The romantic port town of Otaru

Otaru is a great city for a day trip from Sapporo. Otaru is a small, romantic harbor city just half an hour by train from Sapporo. It is famous for its beautiful canal and delicious seafood!

You can stroll along the canal or take a boat trip. The view of the canal is especially beautiful at night.

Otaru is also known for its beer and you can visit the small German style beer museum, where you can get a short tour with tasting. In summer, there is also beer ice cream on offer. In winter, it's hot beer you can buy, alongside German sweets and various kinds of beer glasses.

If you are not a fan of beer flavored ice cream, don't worry! Otaru has a lot more sweets to offer. In Sakaimachi, the old town, you can find sweets shops and a small green shop with matcha en masse. The matcha ice cream is highly recommended!

Just past the matcha shop you will come across the Otaru Music Box Museum. If you are lucky, you can listen to some of those old music boxes in a short performance (only 4 times a day).

Just behind Sakaimachihondori, there is a small hill with a temple. It's not so well known, so it is a tranquil place, where you can relax and look out onto the harbor.

The Botanical Garden also offers a nice view over Otaru and the sea.

Otaru was the terminal station of Hokkaido's first railroad. The old rail track are not in use anymore, but you can have a nice stroll on the old tracks.

In winter, Otrau holds its annual Otaru Lightning Path Fesitival.

If you have a lot of time, you could make a little detour  to Yoichi for Nikka Whisky Distillery to learn about the history of Nikka whisky and get a free sample - or two, or three....

If you go to Otaru by car I recommend to stop at the View Cafe. It is especially beautiful at sunset.

If by train or by car, Otaru is easy to reach from Sapporo and you should definitely visit this lovely place while you are in Hokkaido! 

To the official website of Khaosan Sapporo

Written by Irene

Parks in Sapporo

In summer, everybody wants to enjoy some time in the sun and Sapporo has a lot of parks to do so!

The most famous park is just in the middle of the city. Odori Koen, literally ‘big street”, stretches over 13 blocks. At its beginning, you can see the main landmark of Sapporo, the TV tower. You can take the elevator to the upper floor (about 700yen), from which you will have an amazing view.

There are also several festivals hold in this park throughout the year. In winter, you can see huge sculptures carved out of snow. 

Spring is the time for cherry blossom and a variety of other flowers. 

In summer, there are all sorts of festivals with Japanese and international food stalls and autumn is famous for its beer festival. 

So year round, Odori is a nice place to hang out.

Maruyama Koen is probably the biggest park in the area and it is famous for Hanami in spring. In April, the park is full of picnickers and it smells of Ghingiskhan. It is Sapporo’s most popular spot for cherry blossom viewing. 

The biggest shrine in Hokkaido (with the very fitting name “Hokkaido Shrine”) is also located in this park and it’s the venue for many festivals, e.g. the annual Hokkaido Shrine Festival.

Just behind the park is Sapporo’s Zoo and a small hill to climb for a view of the city.

For more information about the climb click on the picture

One tiny park in the middle of the city doesn’t get much attention although it is a really beautiful spot – especially in autumn and during cherry blossom season. It is the garden of the Former Governmental Building “Aka Renga” (=Red Brick House”). The building itself looks really nice and houses a small exhibition on Hokkaido history. Though it’s the garden that is most beautiful. It has two little ponds, surrounded by many trees, which are especially pretty in autumn foliage.

The best park to see autumn foliage might be Makomanai Park. It's 50000 trees shine in a bright red and orange in fall. There is also a Salmon Muesum in the park, a little hill to climb, a stadium and an Ice skating arena.

Another nice park in walking distance from the hostel is Nakajima Koen. Th­­­­­ere is a big pond in the middle of the park. You can rent a boat and enjoy the reflections of the trees in the water. There is also a small Japanese Garden and an old tea house, which is an “important cultural property”. In summer, you can visit some flea markets from time to time and some festivals are held here, too, e.g. the Hokkaido Shrine Festival in June.

But the coolest thing is probably the Sapporo Astronomical Observatory, where you can see Saturn, Jupiter or the moon (depending on the season).

But the most unique and fun park is Moerenuma park, a large artistic greens space. It was constructed on a former landfill and designed by the famous sculptor Isamu Noguchi. His idea was to design the whole park as an artwork and it definitely worked out! The park is filled with playgrounds, pyramids, a huge water fountain, a small beach and even a baseball field!

 It is actually so large, that it is best explored by bicycle. There is a bicycle rental at the park entrance. But you can also cycle from Sapporo to the park (you could for example use our bicycle rental service at the hostel and start from there!):

Another park filled with art is the Sapporo Art Park a little South of Sapporo city. 74　sculptures are spread over an area of 7.5 hectares, mainly inside a lush green forest. 

This park is also fun in winter, as it offers snow shoe walks.Some sculptures are almost buried int he snow and you can experience art from a different eye level than usual. We wrote about this experience back in February. You can read the blog entry here.

But Sapporo Art Park is more than that. It also has an indoor museum, a glass studio, music hall, ceramic studio and cafe. Definitely a place to spend the whole day!

You see, Sapporo has a lo of green to offer ans there is something for everybody!

For more information as us at the reception ;) 

Written by Irene

To the official website of Khaosan Sapporo