Publicity for Hokkaido's Dying Coal Towns

This well written article in the New York Times gives a good overview of the problems facing former coal towns in the Hokkaido mountains. I lived for two years in Utashinai, which is practically a ghost town now that the mines have closed. The article is a good counterweight to Japan's image as a shiny modern wonderland, and the pictures of snow and desolation sure make me feel lucky to have escaped the Hokkaido winter!