Must-See Artworks at Moerenuma Park

By Yuya Kudo

(Japanese translation coming soon.)

Moerenuma Park in Sapporo, Hokkaido, is famous not only for its lush green landscape, but also the glass pyramid, the sea fountain, and the unique playground equipment. The park was designed by Isamu Noguchi, who was one of the best sculptors of the 20th century. The Moerenuma park opened in order to enrich Sapporo city with nature in 2005.What is more, the park utilizes the ruins of the garbage disposal site and installs the air conditioning system leveraging snow.

Moerenuma Park is not just any park. In the park, you can enjoy watching a great view that fuses nature and art. The unique artworks are displayed in various places. The park also includes sports facilities such as a tennis court, a baseball ground, and an athletic field. You can enjoy winter sports like cross-country skiing even in winter.

The pyramid, Hidamari, is a glass-and-metal structure and a symbol of the park. Hidamari means sunny spot. You can take wonderful pictures of it from every angle. The building has a French restaurant where you can eat fantastic French cuisine that is highly rated overseas. The pyramid is one of the coolest architectures you’ll ever see.

There are some massive artworks in the park. They are far from each other, so you may want to rent a bicycle. Tetra Mound, one of the famous sculptures, is a dynamic structure combined with three stainless steel pillars. Mt. Moere is the only mountain in the northeastern area of Sapporo. It is an artificial mountain made from non-burnable trash and earth dug out of a construction site. You can climb to the top of the mountain within ten minutes and overlook the entire city of Sapporo from its summit. Moerenuma Park is popular with both locals and foreigners. If you have an opportunity to go to Sapporo, you visit there.