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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Setsubun Festival

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Dates	February 3rd
Opening Hours	15:00 - 16:00
Contact	011-611-0261
Location / Getting There	Hokkaido Shrine. 10 minute walk from Maruyama station 474 Miyagaoka, Chuo, Sapporo, Hokkaido 064-0959

Hokkaido shrine members

Ever since the days old, there have been festivals and rituals to expel the evil spirits. In Japan, this event is called the ‘Setsubun’ and is held on the 3rd of February. The name, ‘Setsubun’ refers to the day before the changing of each season. In ancient times, it was common belief that the changing of the seasons brought with it good luck and bad luck. In order to expel the bad and bring in the good, beans are thrown at these evil forces, represented as an ‘oni’ or demon. While the beans are thrown, “Oni wa soto!” is shouted. This translates to “demon out!”

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: One of the colorful characters

: The Oni on display

Shrine musician

The Setsubun happens all over Japan, in peoples homes. The biggest Setsubun festival can be seen at Hokkaido shrine in Sapporo. The event is held in the courtyard. Priests and flute players come up onto a raise platform and address the crowd. After this, two ‘Oni’ (one red and one green) will make their way to the stage where they will parade around, wielding their clubs. Once they have been ‘banished’ then thirty or so members of the shrine will come to the stage.

Throwing of the mochi

It is here the fun really begins. The members will start throwing out packets of beans into the eager crowd, so people can take them home. After this, they will then throw out ‘mochi’ which are Japanese rice cakes. If you want any of these goodies, it’s best you get to the front of the stage. Once this is finished, a priest wearing a traditional mask will walk around blessing people, by tapping them on the head. This event is very quick and is over in about 1 hour, but this event, in the surroundings of the shrine makes a great spot for some photos of Japanese culture!

The Rokkatei hut

This event is held in February which is one of the coldest months in Hokkaido. Be sure to rug up and keep warm! If you are feeling the chill, there is a nice little ‘Rokkatei’ hut near the shrine on the grounds. Rokkatei is a famous sweets store in Hokkaido. There are multiple locations around Hokkaido. The store at the Hokkaido shrine is called the Jingujaya Store. This store sells traditional small sweets. Here you can sit down in a heated room, sip on some hot tea and have some Japanese cakes!