The Hokkaido Museum 北海道博物館

History, culture and nature

 

To evoke Hokkaido, we usually talk about the grandiose natural landscapes, the extreme temperatures in winter or even the beautiful ski resorts. But the island of Hokkaido is not just about that. It has a unique culture inherited from the most ancient times; fruit of a particular interaction between man and nature with astonishing richness. Visit the Hokkaido Museum in Sapporo, the best ambassador of this unique culture.

 

An ancient culture

The Hokkaido Museum first exhibits the skeletons of mammals living here 1.2 million years ago : a mammoth that came to Hokkaido from the north and a Naumann's elephant that came from the south from Honshu. Hokkaido has always been a crossroads linking the other Japanese islands to neighboring territories (Sakhalin Island, Kuril Islands); a land rooted in Northeast Asia. You have to go under the skeleton of the mammoth to appreciate all its splendor; a spectacle rare enough to be underlined! Several tactile devices also allow you to touch fossils and mammoth tusks.

squelettes-hokkaido-museum

Naumann's mammoth and elephant skeletons greet you at the start of the tour

http://www.hm.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp


Address, timetable & access

  • Address

  • Timetable

    Take bus 22 towards Hokkaido Historic Village from bus stop No. 10 at Sapporo Station. 15 min ride.
  • Price

    600 yen (4€50)
  • Access

    9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (May to September), 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (October to April). Closed on Mondays.
  • Website

    http://www.hm.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp/en/

Latest Articles

Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art

The Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art

Located right in the center of Sapporo, the Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art offers beautiful collections allowing you to discover Japanese art, but also European art, from the 19th century to the pre

Sapporo Beer Museum

If you have the chance to visit to the northern island of Hokkaido, do not miss the Sapporo Beer Museum!

The Clock Tower

With its American style architecture and its wooden structure, you could almost think you are in New Orleans...