Latest news with #TakeoKato
Asahi Shimbun
09-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Asahi Shimbun
Machinery boss in Shiretoko secret savior of ReraPan film
Rolls of ReraPan 127 film are lined up at a sales event held in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on June 7. (Takeo Kato) SHARI, Hokkaido--The town of Shari is forever associated with the Shiretoko Peninsula, designated as a World Natural Heritage site. But to a select few, it is cherished for another reason, too. It is the home of a type of camera film that went out of mainstream production three decades ago. Film buffs have 64-year-old Tsuyoshi Mohri to thank for that. Mohri's main business is agricultural machinery, but he also manufactures the film under the brand name of ReraPan. His company's flagship products are bulky farm equipment that sells for several million yen (tens of thousands of dollars) and up to tens of millions of yen. Each roll of ReraPan film is 46 millimeters wide and priced at under 2,000 yen. Known as 'vest pocket film' or '127,' the film was originally introduced by Eastman Kodak Co. in 1912. Although Kodak stopped producing 127 in 1995, the film has diehard fans in the United States, Europe and elsewhere. Aficionados rave about the image quality and being able to pop a roll in their pocket. Using a self-built contraption, Mohri can produce dozens of rolls a day but not a huge number. While the endeavor requires considerable time and effort for a modest return, Mohri says it is an important business. 4 YEARS IN THE MAKING Mohri's passion for photography stems from when he used to take pictures of his family. He became fascinated with vest pocket cameras in 2009 after he spotted a Primo-JR model in a used camera shop. He bought the camera even though film for it was already out of production in Japan. Imported film appeared impossible to find. But after he went online, Mohri found a manufacturer in Croatia that was still producing the film. He contacted the company and bought 100 rolls. Thinking he would only need 10 or 20 rolls, he offered the rest at an online auction. They sold out immediately. Messages of gratitude poured in, and he was flooded with requests to lay in a stock of more rolls. Mohri swiftly bought 500 more rolls. His worries whether he could sell them proved groundless as the stock ran out in no time. Mohri decided to make what had started as a hobby into a business to meet the expectations of photo film enthusiasts, and opened an online shop, Kawauso Shoten, in 2010. Then the Croatian manufacturer shut down its operation in 2012, citing mechanical issues. When a German maker followed suit, there were no companies left to produce 127 film. Alarmed that vest pocket cameras would be rendered useless without film, Mohri spent nearly a year pondering what he could do before deciding to take matters into his own hands. Mohri negotiated with an overseas film maker to cut the film stock to the width of 46 mm to fit the 127 format and deliver the material to his company. However, he ran into difficulties searching for a factory to make the spool on which the film is wound. It took two years to find one that could accommodate his request. 80% OF SALES OVERSEAS Mohri started selling black-and-white ReraPan film through his online shop in 2014 before adding color, slide and other types to the lineup. Because vest pocket cameras are still popular in the United States and Europe, overseas sales of ReraPan account for more than 80 percent of total sales. Johnny Yokoyama, an American living in Kanagawa Prefecture, is a classic camera collector. After he obtained a camera made in Britain in 1937, he was impressed to learn that he could buy 127 films from Kawauso Shoten. Yokoyama said that without Mohri, he wouldn't be able to take photos with such an old camera. He still doesn't understand why ReraPan is lesser known in Japan when the brand is so popular in the United States and Europe. 'It is almost like my mission to continue selling (ReraPan),' Mohri said. 'I want to keep offering the film at a reasonable price.'
Asahi Shimbun
14-07-2025
- General
- Asahi Shimbun
1st offshore memorial service held for 2022 tour boat victims
Bereaved families pray for their loved ones at the sinking point of the Kazu I off Shari, Hokkaido, on July 13. (Takeo Kato) SHARI, Hokkaido—More than three years after a small sightseeing boat sank off the coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula here, grieving family members of the passengers mourned at the site on July 13. As a monk chanted Buddhist sutras at around 10:30 a.m., the families of the victims threw flowers into the sea off the coast of the Kashuni waterfalls. 'We're coming home together,' a bereaved family member said, weeping. After the boat's horn sounded, everyone observed a moment of silence. Even as the boat began to move away, the voices of family members calling out their loved ones' names echoed over the water. The families also landed near Cape Shiretoko, where the remains and belongings of those who died in the sinking of the Kazu I on April 23, 2022, had been found. The bodies of 20 passengers and crew members have been recovered and six remain missing. This was the first memorial service held at the actual site of the sinking. Forty bereaved family members of 14 passengers took part. The 66-year-old father of Michio Koyanagi, who was 34 and remains missing, came from Fukuoka Prefecture. 'I'm so glad I could call out Michio's name loudly without worrying about what others think," he said. "I'm just overwhelmed with tears. ...' Until now, annual memorial ceremonies have been held near the Utoro fishing port, where the cruise boat departed more than three years ago. However, the location is far from the actual site of the sinking. To feel closer to the loved ones they had lost, some bereaved family members quietly joined regular tourist cruises to approach the sinking point, shedding tears in silence while surrounded by other sightseers enjoying the nature of Shiretoko. The memorial trip on July 13 was organized by a volunteer search team who wanted the grieving families to have a chance to mourn without restraint. Donations from across Japan exceeded 14 million yen ($95,000) for the offshore memorial service. A 53-year-old man from Obihiro, Hokkaido, whose 7-year-old son and 42-year-old former wife are still missing, visited the sinking site for the first time. He had been hesitant to visit before, instead clinging to hope for their return. 'Although I came with mixed emotions, it was good to come here. I'm so grateful for everyone across the country who donated,' he said as tears streamed down his face. The boat carrying the bereaved families departed Utoro fishing port—the same port from which the Kazu I set sail—at around 5:30 a.m. on July 13. The boat was scheduled to travel nearly 40 kilometers along the same route. About an hour and a half after setting out, they arrived at the small shelter harbor of Bunkichi Bay. From there, the mourners walked about 700 meters to Keikichi Bay, where many of the victims' remains and belongings had washed ashore. The rugged terrain made it impossible for a vessel to land directly. With help from the volunteer search team, the bereaved families climbed the steep slopes using ropes. A 68-year-old father who lost his 34-year-old son made the trek over the difficult path with three other family members. The volunteer team had discovered his son's digital camera near this location last summer. The father had desperately wanted to visit that specific spot. 'He loved eating more than anything. But he also worried about his weight, so he often drank nonalcoholic beer,' he recalled. The family placed an offering of his favorite foods and snacks at the place where the camera was found. The family had also poured beer into the sea off the coast of the Kashuni waterfalls during the trip. 'I couldn't stop crying,' the father said. (This article was written by Chifumi Shinya and Masafumi Kamimura.)
Asahi Shimbun
28-04-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
Sapporo's Red Brick Office to rent out space for weddings, events
Renovation work is under way inside the Former Hokkaido Government Office Building, known as the Red Brick Office, in Sapporo on April 16. (Takeo Kato) SAPPORO—For the first time in its 137-year history, the Former Hokkaido Office Building, also called the Red Brick Office, will be available to rent by the public for weddings and other occasions. The building, a symbol of Sapporo and a popular tourist destination, has been closed for renovations since October 2019. The reopening is scheduled for July 25. Reconstruction of the building was completed in March, and interior exhibition facilities are now being upgraded. The number of exhibition rooms has been increased, and a new section will be added to showcase famous places from various parts of Hokkaido and indigenous Ainu culture. A restaurant will also be built inside the building. Four rooms will be available for rent: two halls on the second floor and two rooms on the first basement floor. They were previously used as a meeting room and for storage by the Hokkaido government. The Akarenga Garden at the front of the building will also be available for rent. The facilities can be used for weddings, exhibitions, concerts and other events. 'We are opening the building to the public with a new look,' Ko Arakida, the building's manager, said. 'We want to make the people of Hokkaido feel attached to it and proud of it.' This spring, the Hokkaido government adopted an ordinance to open the building to the public to promote residents' activities and tourism. The building has been used only for government offices, and its rental has been limited to events requiring special permission. Constructed in 1888, the Former Hokkaido Government Office Building is a Western-style architecture from the Meiji Era (1868-1912) and has been designated as a National Important Cultural Property. The interior was destroyed by fire, but restoration work was completed in 1911. The current renovation work is the first since 1968, almost half a century ago. While aging floors and walls have been replaced, wooden fixtures and fittings used since the restoration in 1911 remain intact. The four rooms available for rent each cover 224 square meters. Rental fees, including taxes, are 25,800 yen ($181) for half-day use (three hours) in the morning and afternoon, 34,400 yen for evening use (5 p.m.-9 p.m.), and 103,300 yen for one day (9 a.m.-9 p.m.) The rental costs for the front garden are 53,100 yen for half-day use, 70,800 yen for evening use, and 212,400 yen for a full day. Hokkaido residents and companies and organizations based in Japan's northernmost main island can receive a 30-percent discount for the two basement rooms and the front garden on weekdays. For rental reservations and inquiries:
