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This Weekend
Moerenuma Park turns into a 50-minute fireworks show this Saturday, choreographed to music and co-designed with figure skating legend Mao Asada — Hokkaido's biggest fireworks night of the year. It lands the same weekend Furano throws open its wineries for the annual grape harvest, so pick your Saturday: sparks over Sapporo, or a glass in hand under Shimizuyama's hills.
Reader Photo of the Week
"This panoramic flower garden is Shikisai-no-Oka in Biei, taken on a gorgeous summer day in mid-August. One of the few flower fields in the area still worth visiting in the green months. Beautifully landscaped, soft-serve ice cream, and there's an alpaca farm on-site. Worth the visit and entry fee." -Anonymous submission, taken on Aug. 16th, 2026
今週の一言 · WORD OF THE WEEK
実り
Minori
mee-no-ree
"Harvest," or literally "bearing fruit." Early September in Japan is often called minori no aki — "the season of fruition," the point where summer's growing turns into something you can actually eat or drink. It's why Furano's grapes are ready for pressing this week, and why farmers' markets across Sapporo are suddenly full of the season's first real haul.
SAPPORO
Featured
Hokkaido Art Fireworks (Hokkaido Hanabi) 2026
Sat Sept 5 - Moerenuma | Gates 16:00, show 19:15–20:15 · ¥3,000–9,000 50 minutes of nonstop, music-synchronized fireworks by top Japanese pyrotechnicians, with a special artistic collaboration featuring figure skating legend Mao Asada.
Thu Sept 3 — DRUM TAO "SUPER LIVE 2026" (Kyobun Hall) A theatrical taiko drumming spectacle, part of a six-city Hokkaido tour.
Sat–Sun Sept 5–6 — Okinawa Fes Hokkaido (ES CON FIELD HOKKAIDO, Kitahiroshima, 11:00–20:00) Okinawan food, music, and shopping staged at the new Fighters ballpark complex.
Fri–Mon Sept 4–7 — Sapporo Sweet Potato Expo (West Square, Sapporo Factory, 10:00–17:00, ¥600) Sweet potato varieties and flavors from across Japan.
Sat Sept 5 — Flea Market, Nakajima Park Jiyu Hiroba (10AM–1PM, also Sun) Sat Sept 5 — May Marché, Chuo-ku (10:30–noon), local vegetables and fruit
Coming next week: Sapporo Autumn Fest opens Fri Sept 11 at Odori Park, running through Oct 3.
BEYOND SAPPORO
Featured
Furano Wine and Grape Festival
Sun Sept 6, 10:00–15:00| Shimizuyama, ~100m west of JR Furano Station · Free entry Four wineries this year — Furano Wine, Domaine Raison, Tada Winery, Tokapuchi Organic — plus a first pour of some limited-release bottlings and the underground cellar bar.
NISEKO
Fri Sept 4 – Sun Sept 6 - LUPICIA Niseko Marche 2026 · LUPICIA Niseko Head Office Tastings of 50 tea varieties, local potato dishes, baked goods, and fresh craft beer. Fireworks and sky lanterns on the evening of Friday Sept 4, tea garden and brewery tours all weekend.
Sun Sept 6 - Hokuhoku Festival, Makkari · Makkari Village Food stalls, live performances, a potato-digging event, and an auction with prizes including herb-fed pork.
Sun Sept 6 - NAC Trail Run · Niseko Adventure Center 27th annual trail run through Niseko's mountain and forest trails — 30km, 10km, or 5km courses.
Standing (Jul 1–Oct 12) : Mountain Lights, HANAZONO— Bruce Munro's immersive light art installation.
ASAHIKAWA
Fri Sept 4 - DRUM TAO "SUPER LIVE 2026" · Asahikawa Civic Culture Hall, doors 17:45, starts 18:30, ¥7,500
Sat Sept 5 - Asahikawa Airport Sky Festival (空フェス2026) · Asahikawa Airport, 10:00–15:00 — Aviation career demos, heavy machinery on display, food trucks, and local merchandise stalls.
HAKODATE
Sat Sept 5 - Hakodate Park Family Festa · Hakodate Park, 10:00–14:30
Sat Sept 5 - Hakodate Airport Festa '26 · Hakodate Airport, 10:00–15:00
Mon Sept 7 - DRUM TAO "SUPER LIVE 2026" · Kanaderu Hall, Hokuto, doors 17:45, starts 18:30, ¥6,500
Standing (through Sept 23): teamLab Future Park Hakodate.
OTARU - WEEKEND PICK
Otaru Shukutsu Fireworks: time it for the small-town version
Fri Sept 4 – Sun Sept 6 - Skip the big city show and catch the smaller, older tradition instead — Shukutsu is a working fishing town forty minutes from Sapporo, and its fireworks festival still runs on grilled seafood, taiko drums, and a mikoshi parade through the streets before the sky lights up at 19:00. Over 1,500 fireworks, a fraction of the crowd you'll find at Moerenuma.
Standing (through Sept 30): Otaru Canal illumination + projection mapping, nightly.
NOBORIBETSU
Standing: Jigokudani Demon Fireworks — every Thursday in September, including Sept 3 and Sept 10. Yukijin (guardian demons) launch hand-held fireworks through the onsen town.
TOKACHI/OBIHIRO
Sat–Sun Sept 5–6 - Honbetsu Kirameki Town Festival & Higashi Tokachi Fireworks · Toshibetsu Riverbed, Honbetsu-cho — Local food stalls and around 6,000 fireworks.
KUSHIRO
Fri Sept 4 - Kushiro Suehiro Bar Hopping Event (20th edition) · Suehiro district, Kushiro City — A stamp-rally-style night out, hopping between local bars and restaurants.
Standing (May 26–Nov 3): KAMUY LUMINA, Lake Akan — An immersive night walk through the forest, themed around Ainu mythology.
WAKKANAI
Sun Sept 6 - 9th - Japan Northernmost Wakkanai Peace Marathon · Wakkanai City — A memorial and peace-themed marathon, commemorating victims of the 1983 Korean Air Lines shootdown.
See you out there. · 今週末も楽しんで。
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