hokkaido

FEATURE: Warming winters, rising costs threaten school skating in northern Japan

A Kyodo News feature reports that the longstanding tradition of teaching schoolchildren to skate in Obihiro, a city in northern Japan, is under threat as warmer winters and rising costs force schools to reconsider lessons long embedded in local life. The story examines how climate change and budget pressures are eroding a cherished winter practice in Hokkaido.