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This Weekend
Halloween lands on Saturday, and Hokkaido does it its own way: a tank of jellyfish glowing like jack-o'-lanterns, a potato village where other places have pumpkin patches, and a chocolate park that lets anyone in costume walk in free. Culture Day follows on Tuesday, with free entry to Upopoy, the national Ainu museum and park.
Reader Photo of the Week
This beautiful shot was taken recently by a reader who was visiting Sounkyo Gorge.
"Beautiful fall colors, but windy!" -submitted by AkebonoSumisu, taken on October 9th, 2026.
今週の一言 · WORD OF THE WEEK
仮装
Kasō kah-soh
"Dressing up in costume," the word on nearly every Halloween flyer this week. At Shiroi Koibito Park it's the ticket in: anyone in 仮装 gets into the paid areas free on Oct 31. Japanese Halloween leans more toward costume than candy, so a reliable way to join in is to ask "仮装してもいいですか?" (kasō shite mo ii desu ka?), "May I come in costume?" Now, if you choose to use this phrase when it’s not around Halloween, please let us know how that goes 😅
SAPPORO
Featured
Shiroi Koibito Park "Nya-Halloween"
Sat Oct 31, 10:00–18:00 (last paid-area entry 16:30) - Shiroi Koibito Park "Nya-Halloween," final day and last costume-free day · Shiroi Koibito Park, Nishi-ku — Anyone in costume gets into the paid areas free today, the third and last such day. Sapporo's English-style chocolate park has gone black cat and ghost all month: a ghost chocolate fondue and drink set (¥3,500), a "Black Cat's Sweet Temptation" parfait (¥850), and a ghost-topped chocolate pie sandwich workshop (¥1,800).
Sat Oct 31, 14:00–16:00 - Halloween Pumpkin Carving (EN/JP) · Kita 1-jo Nishi 3-chome 3-8, Chuo-ku, ¥1,500 per person or ¥2,000 for an adult plus a child, all materials included — Carve a jack-o'-lantern and meet new people in a bilingual session run by Sapporo Language Exchange – 絆 (Kizuna), a Meetup group with more than 1,600 members. Kids welcome with a parent.Sat–
Sat Oct 31, 10:00–21:00 and Sun Nov 1, 10:00–20:00 (floodlights on from 18:00) - 15th Hokudai Konyō-sai (Golden Leaf Festival) · Hokkaido University, Kita 13-jo ginkgo avenue, Kita-ku — A 380-meter avenue of about 70 ginkgo trees is floodlit at night, and TV Hokkaido reports the trees reached their peak this week. Food stalls (yakisoba, pork miso soup, cotton candy, roasted sweet potatoes), a kids' festival, a puzzle trail along the avenue with prizes, and a new "Ichō Hirahira Catch" game where you try to catch falling ginkgo leaves for prizes. Run by student volunteers and open to everyone.
Through Tue Nov 3, lights on 17:00–21:00, last entry 20:45 -
· Nakajima Park, Chuo-ku — The ginkgo avenue, the maples reflected in Shobu Pond and the historic Hoheikan building glow after dark. The Japanese Garden is a paid area (¥600 on the day).
BEYOND SAPPORO
Featured
Potato Halloween · Hoshino Resorts Tomamu
Through Sat Oct 31, final weekend, 9:00–22:00, lights on from 17:00 - Potato Halloween · Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, Hotaru Street, Shimukappu — Hokkaido grows more potatoes than anywhere in Japan, so here the potato, not the pumpkin, gets the jack-o'-lantern treatment: a 4-meter "Jaga Gate," a giant jack-o'-lantern potato more than 3 meters across, and limited potato menus at seven restaurants. Entry is free (food is extra), and day visitors are welcome. A ¥1,000 Halloween Pass adds a face-paint sticker, an original-bag workshop and potato soup.
OTARU
Opens Sun Nov 1 (through Jan 31, 2027), sunset to 22:30, free - Blue Canal (青の運河) · Otaru Canal, Asakusa Bridge to Chuo Bridge — About 10,000 blue LEDs line Otaru's canal each winter, best in the blue hour just after sunset.
Through Dec 6, 9:30–17:00 (last entry 16:30) - "From Edo to Kyoto: A Journey on the Nakasendō" · Otaru Art Base Ukiyo-e Museum — A new ukiyo-e exhibition on the road that linked Edo and Kyoto.
Through Nov 8, 9:30–17:00, closed Mondays (closed Mon Nov 2) - "Deep Otaru: Photography, Discovering Otaru" · Otaru Municipal Museum of Literature
ASAHIKAWA
Opens Fri Oct 30 (through Mar 22, 2027) - Yukinowa Asahikawa winter illumination · JR Asahikawa Station plaza, Heiwa-dori shopping park, Midoribashi-dori, Showa-dori and Asahibashi-dori — The city's winter light display begins.
BIEI
Nightly 17:00–21:00 through Apr 21, 2027, weather permitting - Blue Pond Illumination · Shirogane Blue Pond, Biei — The lit season began Oct 22. Entry is free, and parking is charged. The pond's blue water is visible in autumn, but it freezes and is covered by snow in winter, when the lights take over.
LAKE TOYA | TOYAKO
Opens Sun Nov 1 (through Apr 27, 2027), 17:00–22:00 (18:00–22:00 from Mar 1) - Toyako Onsen Illumination Tunnel · Nigiwai Hiroba, Toyako Onsen — A 70-meter tunnel of about 400,000 lights in the middle of the hot-spring town.
NISEKO
Through Sun Nov 8, 9:00–17:00, closed Mon Nov 2, adults ¥600 - 38th Takeo Arishima Youth Painting Exhibition · Arishima Takeo Memorial Museum, Niseko Town — Prize-winning art by junior high and high school students in the museum honoring the writer who gave his Niseko farm to its tenants in 1922. The site has an English version. Source:
SHIRAOI
Tue Nov 3 (Culture Day) - Upopoy Free Admission Day · Upopoy (National Ainu Museum and Park), Shiraoi — Admission to Upopoy is free on Culture Day, a yearly tradition, with a full program. At the Uekari Chise experience hall: the traditional performance "Upopo ne wa Rimse" at 10:00, 15:00 and 16:00 (20 minutes), and Ainu traditional dance by the Akan Ainu Ethnic Culture Preservation Society and the Shiraoi Ainu Culture Preservation Society at 11:00 and 14:00 (30 minutes). Numbered tickets are handed out in front of the hall. Upopoy is closed Mon Nov 2. The special exhibition "Kosonte and Ruunpe," on Ainu formal garments, continues through Nov 23.
AKAN | KUSHIRO
Through Sat Oct 31, free - AKAN AINU ARTWEEK 2026, closing weekend · Lake Akan Onsen & Ainu Kotan — Ainu and contemporary artists show work across the hot-spring town, with this year's first large co-created installation. The festival closes Sat Oct 31 with a live music finale featuring xiangyu, music producer Kuniyuki Takahashi and others. Source: KAMUY LUMINA, an immersive night walk in the Lake Akan forest — Final nights of the season. Light, sound and Ainu mythology woven through the trees, created by the studio Moment Factory. Source:
See you out there. · 今週末も楽しんで。
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WEEKEND PICK
Otaru on Sunday: ukiyo-e by day, the Blue Canal at dusk
Make Sunday an Otaru day. Spend the afternoon at the Otaru Art Base's new Nakasendō ukiyo-e show, or at the Municipal Museum of Literature's photography exhibition, then walk down to the canal as the light fades. Sunset comes a little after 4 PM now, and Sunday is opening night for the Blue Canal, when about 10,000 blue LEDs come on from Asakusa Bridge to Chuo Bridge. It's about 35 minutes from Sapporo by train, and the canal walk is free.
ALSO, we highly recommend jumping on the Hokkaido Insider’s mailing list to stay up to date with Hokkaido living and potential job opportunities.