Sapporo
This haven in the heart of the city is fully 13 blocks (1.5km) long, with the TV Tower at its eastern end. Among the green lawns and flower gardens are…
Must-see attractions in Hokkaidō
Hokkaidō
Considered by many to be Japan's most beautiful lake, Mashū-ko once held the world record for water clarity. The island in the middle was known by the…
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Hokkaidō
Mention you've been to Hakodate and every Japanese person you know will ask if you took in the night view from atop Hakodate-yama (334m) – it's that…
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Sapporo
This legendary Sapporo attraction is in the original Sapporo Beer brewery, a pretty, ivy-covered brick building. There's no need to sign up for the tour;…
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Hokkaidō
This collection of shops and households is actually the largest Ainu village in Hokkaidō. Residents make a living promoting their culture: dancing on the…
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Hokkaidō
With crabs grilling over hot coals, freshly caught squid packed tightly in ice-stuffed styrofoam and the sing-song call of vendors, Hakodate Morning…
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Hokkaidō
Japan's largest caldera lake is a rich blue on sunny days. A small volcano peeks out from the centre, creating the island Naka-jima – best viewed from the…
Hokkaidō
Until snow falls in October, Tomita's fields are covered in a rainbow array of flowers. With the mountains of Daisetsuzan National Park as a backdrop,…
Hokkaidō
These early-20th-century red-brick warehouses on the waterfront are the legacy of Hakodate's status as a historic, international trade port. They've been…
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Sapporo
This ski-jump slope was built on the side of Ōkura-yama for the Sapporo 1972 Winter Games. At 133.6m it's just slightly shorter than Sapporo TV Tower,…
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Hokkaidō
In the 18th and 19th centuries, a roaring herring trade turned Esashi (江差; pop 8110) on the west coast of Hokkaido's southern peninsula, 70km west of…
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Sapporo
This is one of the current brewing and bottling facilities for Sapporo beer. Guided tours are led (in Japanese only) by very enthusiastic brand…
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Hokkaidō
Part of Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park, these marshlands are 40km southwest of Wakkanai. Fields of wild flowers bloom here in summer, which can be…
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Hokkaidō
Here is a rare chance to bear witness to modern mountain-making: Shōwa Shin-zan (昭和新山; 398m) – whose name means 'the new mountain of the Shōwa period' –…
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Hokkaidō
This 15-hectare forested enclosure in northern Tokachi is home to 12 male higuma (who range in size from 300kg to 400kg!). The clever viewing facilities…
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Sapporo
This expansive collection of historical buildings (and some recreations), in Nopporo Shinrin-kōen east of central Sapporo, shows the diversity of…
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Kawamura Kaneto Ainu Memorial Hall
Hokkaidō
Built in 1916 and thus just a few years past its 100th anniversary, this museum is less a collection of artefacts (though it has those too) and more the…
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Hokkaidō
Japan's first Western-style fort was built in 1864 in the shape of a five-pointed star (goryō-kaku means 'five-sided fort') designed to trap attackers in…
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Hokkaidō
Otokoyama, one of Japan's oldest and most esteemed breweries, was founded in Hyōgo prefecture centuries ago but since 1899 its sake has been made here in…
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Hokkaidō
The eruptions at Uzu-san were among the first to be recorded by modern means (and work here significantly advanced science in early detection). Here you…
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Hokkaidō
Unlike other museums, where artefacts are kept behind glass, exhibitions here consist of replicas, handmade by members of Sapporo's Ainu community using…
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Sapporo
Completed in 2005, this former waste-treatment plant to the northeast of the central city is now an impressive reclaimed green belt. It was originally…
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Hokkaidō
This fish market is as much a sightseeing spot as a place to eat. The speciality here is called katte-don (勝手丼) – literally 'rice bowl as you like it'…
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Hokkaidō
Sōunkyō is a string of gorges 15km long formed by the Ishikari-gawa, the very same Ishikari River that empties out into the Sea of Japan just north of…
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Akan International Crane Centre 'GRUS'
Hokkaidō
You can see a few cranes in breeding pens here but the real attraction is the Crane Observation Centre (8.30am to 4.30pm November to March), a winter…
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Sapporo
This museum does an admirable job of explaining Hokkaidō's multilayered history, from the age of the woolly mammoths to the age of the steam locomotives,…
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Hokkaidō
This museum is full of photos, both official and candid, of legendary hometown hero, the sumo wrestler Taihō (大鵬; 1940–2013). He was born on Karafuto …
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Hokkaidō
Known Japan-wide, the country's northernmost zoo attracts visitors with its stars from cold climates: polar bears and penguins. More interesting to…
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Hokkaidō
At the eastern edge of town, this centre has exhibitions on local flora and fauna, including marimo in aquarium tanks. It also has hiking maps in English…
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Hokkaidō
This is a spectacular 20km stretch of wildflowers along the coast between Abashiri and Shari. Visit in early summer and catch it at its peak, when more…
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Hokkaidō
The highlights of this highly polished museum are the exceptional examples of Ainu craftwork. The rest of the displays are fairly inaccessible, as all the…
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Hokkaidō
About a 10-minute walk south of JR Wakkanai Station, this complex has restaurants, souvenir shops and the Minato-no-yu Onsen. It's designed to evoke the…
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Kushiro Japanese Crane Reserve
Hokkaidō
Run by Kushiro Zoo, this reserve has been instrumental in increasing the crane population. There are currently 14 tanchō-zuru living here, though they are…
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Hokkaidō
Some of the original Meiji-era prison buildings were restored and relocated to this oddly pleasant museum park. The Kangoku Hakubutsukan (penal museum)…
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Sapporo
Beating Tokyo Tower by two years, Sapporo TV Tower (147m) arrived in 1956, bringing with it the modern television age. It was designed by 'Dr Tower' Naitō…
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Sapporo
In an office building across the street from Hokkaidō University Botanical Garden, this cultural centre is run by the Hokkaidō Ainu Association and has a…
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Sapporo
Construction of this modernist tower, designed by architect Iguchi Ken, started in 1968 to mark Sapporo's centennial (it was completed in 1970). The…
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Hokkaidō
This hissing mountain (512m), a couple of kilometres south of Kawayu Onsen, is stained sunshine-yellow in patches from sulphur. Locals steam eggs in the…
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Hokkaidō University Botanical Garden
Sapporo
Among the highlights of this meandering, 14-hectare outdoor garden maintained by Hokkaidō University, is a collection of 200 plants and herbs historically…
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Hokkaidō
This is the prettiest of the island's capes, where the waters are an almost tropical blue, framed by craggy rocks and grassy slopes. The Rebun-tō Traverse…
