow

Hokkaido Maeta Co., Ltd.

Snow cooled air-conditioning
experimentation and research facilities

90

Snow

Honma Shozo Shoten Co., Ltd.

Honma Shozo Shoten
Rokugou Souko

150

Snow

MAKINO KOGYO Co., Ltd.

Pipe arch type snow andice warehouse256

Snow/Ice

Controlling Air-Conditioning Energy

Air is circulated between a snow and ice storage device for cooling thewarehouse or room being cooled using a ventilator.

Hokkaido has a short summer with low humidity, and less energy is needed
for cooling systems compared to Honshu. Building insulation has been
improved considerably, reducing energy requirements for heating in thewinter. This has led to a dramatic decrease in the energy used for cooling,
particularly in manufacturing industries and data centers where a large
amount of heat is generated by devices year-round.

■Comparison of the Annual Air Conditioning Load
Ventilator

Cooling load（GJ）

SapporoHeating load（GJ）

3.74(Source: NEDO Solar Radiation Database, Unit: kWh/m² per day)(New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization)

Asahikawa3) Natural Convection Method(Snow Chamber/Ice Chamber)Cold from a snow and ice storage device or from snow stored in the cover over
the warehouse is passed naturally through the warehouse by convection.

SendaiTokyo
Fukuoka0

Sheet, etc.

Uehira Green Hill Wind Farm (Tomamae)

8

BUSINESS LOCATION GUIDEBOOK HOKKAIDO

Wakkanai Mega Solar Power Station (Wakkanai)

Coolingsource2) Cold Air Circulation Method byDirect Heat Exchange■Annual Amounts of Solar Radiation at Optimal
Inclination in Major Cities
4.29 Nagoya

Warehouse
Capacity (t)Cold air

1MJ/m2＝23.89cal/cm2＝238.9Kcal/m2＝0.2778kWh/m2

KushiroFacility Name

* 1 ton of snow can save 10 liters of petroleum and prevent 30 kg of CO2 emissions.
(Source: Hokkaido Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry)

Ventilator

ObihiroEstablished by

Fan coil unit

Unit conversion

1
2
800kW

1 Number of power plants
5
2 Wind turbines
25
800kW Output of power plants 48,450kW■Main Companies Using Snow and Ice Thermal
Energy in Hokkaido

An Eco-Friendly New Energy

2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 16,000
Annual air conditioning load
（GJ）

(Note) ・These ﬁgures are for a 10,000m2 factory where 70% of the area is cooled. *Results calculated as ofJanuary 2013
・Air conditioning load for thermal insulation performance is calculated at the same 50 mm level asin Hokkaido, and the thermal insulation performance value for mainland cities becomes smaller.
Therefore, if the same low-thermal insulation speciﬁcations that are commonly used in Honshu
are factored in for Hokkaido calculations, it can be seen that the heating load value in Honshu islarger than that of Hokkaido.
・In industries where heating equipment is used, the heating load becomes lower than that shownin the ﬁgure, but the cooling load increases.
*This is an example calculation shown for reference purposes only.
(Source: Hokkaido Electric Power Co.)

BUSINESS LOCATION GUIDEBOOK HOKKAIDO

9