Travel Guide
Sapporo Odori Park is a park located in the center of Sapporo, Odori means large street in Japanese. Known as the heart and the symbol of Sapporo, Sapporo Odori Park stretches east to west through Odori Nishi 1 chome to Odori Nishi 12 chome, Odori (Nishi means west, and chome is a block in Japanese) and spans about 1.5 kilometers.
With fountains, lawns, playgrounds, gardens which are arranged seasonally, plenty of seating spaces and 4,700 trees of 92 species including lilacs, Sapporo Odori Park is a relaxing space for the citizens. In the lunch time, you can see office workers come to the park and enjoy lunch on the benches or on the grass. The park has several types of fountains. The fountain at Odori Nishi 3-chome spouts 16 water patterns in 15 minute.
Sapporo Odori Park serves as the main site of Sapporo’s big event throughout the year, many events and ceremonies such as Sapporo Snow Festival in winder and Sapporo Beer Festival in summer are held in the park. Since the first Agricultural Interim Fair was held at Odori Nishi 2 chome and Ordori Nishi 3 chome in 1878, Sapporo Odori Park has been the place where a number of events and ceremonies have taken place.
At the eastern end of Sapporo Odori Park stands the Sapporo TV Tower, which has an observation deck with nice views of the park and the surrounding city. The tower was built in 1957 and is modelled after France’s Eiffel Tower, underneath the TV tower is an underground shopping centre that connects to the Odori subway station. The tower is just under 150 meters tall, and the observation deck is at an elevation of 90 meters. During the evening the tower is illuminated, making it an attractive landmark.
The history of Odori Park began in 1871 when it was originally constructed as a large-scale Kabo-sen (“Kabo-sen” means firebreak in Japanese)~ separate the downtown area to the administrative district in the north and the residential and commercial district in the south during the Meiji period, but now became a park which across the 13 blocks and divides the city into north and south sections.
Travel Advice
Sightseeing
- Visitors enjoy corn sold by venders, please have a try when you see the venders in the park.
- According to the regulations, Odori Nishi 1 chome though Odori Nishi 4 chome is a non-smoking area.
Events
| Events in 2019 | ||
| Sapporo Summer Festival | Millions of people enjoy the most famous event in the summer of Hokkaido, with open-air beer gardens and various events such as bon dancing, handicrafts bazaar, masquerade contest. | Jul 19(Fri) to Aug 16(Fri) |
| Sapporo Autumn Festival | An autumn harvest festival celebrating culinary delights. Seasonal food and gourmet representing Sapporo such as sea food dumplings, popular ramen and wine gather here. Visitors also can not miss the food exhibitions introducing the local special food from all over Hokkaido. | Sep 6(Fri) to 29(Sun) |
| Sapporo White Illumination | The tress around Sapporo Odori Park and Sapporo Ekimae-dori are decorated with approximately 370,000 of lighting, creating brilliant works of art that liven up the entire area and bring a romantic night to Sapporo. | Nov 22(Fri) to Mar 15(Sun) |
| Events in 2020 | ||
| Sapporo Snow Festival | A snow festival which is held every February in Sapporo. It is also the largest winter event in Sapporo, a large number of splendid snow statues and ice sculptures line in the park. | Jan 31(Fri) to Fed 11(Tue) |
| Lilac Festival | With approx. 400 of blooming lilac trees, there will be various events such as lilac give-aways, concerts, origami (paper folding) hands-on learning, kaleidoscope learning and collections and wine gardens. | May 20(Wed) to 31(Sun) |
| Yosakoi Soran Festival | A dynamic dance festival where about 300 teams and 40,000 dancers from throughout Japan dance to the intense rhythm at twenty different venues which near Sapporo city. The festival attracts more than 2 million visitors every year. | Jun 10(Wed) to 14(Sun) |
| Flower Festival | The flower bed which is made of 26,000 flowers of 92 species including calendula is the highlight of the event. Visitors can also see the flower monument and buy orchid and gardening groceries. | Jun 27(Sat) to Jul 5(Sun) |
Visit
| Address | Chuoku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido | |
| Phone | 011-211-3341(Sapporo Tourist Assosiation) | |
| Admission | Free | |
| Hours | Free time | |
| Closed | Open 7 Days a Week | |
| Duration | 20 minutes | |
| Getting There | By Train 1 minute walk from Orodi Park Station on subway. By Car Take Sasson Expressway to the Sapporokita exit. It is approximately 3 kilometers 15 minutes from exit. |
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| Parking | No parking available | |
Attractions in Japan