Art, Food, and Winter Sights: A Full-Day Itinerary for the Sapporo International Art Festival 2027

Begin your day at Nijo Fish Market in central Sapporo. Believed to date back to the early Meiji era (1868-1880s), this historic market is lined with fishmongers and restaurants serving seafood rice bowls, sushi, and other Hokkaido specialties. Some shops open around 7:00 am, so arrive early if you want to avoid the crowds. Start with a seafood rice bowl or sushi for breakfast, then browse the fish stalls and souvenir shops for ingredients and products unique to Hokkaido. After spending about 90 minutes on breakfast and shopping, head to your first festival venue.

A walk of about 15-20 minutes from Nijo Fish Market brings you to the Sapporo Citizens Gallery, your first SIAF2027 venue. Positioned as the starting point for a journey through PLANET SNOW, it brings together contemporary art by artists from Japan and around the world. Spend about 60 minutes exploring the works and entering the world of PLANET SNOW, where snow becomes a starting point for imagining humanity, Earth, and the universe. Getting to know the festival’s theme here will help you see the venues and works that follow in a different light. Weekends and the final days of the festival may be busy, so allow plenty of time to explore.

One highlight is the display of works from shigechanland, a private museum created by ONISHI Shigenari, who is from Tsubetsu, Hokkaido. Look closely at the unusual forms and intricate details as you explore the ideas and imaginative world behind the works.

After getting acquainted with the festival at the Sapporo Citizens Gallery, walk about 10 minutes to the Sapporo Odori 500-m Underground Walkway Gallery. Works line the approximately 500-meter passage connecting the Bus Center Mae and Odori subway stations. For SIAF2027, the gallery will feature works by two competition winners. After viewing the art along the passageway, continue underground to the Sapporo Cultural Arts Community Center (SCARTS). Allow about 90 minutes to explore both venues and view the exhibits, including works created in collaboration with companies. Here, walking through an underground passage becomes an art experience in itself-a distinctive way to explore Sapporo in winter.

After a morning of art, take a lunch break for soup curry, a Sapporo specialty. Head to Soup Curry GARAKU, about a 10-15-minute walk from SCARTS. Its soup combines Japanese-style dashi with spices, and a popular choice is Tender Chicken Leg and Vegetables. Enjoy bone-in chicken and colorful vegetables in the fragrant soup. Allow about 60 minutes for lunch, plus extra time in case there is a line. If it is busy, consider its sister restaurant, Soup Curry TREASURE, just a few minutes away on foot.

After lunch, walk about 10-15 minutes to the Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade. Stretching approximately 900 meters east to west through central Sapporo, this historic shopping street dates back to the Meiji era (1868-1912). Restaurants, souvenir shops, stores selling everyday goods, and more line its seven blocks. The covered arcade makes walking relatively easy even on snowy days. Browse the storefronts for souvenirs that catch your eye, or take a break at a café. Plan to spend about 20-30 minutes here, adjusting your stay to account for time spent viewing art and waiting at restaurants earlier in the day. Next, head to Sapporo TV Tower for sweeping views of the city.

A walk of about 15-20 minutes from the Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade brings you to the Sapporo TV Tower at the eastern end of Odori Park. From the observation deck approximately 90 meters above ground, you can take in panoramic views of snow-covered Sapporo. Be sure to look west, where Odori Park stretches out in a straight line. Looking down over the snow festival site, you can see the snow sculptures lining the park and the surrounding cityscape. Allow about 45 minutes for your visit. After admiring wintry Sapporo from above, head into Odori Park, which you will have just seen from the tower. This time, walk through the snowy scenery and experience the art up close.

Walk west through Odori Park for about five minutes from the Sapporo TV Tower to reach the Sapporo Snow Festival Odori Site. The highlight here is “IWAGUMI Air Scape”, a large outdoor work by Australian art and technology studio ENESS. Its enormous rock-like forms rise from the snow, inviting you to experience their scale up close. As dusk gives way to night, changes in the sky and surrounding light reveal different impressions of the work. Spend about 60 minutes enjoying it alongside the nearby snow sculptures and illuminated scenery of Odori Park. Then head to the aquarium to see the Iwagumi aquascapes that inspired it.

About a 10-minute walk from the Sapporo Snow Festival Odori Site is AOAO SAPPORO, an urban aquarium inside moyuk SAPPORO, a commercial complex facing the Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade. Alongside fish, penguins, and other living creatures, the aquarium features aquascapes combining aquatic plants and stones. For SIAF2027, it plans to display Iwagumi aquascapes created by ADA. These aquascapes inspired “IWAGUMI Air Scape”, the work you will have just seen in the snow. Look at the shapes and arrangement of the stones in the tanks and their harmony with the aquatic plants, tracing connections with the large outdoor work. Allow about 60 minutes for your visit. The aquarium at night offers a chance to explore the ideas behind the art.

After taking in the art, walk about 15-20 minutes to the lively Susukino entertainment district. Enjoy jingisukan, a local specialty of grilled lamb or mutton, at Jingisukan Daruma Main Branch, a popular restaurant founded in 1954. Once you sit at the counter, a jingisukan grill pan is placed on the charcoal brazier in front of you, and the staff prepare the meat and vegetables for grilling. Enjoy the aroma of the cooking meat before digging into a sizzling meal. Allow about 60 minutes for dinner, though there may be a line in the evening. If it is busy, another option is Jingisukan Shepherd’s Restaurant Itadakimasu, about a three-minute walk away.

After finishing your jingisukan dinner, walk about 10-15 minutes to your hotel, La’gent Stay Sapporo Odori. Located in central Sapporo, the hotel has a communal natural hot spring bath, Pon no Yu. Soak in a setting inspired by wooden bathhouses of the Meiji era and give your body a well-earned rest after a full day of walking. Bring the day to a relaxing close as you reflect on a journey that began with breakfast at the market and took you through art, snowy scenery, and Sapporo’s local flavors.