Japanese City Celebrates 30 Years Of Dog Sledding Cup

Wakkanai, Japan's northernmost city, has celebrated the 30th anniversary of their dog sledding cup at the end of last month.

London, United Kingdom (prHWY.com) March 19, 2013 - Wakkanai, Japan's northernmost city, has celebrated the 30th anniversary of their dog sledding cup at the end of last month.

Despite the milestone, however, the Japan Cup National Dogsled Championship continues to suffer from low attendances, leading organizers to blame the economy, as well as recall the glory days where 3000 spectators watched over 100 dog sledding teams compete in a 3-day event.

Nowadays, the numbers are about 1/10th as high, with a little over 100 spectators on the first day and about 300 on the second - for the first time, and despite the anniversary, the festival did not stretch to include a third day.

In spite of the low attendances, however, the Cup still held plenty of drama for those who bothered to turn up. The main story was that of veteran musher Hiroshi Hayashi, who failed to seize his third championship in a row, letting victory elude him in favour of 14-year-old prodigy, and Team Kiba team-mate, Takuba Shioya.

Questioned at the end of the race, Hayashi painted the future of dog sledding in Japan in a different light from the cup organizers, stating that the recent implementation of a second annual event in Japan bodes well for the future of the sport in the Asian country.

To learn more about dog sledding, contact Windows On The Wild at http://www.windowsonthewild.com/ or 020 8742 1556.

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Tag Words: dog sledding

Categories: Travel

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