Culture / Tour Spots in Hokkaido Area

  • Kita no Daichi Museum
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Kasai-gun Nakasatsunaimura Sakae Higashi 5-sen
    "This museum is inside Nakasatsunai Art Village, an art forest that boasts of around 145,000 square meters of space. The atmospheric wooden building displays items submitted for the "" The 20 years Self-portrait competition. The 20 years Self-portrait competition is focused on self-portraits of young artists at the age of 20. It is open to professionals and amateurs from all over Japan, and these displays allow visitors to appreciate these intimate portraits of Japanese artists. There are also exhibits of pieces by the late Nakasatsunai native print artist Yoshinori Sato."
  • Aihara Kyuichiro Art Museum
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Kasai-gun Nakasatsunaimura Sakae Higashi 5-sen
    "This museum sits in a corner of the Nakasatsunai Art Village, surrounded in spreading Japanese oak forest. The 145,000 square meters of space in the village hosts museums and restaurants, and this particular museum exhibits work by Kawagoe city, Saitama prefecture native painter Kyuichiro Aihara. These exhibits allow a view of the world as seen from the painter's perspective. Famous for the poetry flowing through the Hokkaido landscapes, his representative works ""Ten Famous Mountains of the North"" are always on display."
  • Fukuhara Memorial Museum
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Kato-gun Shikaoi Cho Izumimachi 1-21
    This museum is located about an hour's drive from Obihiro Airport. It was founded in 2007 by Jihei Fukuhara, founder of Tokachi and Kushiro area supermarket group Fukuhara, Inc., because he wanted a way to exhibit the collection he'd accumulated over long years. The building has five display halls of varying size, and the exhibition of 150 pieces of fine art includes western style paintings by artist Itsuki Saito and traditional Japanese works by Noriko Fujii. The 13,200 square meter grounds are covered in beautifully manicured lawn, and offer an enthralling view of the changing seasonal scenery. The Japanese yew trees dotting the grounds including some registered ancient examples that are said to be 1,000 years old.
  • Tsuchi no Yakata Museum of Soils and Tractors of the World
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Sorachi-gun Kamifurano Machinishi 2-sen Kita 25
    This cultural facility was established as a place to contemplate the natural environment and soil, the wonder of agriculture, and the importance of the relationship between people and the soil. They have displays of farm equipment used by the settlers who developed Hokkaido, soil monoliths collected from all over the world, and tractors from the early 20th century dawning age. The massive four-meter high soil monolith is the only one of its kind in the world. It offers a vision of the massive volcanic mudslide caused by the 1926 Tokachi eruption. This facility was designated a piece of Hokkaido Heritage in 2004, and in 2014 the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers named it a Mechanical Engineering Heritage site.
  • Shinsei-kan Museum
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Kamikawa-gun Bieicho Shinsei no Oka
    "An art museum operating out of a traditional Japanese home building located in Biei, the ""town of hills."" The 200 year old home was moved here from Niigata and contains over 200 paintings and ceramics works. The works of painter Suda Kokuta, who long did the pictures for Ryotaro Shiba's travelogue series, ""Kaido o Yuku,"" became part of the collection after being introduced to the director, an old friend of Shiba. The pieces by Living National Treasure Tatsuzo Shimaoka were collected over a 30-year period by the director, who was charmed by the artist's work. A lobby on the third floor offers an exquisite, sweeping view of the hills of Biei and the Tokachi Mountain Range. A not insignificant number of people say they would like to take in this view all day."
  • Eco Museum Osashima Center BIKKY Atelier 3 More
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Nakagawa-gun Otoineppumura Monomanai 55
    This memorial museum is located just outside Osashima Station, and displays around 200 works of Hokkaido-born sculptor, Bikki Sunazawa. The building was originally an elementary school for Otoineppu Village, a village with the smallest population in Hokkaido, before becoming an atelier, and then becoming the exhibition facility for Bikki Sunazawa's works that it is today. The museum is divided by theme into seven areas, such as the 3:00 AM Room, which displays a reproduction of the atelier as it would have once appeared. Other items such as handwritten letters and rough sketches are exhibited here, as well. There are also original goods for sale.
  • Tokachi-gawa Downriver Disaster Prevention Facility (Tokachi-gawa Museum)
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Nakagawa-gun Ikedacho Odori Minami 1
    This facility is located approximately a 10-minute walk from Ikeda Station, or a 20-minute drive from Aoyama Interchange. The museum is open only on weekdays, and contains exhibits about rivers and dams. There are currently no guides for the museum, however visitors can freely examine the exhibits. Reservations are required at least one week in advance for group visits. A major feature of the Tokachi River Experience Panorama on the first floor, is that visitors can press a button to view a simulation of the effects of the weir collapsing due to heavy rain. Another attractive aspect of the museum is the 3D theater on the second floor, as well as many exhibits that are easy to understand just by looking at them. There is also a fish tank which contains the different types of fish that live in Tokachi River.
  • Tomakomai City Art Museum
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Tomakomai-shi Suehirocho 3-9-7
    This museum is located to the east of Idemitsu Culture Park, and contains many items that have deep relations to Hokkaido and Tomakomai. The entrance hall features a full-size parent & child mammoth image, and the exhibits of the museum range from items excavated from the nationally designated Shizukawa archaeological site to ammonites and plants and animals that exist in nature nearby. The museum displays works by artists who have connections to the city, and there are also exhibitions, projects and shows with various themes held at the museum. There are also workshops and classes organized here that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.
  • Flower Garden, Hana-Tento
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Abashiri-shi Yobito 15-2
    "Enjoy the sight of a variety of flowers on one side of the Lake View Ski Resort between mid-June to mid-October at this scenic spot in Abashiri City, Hokkaido. The garden was planted and is maintained by volunteers of the citizen. There are approximately 40,000 plants such as salvia, marigold, cockscomb and white hydrangea covering the 3.5-ha hillside. You can look out over the flowers and the Shiretoko Mountain Range and Sea of Okhotsk from the lodge at the summit. It is one of Abashiri's leading scenic spots and the ""Hana Photo"" flower garden photo contest is held every year."
  • Eisho Sasaki Memorial Kushiro Shitsugen Art Museum
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Kushiroshi Akanchoukamiakan 23-38
    Kushiro Shitsugen Art Museum preserves and displays paintings by Eisho Sasaki, the “Painter of the Wetlands,” as well as materials relating to Mr. Sasaki and items that formerly belonged to him. The Museum is located near Akan International Crane Center, so visitors can also view Japanese Red-crowned Cranes while they are here. Eisho Sasaki was famous for his impressionistic paintings of Eastern Hokkaido scenes. To get to Kushiro Shitsugen Art Museum from Tancho Kushiro Airport, take the Akan Bus service and get off at the “Tancho no Sato” bus stop; the journey takes around 16 minutes.
  • Kita no Daichi no Suizokukan
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Kitami-shi Rubeshibecho Matsuyama 1-4
    The Kita no Daichi no Aquarium, which is the first in Japan to have a waterfall basin tank, lets you experience riverside living creatures from the great northern land. Phantom freshwater fish Japanese huchen are raised and kept here, growing up to just about one meter in length. Please enjoy a look at the freshwater fish from around the world raised on Onne's water. From JR Rubeshibe Station, it takes about 20 minutes by bus headed for Roadside Station Onneyu Onsen. Get off at the final stop and walk two minutes. It is about 2 hours 20 minutes by car from the Asahikawa Airport.
  • Sakura-mi Honen (Cherry blossom viewing garden)
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Matsumaegunmatsumaechou Matsushiro In Matsumae Park
    Selected by the Japan Cherry Blossom Association as one of the 100 best places in Japan to view cherry blossom, the Sakura-mi Honen is a garden located in Matsumae Park. This botanical garden has a large number of different cherry tree species; besides helping to preserve the individual species, it also functions as a “living cherry tree field guide” by displaying the trees for visitors to view. There are currently approximately 300 individual trees from around 100 different species.
  • Asahikawa City Science Museum “Saipal”
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Asahikawa-shi, Hokkaido 1 - 3 - 32 Miyamae
    The Asahikawa City Science Museum (“Saipal”) provides an enjoyable way to learn about science, focusing on themes that include Northern ecosystems, the Earth, and the Universe. Besides a range of experiment rooms and experience rooms, there is also a planetarium and an observatory. The Museum has a variety of experiential learning programs for children in different age groups and with different learning objectives. The Museum is located approximately 15 minutes’ walk from JR Asahikawa Yojo Station; to reach the Museum from Asahikawa Airport, visitors should take Airport Bus No. 77 and get off at the Miyamaedori-Higashi bus stop (the journey takes around 25 minutes).
  • Otaru Municipal Literature Museum / Otaru Municipal Art Museum
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Otarushi Ironai 1-9-5
    A great number of excellent writers gathered in Otaru which has been an established port town for a long time. This facility was opened in November 1978 in order to preserve valuable cultural assets such as literary magazines, manuscripts and letters by authors Takiji Kobayashi, and Sei Ito and so on. The collection materials can be seen in the viewing room. It is approximately ten minutes on foot from JR Otaru Station.
  • Miyama Touge Art Park
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Sorachigunkamifuranochou Nishi8senkita 33 Fukayama Pass
    A trick art-oriented amusement facility located in Kamifurano Town. In the museum, you can see trick art that changes in appearance depending on your perspective or looks as if it's about to leap out at you despite being 2D. There's also a huge Ferris wheel from which you can enjoy a sweeping view of Kamifurano from 50 meters above the ground, and classes where you can etch a glass or make your own snow dome. On the terrace, you can barbecue Kamifurano pork and enjoy the natural scenery of the area.
  • Moyoro Shell Mound Museum (Abashiri City Historical Museum Annex)
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Abashirishi Kitaichijouhigashi 2
    Take the Memanbetsu Airport Bus from Memanbetsu Airport and get off at the Moyoro Iriguchi stop. Abashiri City Historical Museum Annex is five minutes on foot. There you can learn about Okhotsk culture and see ruins and the Moyoro Shell Mounds located at the mouth of the Abashiri River that pours into the Sea of ??Okhotsk. Permanent exhibitions include images and dioramas focusing on the lives of the Moyoro people. A walking path that runs through the site is open to the public. In the adjacent exhibition room, you can learn about an excavated burial site nearby. There are also events like seasonal exhibitions and hands-on pottery making workshops.
  • Rebun Town Alpine Plant Botanical Garden
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Rebungunrebunchou Funadomarimura Overnight
    This botanical garden is in Rebun Town in Hokkaido's Rebun County. It offers a view of the many alpine plants that flower on Rebun Island from early May to September. There are over 50 varieties of alpine plants in the garden, with 20,000 individual plants. In August, they display Rebun lady's slipper orchids, made to blossom out of season artificially. This is one of the key tourist spots on Rebun Island, also known as Flower Island.
  • Kan Yasuda Sculpture Museum Arte Piazza
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Bibai-shi Ochiaicho Sakaemachi
  • Hirocho Ocean Museum
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Hirocho Nozuka 989
  • Ebetsu Glass Crafts
    Leisure / Hobbies
    Hokkaido Ebetsu-shi Nopporoyoyogicho 53

Hokkaido Areas

around-area-map

Not just a prefecture but an island of its own, Hokkaido is the most northerly prefecture and island of the Japanese archipelago. Arriving in Hokkaido, which is rural and bursting with breathtaking nature, means entering a world where vast national parks, towering mountains, and natural hot springs can be found at every turn. Come December, these natural splendors freeze over and morph into a winter wonderland.

Hokkaido Photo Album

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