Moerenuma Park is a spectacular comprehensive park in northeastern Sapporo designed by the world-renowned sculptor Isamu Noguchi. Rather than treating art as something placed within a park, Noguchi envisioned the entire landscape as a monumental work of art, creating a unique environment where nature, architecture, sculpture, and recreation are seamlessly connected.
Completed in 2005, the park features sculptural structures, an artificial mountain, fountains, sports facilities, a beach, and expansive green spaces. The result is a vast outdoor canvas where visitors can experience art while walking, playing, cycling, or simply enjoying the changing scenery.
The land that became Moerenuma Park was originally used as a waste disposal site. Plans to redevelop the area as a park began in 1978, and in 1988 Isamu Noguchi became involved in the project.
Noguchi conceived the park as a single giant sculpture, carefully integrating geometric forms and artificial landforms with the surrounding natural environment. His design transformed a former waste disposal site into one of Sapporo’s most distinctive public spaces.
One of the park’s most recognizable landmarks is the glass pyramid known as HIDAMARI. Its transparent geometric structure creates a striking contrast with the surrounding greenery and serves as one of the central architectural features of the park.
Inside, visitors can find a gallery, café, and observation deck. The building provides an attractive place to pause and appreciate the relationship between Noguchi’s architecture and the surrounding landscape.
Play Mountain is an artificial mountain designed as both a sculptural landscape and a place for recreation. Children can climb and explore the structure, with slides and climbing features incorporated into its design.
The mountain demonstrates Noguchi’s approach to combining art and everyday life, turning a sculptural form into an environment that people can physically experience.
Moere Beach is an artificial sandy beach where visitors can enjoy playing in the water during summer. It provides a refreshing seasonal contrast to the park’s monumental geometric structures and broad lawns.
Another major attraction is the park’s large fountain, where regular water shows transform streams and jets of water into a dynamic performance. The fountain adds movement and sound to the carefully composed landscape.
Moerenuma Park is designed not only as an art landscape but also as a place for active recreation. Visitors can enjoy jogging and cycling along routes through the park, while tennis courts, a baseball field, and a soccer field provide facilities for organized sports.
The lake within the park also offers opportunities for canoeing and boating, with rentals available for visitors who want to experience the landscape from the water.
The park changes dramatically throughout the year. Spring brings cherry blossoms and fresh greenery, while summer fills the grounds with vibrant vegetation and makes Moere Beach and the water features particularly appealing.
In autumn, foliage adds shades of red and yellow to the geometric landscape. Winter brings a completely different atmosphere, as snow covers the hills and open spaces and the park becomes a setting for winter activities such as skiing and snowshoeing.
At Moerenuma Park, visitors do not simply move from one artwork to another. The hills, paths, water, buildings, and recreational spaces themselves form part of the artistic composition.
This approach reflects Isamu Noguchi’s belief that sculpture could extend beyond objects placed on pedestals and become part of the spaces in which people live. The park allows visitors to encounter this idea through movement and everyday experience rather than through a conventional gallery visit.
Moerenuma Park offers a rare combination of contemporary art, architecture, nature, and outdoor recreation. Its immense scale encourages visitors to explore at their own pace, whether walking through the landscape, cycling between its landmarks, enjoying the water, or relaxing on the grass.
With Noguchi’s bold geometric design changing character with the seasons, the park offers something different on every visit. For travelers exploring Sapporo, Moerenuma Park is a memorable destination where an entire landscape becomes a work of art.
7:00-22:00
No holidays
Glass Pilagmido is open on the first Monday of every month from May to November, and every Monday from December to April, as well as during the year-end and New Year’s holidays.
Free of charge
25 min. by bus from Kanjo-dori Higashi Subway Station *Take Chuo Bus East 69 or 79 from Kanjo-dori Higashi Subway Station. 10 min. walk from Moele Park East Exit.
30 min. by car from downtown Sapporo *Take Route 12, Route 275, or Route 89 (Kanjo Dori), and go toward Nakanuma on Triangle Dori.