5 Parks to Visit in Sapporo All Year Round

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Now that the snow is melting and the buds of spring are starting to sprout, what better way to enjoy the warmer weather in Sapporo than by traveling to a park? There are a variety of parks to choose from in Sapporo, depending on your interests and the location. In this blog, we have selected 5 different parks in Sapporo that we recommend for you to visit.

1. Maruyama Park

This may seem like an obvious choice, but Maruyama Park is known to be a famous and very popular park to visit in all year round. With its wide grounds filled with lots of trees and plants, its forest that is officially designated as a special natural treasure, this park is a wonderful place to visit anytime all year round, even in the winter! This park is well known for its cherry blossom or hanami spots as well as the historical Hokkaido Shrine. This shrine is the most well-known in Sapporo city, and is a wonderful place to get to learn about Shintoism in Japan as well as get to enjoy the beautiful nature surrounding the shrine area. In June, the Hokkaido Shrine Festival takes place, where on the last day of the festival, a parade starts in Maruyama, reaching the central part of Sapporo in the afternoon. Maruyama Park Address: Miyagaoka, Chuo-ku, Sapporo City Access: From the Subway Tozai Line Odori Station, take the train towards Miyanosawa station and alight at Maruyama Park. Taking Exit 2, you would have to walk for about 5 minutes.

2. Nakajima Park

With over 5000 trees planted throughout the park, Nakajima Park is another popular place for both locals and tourists to visit. Inside the park lie many fascinating places such as the historical Hohei-kan, which is now a national designated cultural property, as well as the Sapporo Literature Museum as well as the Kitara Concert Hall. You can also visit the Japanese Garden within the park, which was opened in 1963. In this garden lies the tea house “Hasso-an”, which is now a national designated cultural property. In the late spring-summer period, you can even take a row boat on the lake located in the center of the park, perfect for enjoying a beautiful sunny day outside in Sapporo, surrounded by nature. In the winter period, you can enjoy the annual Yuki Akari event, lasting for 3 days during the Sapporo Snow Festival, which is an event with dozens of candles within the snow in the park. This park is filled of plenty of activities to do, and places to explore. Nakajima Park Address: 1 Nakajimakoen, Chuo Ward, Sapporo Access: Nakajimakoen Station (Exit 1 and 3) on the Namboku Subway Line

3. Moerunuma Park

With its grand opening in 2005, this park was originally built by sculpture Isamu Noguchi, with an artistic vision for the park. This park is full of various sculptures and land formations all with intricate and modern designs. Even if you are not a massive modern art or sculpture lover, anyone can enjoy the calm atmosphere of this park. Enjoy the quiet scenery from atop the large man-made hills of the park, walk through the glass pyramid, or wade your feet in the small wading pools in the summer time to cool down. You can truly enjoy this quiet and peaceful park in all four seasons, from its firefly gazing events in the summertime to sledding down the hills and slopes in the snowy wintertime. Moerunuma Park Address: Moerenuma-koen 1-1, Higashi-ku, Sapporo Access: Check their website for more information on the bus schedules and how to access the park in more detail. More Information: http://moerenumapark.jp/english/

4. Sapporo Art Park

If you are in the Sapporo area and are looking for a variety of fun activities to do for a day trip, then this art park is the perfect destination for you. Even if you are not an enthusiastic modern art lover, this park has something special and unique for everyone to enjoy. Completed in about 1999, this art park consists of multiple facilities as well as special art exhibits throughout the year. The Park’s main goals are to merge the beauty of Hokkaido’s nature with the beauty of art. In every season, there is something new to do and somewhere new to explore when you visit the Art Park. Even if you decide to come here simply for a walk, it is well worth the trip because of its peaceful atmosphere and fresh, cool air. If you want to know more about this beautiful park and what kind of facilities they have here as well as the activities you can participate in, find out more on our past blog here about the Makomanai Sapporo Art park. Sapporo Art Park Address: Hokkaido, Sapporo, Minami Ward, Geijutsunomori, 2-75 Access: Accessible by bus from the Makomanai subway station on the Namboku Line More Information: https://artpark.or.jp/en/

5. Hiraoka Park

This park is known for its beautiful plum grove, which is the symbol of the park. This park contains two main parts: the western area and then the eastern area. The western area is covered with a plum grove, or a large number of white and red plum trees. The trees in the park start to bloom around early May. There are various kiosks that are around the area where the trees are. According to their official website there are about 1,200 plum trees and this area cover 6.5 hectares. In addition to the plum grove, the western area of the park contains an artificial wetland and pond as well as a park golf course. The eastern area of the park contains the management office, a playground area, and sports facilities. Hiraoka Park Address: Sapporo Shi, Kiyota Ku, Hiraoka Park 1-1 Access: To reach the western side with the plum grove, take the Shin 111 Chuo Bus/JR Bus from the Tozai Subway Line Shin Sapporo Bus Terminal and exit off of the [Hiraoka 6 Jou 4 Chome] bus stop and walk for about 5 minutes. To reach the eastern side with the management office and sports facilities, take the same bus as mentioned above and exit off of the Hiraoka Park Higashi 2 Chome bus top. Access Information and Bus information (in Japanese): http://hiraoka-park.jp/access/ More Information: http://hiraoka-park.jp/lang/en/

We at Trippino’ hope that you and whomever you are traveling with will get a chance to visit these 5 parks on your next trip to Sapporo, and hope that you have safe and wonderful time at any of these parks if you decide to visit.