Photo/Illutration YS Arena Hachinohe skating rink, which is serving as a designated cooling center, is currently hosting Japanese and international speed skaters in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture. (Teruto Unuma)

HACHINOHE, Aomori Prefecture—Residents can now use an ice skating rink here to cool off and chill out, free of charge, to escape the summer’s blistering heat.

With rising heatstroke cases due to global warming, the government is urging municipalities to open air-conditioned public spaces for people seeking relief from the heat.

The city’s YS Arena Hachinohe or, Nagane Indoor Skating Rink, is one of 72 facilities the Hachinohe government designated as a cooling center in July.

The rink is currently hosting more than 300 speed skaters from Japan and abroad for their summer training.

The average temperature inside the arena, including the spectator seats, is kept at a chilly 13 degrees to preserve the rink’s ice.

The arena offers a bracing respite, almost too cold, where the public can watch skaters heat up the ice.

The lounge area outside the spectator seats is considerably warmer at around 25 to 26 degrees.

“A bit of movement between the spectator seats and the lounge helps even out physical conditions,” a staff member at the arena said.

Last summer, the rate of emergency transports due to heatstroke was 0.47 per 100,000 people a day. This is up from 0.37 in the summer of 2022, according to the Environment Ministry.

In the Tohoku region, this rate doubled from 0.32 to 0.68, highlighting the urgency of heatstroke prevention measures even in colder northern areas.

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