Last week I introduced some sightseeing spots in Furano and Biei. But you don’t have to travel far to enjoy the lavender fields that Hokkaido is famous for, because there are several beautiful lavenders park in Sapporo!
1 Horomi-toge
Horomi-toge Lavender Park (幌見峠ラベンダー園) is located on the west side of Sapporo. There are 7000 lavender flowers in the park, so as you can imagine the fragrance of the flowers is just wonderful. Horomi-toge is located on a hill, and the view of Sapporo from the top of the hill is just amazing. Actually, Horomi-toge is also popular as a place to enjoy the night view, so it’s worth visiting even outside of the lavender season. And best of all, the lavender park is free to enter!
Address: 471-110, Bankei, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido (北海道札幌市中央区盤渓471番地110)
Opening hours: 9:00 to 17:00
Admission: Free!
How to get there: Take the Tozai line to Maruyama Kouen subway station. From the station, take a taxi or a bus (ばんけいバス [円山線] 盤渓行, get off at 幌見峠入口). The bus ride will take about 16 minutes, and it’s a further 15 minutes on foot to the lavender park.
2 Hitsujigaoka
Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill (羊ヶ丘展望台) was originally used to raise sheep for the Hokkaido National Agriculture Research facility, but now it is a popular sightseeing spot. There is a famous statue of Dr. William Clark, who helped establish the Sapporo Agricultural College, which is now Hokkaido University. Beneath the statue you can read his famous words “Boys, be ambitious”. Don’t forget to check out the photos and exhibits at the Snow Festival Museum. Hitsujigaoka is also a great place to try local food, like jingisukan (mutton barbecue), grilled seafood, deer meat, miso ramen, and grilled corn. In summer, you can enjoy melon, lavender, or Shiroi Koibito ice cream, and even ice cream made from sheep milk!
Hitsujigaoka is a popular tourist spot year round, but if you visit in summer you can also see the 1300 lavender flowers in bloom. In early July you can even cut some lavender and take it home to make dried flowers.
Address: 1 Hitsujigaoka, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido (北海道札幌市豊平区羊ケ丘１)
Opening hours: 9:00 – 17:00
Admission: 530 yen
How to get there: Take a bus from Sapporo Station (北海道中央バス [89]羊ヶ丘展望台行, get off at 羊ヶ丘展望台). The bus ride takes about 40 minutes.
3 Makomanai Takino Cemetery
Makomanai Takino Cemetery (真駒内滝野霊園) is a cemetery on the outskirts of Sapporo, which has become known as a sightseeing spot in recent years. In the middle of the cemetery is the Hill of the Buddha, which is covered in lavender flowers. Inside the hill is a large Buddha statue (13.5 meters high). From a distance you can only see his head poking out, but you can approach the Buddha to admire it up close. The Hill of the Buddha was designed by the famous architect Tadao Ando.
Surprisingly, there is also a replica of Stonehenge and a row of Moai statues (replicas from the originals on Easter Island). However, do keep in mind that this is a cemetery, so please don’t cause any inconvenience to the people who are there to visit the graves.
Address: 2 Takino, Minami-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido (北海道札幌市南区滝野2番地)
Opening hours: 9:00 – 16:00 (in summer)
Admission: A 300 yen donation is requested.
How to get there: Take the Namboku line to Makomanai subway station. From here, take the bus (北海道中央バス [真108] 真駒内滝野霊園〔頭大仏殿前〕行) and get off at 真駒内滝野霊園〔頭大仏殿前〕. Check the bus schedule in advance, because there are only a few buses a day. An alternative is to take a taxi from Makomanai station.
Do you want to enjoy sightseeing while studying Japanese? We are currently recruiting students for the 1 year and 3 months course starting in January 2022, and the 2 year course starting in April 2022.
Sapporo Language Center 