Issue:
April 2024 | Letter from Hokkaido
The tragic death of a cyclist in Hokkaido’s marquee cycling race should be the catalyst for a safety overhaul
Hokkaido attracts plenty of coverage, and rightly so, for being a winter sports paradise. Ski bums already know Niseko, of course, while central Hokkaido is the place for cross-country skiing. Ice hockey is king in eastern Hokkaido, while Obihiro – deep in the heart of farming country – has some of the most passionate curling fans this side of Canada.
But for 37 years, Hokkaido’s main summer sports event has been the Tour de Hokkaido, one of Japan’s oldest cycle races and most scenic sporting events. It takes riders past the colorful lavender fields of Bie, up the mountain passes of Hidaka, through the World Heritage Shiretoko peninsula, along desolate, foggy cliffs and coastlines within sight of the Russian-held Northern Territories, and down the streets of the island’s major cities. With little difficulty, spectators might imagine they were watching that "other '' famous summertime cycle race, although its title aside, the language of the Hokkaido event is Japanese, not French.
In recent years, Tour de Hokkaido fans and supporters hoped the race, and the Hokkaido summertime scenery, would attract even more interest from international television audiences, who would see the sweeping background vistas and decide to visit Hokkaido when there wasn’t snow on the ground. Unfortunately, the tragic death in September last year of 21-year-old rider Kota Igarashi during the race led to the cancellation of this year’s tour and put the event’s future in question - especially given what appears to have been an astounding lack of advance safety preparation by the organizers.
During the first stage of a 174 km stretch between Asahikawa and the town of Shintoku, the riders approached a curve. What happened next is not entirely clear. It appears that Igarashi decided to try and overtake the group of riders in front of him. When he swerved and tried to accelerate around them, he had a head-on collision with a car coming in the opposite direction and was killed instantly.
The stretch of road where Igarashi was killed is one I’ve driven on a few times. It passes through wooded areas where it can be difficult to see around the next corner. There are no bike lanes, of course, and the road at that time of year can be full of “weekend drivers” – tourists from outside Hokkaido, including my wife and I, who aren’t used to the isolated country roads.
Race organizers would later say the car that struck Igarashi was traveling in a lane that, at the time, was supposed to have been closed to vehicular traffic due to the race. In addition, there were event staff on hand who were supposed to stop cars that entered the restricted areas, including the one that slipped through and killed Igarashi.
Why these measures failed is still being debated. Riders and the Hokkaido media blame a lack of preparation on the part of the organizers. Some veteran Tour de Hokkaido riders said they felt that race security and traffic control started becoming less vigilant a few years ago. They raised questions about whether there were enough escort and support bikes in front of the riders to warn of dangers ahead, and to force cars that entered the restricted areas to halt until the riders passed through.
Organizers decided last month that this year’s race would be cancelled while they figure out what, exactly, went wrong and how to fix it. It is the fourth time since 2018 that the Tour de Hokkaido has been called off. That year, damage from an earthquake near the city of Tomakomai led to the decision not to hold it. It was cancelled again in 2020 and 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to cancel this year was the right one. If anything good comes out of Igarashi’s tragic death it will hopefully be a complete overhaul of the race, and of official attitudes about the need for better safety planning and monitoring. If Hokkaido officials, and not just Tour de Hokkaido organizers, are smart, they’ll study and adopt the best practices of the Tour de France. And not just the road safety and traffic control measures.
Like “Le Tour”, the Tour de Hokkaido is, or could be, tens of millions of dollars’ worth of domestic and international free mainstream and social media advertising for Hokkaido as a summer tourist destination. Ski resort owners worry about how to attract visitors during the summer and early autumn months. Likewise hoteliers in major cities, who press local officials to come up with ways (music festivals, culture fairs, etc.) to convince people to spend their summer vacations there.
A well-run Tour de Hokkaido, with stringent race security for the riders and the kind of world-class TV and video coverage of the race and the background shots that attract many Tour de France TV viewers, would do far more for inbound tourism than the thousands of boring brochures and local television promotional videos.
Such coverage may not create an internationally famous TV commentator like “Le Tour’s” legendary Phil Liggett. But the footage would draw all manner of domestic and international tourists. Not just avid cyclists and outdoors enthusiasts, but also those from the major cities in the rest of Japan and parts of East Asia who are desperate to escape the scorching summer heat and humidity.
Run properly, the Tour de Hokkaido would have a knock-on effect, drawing enough visitors to Hokkaido in the coming years to spark talk of another Olympic bid. Not for the Winter Olympics in Sapporo (or Niseko), but for the Summer Olympics and Paralympics Games in a part of the world that now has a reputation for being a great place to visit. Even at a time of year when you don’t need a winter jacket and boots.
Eric Johnston is the Senior National Correspondent for the Japan Times. Views expressed within are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Japan Times.
