Sapporo is Japan’s fourth largest city after Tokyo, Osaka
and Nagoya. It is the northernmost of these cities and you’re gonna have to
travel a ways to get here, but it’s a fantastic city. I’ve been all over Japan,
and there’s nothing quite like it. The people are very friendly and interested
in you, the food is amazing, and the area around it is beautiful. It’s famous
for skiing, having hosted a winter Olympics way back when, and has a relatively
mild summer for Japan. You can get a roundtrip ticket from Tokyo for under $100
in the off-season and it will only take you two hours to fly here. Not to
mention the ferry you can take or the train (though those will eat up a day of
your time).
Sapporo has a lot to offer, mostly in terms of unique
outdoor experiences. And here I would like to highlight two of them. This year I
have visited two of Sapporo’s more famous parks, the architecture park of
Moerenuma and the Sapporo Art Park.
Both are a bit out of the way, requiring you to travel to
the end of the line on different subway lines and take a bus for the better
part of thirty minutes, but they are both places you won’t find anywhere else in
the world, and are worth a visit.
Moerenuma is north of the city, you’ll need to take the Toho
line to Shindo Higashi station and then the Chuo Bus numbered Higashi 76. There’s
other ways to get there but this is the route I took. Total travel time from
Sapporo Station will be about 50 minutes.
You’ll get off the bus and think “where’s the park, there’s
only farm?” but if you head across the street you’ll find the entrance, when
you walk over a bridge you’ll be greeted with lush green and interesting
looking manmade mountains.
The park opened in 1998 after nearly twenty years of
construction. The park was designed by Isamu Noguchi, who was a
Japanese-American sculptor. The park is perfect for a picnic with many trees to
sit under and enjoy the huge sculptures that surround you.
You’ll find a glass pyramid on the eastern side of the park that houses a small museum to Noguchi as well as a great view of the surrounding neighborhood.
Secondly is Sapporo’s Art Park. A twenty minute bus ride
from platform two at Makomanai station on the Namboku Line will get you to this
art gallery art park hybrid. The day I went was to see the Star Wars: Visions
exhibit with some friends. The art gallery hosts random exhibits throughout the
year and entry fees vary. The constant attraction is the sculpture garden,
which was only an extra 100 yen added onto the fee of the Star Wars exhibit. Just
entry to the sculpture garden will cost under 1,000 yen.
There was also a small gathering of local artists selling
their goods outside the art gallery, where you can find some unique Japanese
souvenirs and support local art. The park has a number of other attractions,
but I didn’t have a chance to see them as it closed around 5:30.
The sculpture park will take you at least twenty minutes to
get around, and you can easily spend an hour wandering around the dozens of
pieces.
While much of the year Sapporo is covered in snow and very,
very cold. The few months we get of warm weather are generally jam packed
trying to enjoy all the city has to offer before the cold sets in again. The
people of Sapporo really appreciate the summer, and you can see that value in
the events that happen this time of year that try to get the most out of their
few months free of snow.
July and August are my favorite Sapporo months, and I am
glad they will be my last. Go out on the best note possible.
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