Otaru Canal Museum & Information Center

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Otaru City General Museum Canal Museum has an extensive collection that introduces the history of Otaru City including information on the natural environment. The exhibition includes 20,000 objects and materials in its collection. The museum is located by Otaru Canal and can be found in the 'former Otaru warehouse'. Read More ....

Tokai Lavender Fields

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On the Tokai Sapporo School campus the grounds really comes alive with lavender. It is said that the south district of Sapporo, where the campus is located, is known as the birthplace of lavender cultivation in Japan. Read More ....

Urahoro Shrine

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During the Meiji Era, as the town of Urahoro (on the south east coast of Hokkaido) was being developed, the pioneers called for the construction of a shrine to serve as a spiritual centre. On August 15, 1896, a small shrine was erected, enshrining Amaterasu (goddess of the sun and the universe). Read More ....

Onnenai Visitor Center

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The Kushiro Shitsugen National Park, also known as the Kushiro Marshland is a sprawling national park to the north of Kushiro. There are half a dozen observation decks, museums, and walking paths that surround the park. The Onnenai Visitor Center is one of these museums and can be found on the western side of the marshland. Read More ....

Kushiro Shitsugen National Park

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The Kushiro Shitsugen National park (better known as the Kushiro Marshland) is a national park, located to the north of Kushiro on the eastern side of Hokkaido. The park is known for its wetlands ecosystems. 'Shitsugen' translates to wetlands in English. It was designated as a national park on 31 July 1987. The massive park covers an area of 268.61 square kilometres on the Kushiro plain and is well known for its wildlife and vegetation. Read More ....

Kushiro Marsh Observatory

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Perched at the top of a large hill, overlooking Kushiro Marsh, you can find the Kushiro Marsh Observatory. This is one of the most interesting buildings in Hokkaido. The exterior, and especially the interior, has a strange and unique design and is reminiscent of a cool sci-fi movie. The central hall of the museum is definitely a place to get some photos. Read More ....

Obihiro Shrine

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In 1881, a man named Benzo Yoda and others from Shizuoka Prefecture organized a pioneer group called the "Bansei-sha". This group and settled inShimo-Obihiro Village and started pioneering. During this time, they started holding festivals and later built a small shrine, though the connection with the current Obihiro Shrine is still not well known. Read More ....

Kushiro City Museum

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The history of the Kushiro City Museum dates far back to 1936. Originally, an exhibition room was set up as the "Kushiro City Folk Museum" on the second floor of the Kushiro City Hall Waterworks Construction Office. Over the decades, the location changed and finally on November 3rd, 1983, the "Kushiro City Museum" was born. Read More ....

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Hokkaido Governor’s Official Residence

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Admission	Free
Opening Hours	Residence: 9:00 - 17:00 Garden: 8:45 - 17:30
Closed	Weekends, public holidays, New Years *Closed occasionally due to official affairs
Contact	011-611-4221
Notes	No parking
Location / Getting There	16 Chome Kita 1 Jōnishi, Chūō-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaidō 060-0001 5 minute walk from Nishi 18 Chome subway station (Tozai Line) Located across from the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art From Sapporo Station on JR, Subway Namboku and Toho Lines, take the Chuo Bus or JR Hokkaido Bus (42, 55, 65, 57, 66, 80, 62, 63) and get off at "Doritsu kindai bijutsukan"

Back area of the Hokkaido Governor's Residence

Spacious lawn

The Hokkaido Governor’s Official Residence was first built in 1936 as a holiday home for the Mitsui Gakuin Company. In 1953 it became the property of Hokkaido and used as the residence for the governor. It has since been used for various meetings and other functions, for national and foreign dignitaries. The residence was selected in 1998 as one of 100 local cultural sites known as the ‘Furusato Bunka Hyakusen’. In 1999 it was registered as a cultural asset. Apart from serving as a space for functions, it has served as a location for various television programs.

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: Reception area for dignitaries

: Dining room visited by the Emperor in 2011

Japanese elms

The Governer’s Residence is a hidden gem in Sapporo. Covering 5 square hectares the Governor’s residence has a huge lawn, and garden area with over 2400 trees making it the perfect spot to walk around and relax. Interestingly, the garden contains a pit dwelling from the Jomon era, thousands of years old. Pristine streams snake their way through this well manicured park area and there are plenty of benches to sit, relax and take in the greenery. The lawn and wooded area also contains sculptures.

: Bark & white birch chandeliers

: Mr & Mrs Mori, previous owners

: 2nd floor reception room

The house itself is 2 stories and is designed in the ‘Half-timber style’ similar to that of English and northern European architecture. The reception staff is very helpful and you are free to walk around and look through the rooms, though taking off shoes is required. There are a dozen or so rooms to look around and are spacious with high ceilings and oak furnishings. It is interesting to walk through and read about each room! Information is available in multiple languages.