Sapporo's Nakajima Park lights up this Friday: a golden ginkgo avenue, a pond full of reflected leaves, and a plaza of roasted sweet potatoes right next door. Further afield, Hiroo in Tokachi switches on its Santa Land lights with fireworks on Saturday, and Sapporo's international short film festival opens at Kotoni.

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Fri Oct 23 – Tue Nov 3 (holiday), lights on 17:00–21:00, last entry 20:45 - Sapporo Autumn Illuminations: Nakajima Park Autumn Leaves Light-Up · Nakajima Park, Chuo-ku — The golden ginkgo avenue, the maples reflected in Shobu Pond, and the historic white Hoheikan building glow after dark. In the paid Japanese Garden (¥600 on the day, ¥500 in advance) a light-and-sound show and a Japanese-umbrella area join in, and a "Geigi Café" sells limited sweets. Free to enter the rest of the park; kitchen cars/food trucks on site.

Fifteen-plus programs of shorts from around the world: international and national programs, a family and children's animation program, a midnight slot, a Hokkaido selection, and a special program of shorts starring well-known Japanese actors. The festival drew 2,622 entries from 94 countries and regions, and the Hong Kong director Johnnie To is among the international jurors. Japanese-language films carry English subtitles. Each program runs about 90 minutes: ¥1,300 advance or ¥1,500 on the day for one program; a one-day pass for Oct 24 or 25 is ¥3,000 or ¥4,000. The awards ceremony is Fri Oct 23 at 16:00. Payment is mostly cashless, so buying ahead helps. https://sapporoshortfest.jp/

Fri Oct 23 – Tue Nov 3, 11:00–20:00 (last order 15 minutes before; Nov 3 until 19:00) - Sapporo Yakiimo Terrace 2026 · Minami 9-jo Hiroba, Nakajima Park, free entry — Eighteen booths of roasted sweet potatoes, including winners of Japan's national Yakiimo Grand Prix, gas-oven and clay-pot roasting, limited sweets like daifuku and daigaku-imo, a sweet-potato craft beer, and matcha from a century-old tea house. Pair it with the illuminations next door.

Fri Oct 23, 9:15–11:45 AM - Sapporo Zen Experience, "Just sit. Drink tea." · Kita 2-jo Nishi 7-chome, Chuo-ku, registration required — A morning of seated Zen meditation and tea presented in English by the volunteer project Sapporo Zen Map, which makes temple Zen practice easier for foreign visitors and residents.

Sat Oct 24 and Sun Oct 25 - Shiroi Koibito Park "Nya-Halloween" costume-free days · Shiroi Koibito Park, Nishi-ku — Anyone in costume gets into the paid areas free on these days (and on Oct 31, the last day), 10:00–18:00 with last paid-area entry at 16:30. The nighttime mission-style horror event "Black Feathers Lead the Fear Hide-and-Seek" (¥3,500) also runs both nights. Black-cat sweets and a ghost chocolate fondue set run all month.

Through Sat Oct 31, 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00) - AOAO SAPPORO Halloween, "Thank Nature's Bounty" · AOAO SAPPORO aquarium, Tanukikoji, Chuo-ku — A Halloween quiz posed by a hermit crab known in English as the Halloween hermit crab, a limited cheese croissant made from non-standard vegetables (¥530), and a fish-hat craft workshop. An orange "jellyfish jack-o'-lantern" tank joins from Thu Oct 29. Admission ¥2,200 adults, ¥1,100 elementary and junior high, ¥200 ages 3 and up.

BEYOND SAPPORO

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Sat Oct 24: Christmas market and sound festival from 14:00, tree lighting 17:00, fireworks 17:30; illuminations nightly 16:00–22:00 into early January, free - Hiroo Santa Land Tree Lighting and Illumination · Daimaruyama Forest Park, Hiroo, Tokachi — Hiroo is the only town in Japan certified as a "Santa Land," an honor Oslo, Norway granted in 1984. Opening night brings fireworks and music, and then about 150,000 lights and 10,000 handmade wooden lanterns switch on, including a lantern tunnel leading to Santa's house. Free parking for about 50 cars. Source:

NISEKO

Sat Oct 24 – Sun Nov 8, 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30), closed Mon Oct 26 and Mon Nov 2, adults ¥600 - 38th Takeo Arishima Youth Painting Exhibition · Arishima Takeo Memorial Museum, Niseko Town — Prize-winning paintings, prints, illustrations and digital art by junior high and high school students, shown in the museum honoring Takeo Arishima, the Shirakaba-school writer who gave his Niseko farm to its tenant farmers in 1922. The museum's permanent exhibit tells that story with photographs, letters and manuscripts, and the slope from his novel is a short walk away.

OTARU

Opens Sat Oct 24 (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 Nakasendō, the road that linked Edo and Kyoto, opens Saturday after the second floor's changeover closure (Oct 19–23). A natural companion to Sapporo's Five Great Masters show. All Otaru Art Base museums are closed Wed Oct 28.

Through Nov 8, 9:30–17:00, closed Mondays (closed Mon Oct 26) - "Deep Otaru: Photography, Discovering Otaru" · Otaru Municipal Museum of Literature — A photography exhibition that rediscovers the city through pictures.

ASAHIKAWA

Through Mon Nov 23, 9:30–17:00 (last entry 16:30) - Great Hiroshige Exhibition: "The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō and the World of Lyricism" · Hokkaido Asahikawa Museum of Art, Tokiwa Park — About 200 works by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797–1858): the Tōkaidō series, the late masterpiece "One Hundred Famous Views of Edo," and rare hand-painted works, caricatures, actor prints and warrior prints, grouped by snow, moon and flowers. Sapporo and Otaru have ukiyo-e shows on right now too, which makes this a good autumn for the art form in Hokkaido. The museum has an English version of its site.

HAKODATE

Opens Fri Oct 16 (through Nov 8), lights on 16:00–21:00 nightly, free - Hakodate MOMI-G Festa · Kōsetsuen Garden (Misarashi Park) — The roughly 100m row of maples in Hokkaido's only nationally designated cultural-property garden is lit every night, with new colored lights this year. Color is still building here: peak is expected in late October to early November. Calligraphy exhibits, craft, kimono-fitting and matcha experiences are planned during the run.

CHITOSE

Sat Oct 24, 10:00 PM – 2:00 AM, free entry - Autumn Affair, a dance-music night with London DJ Keiron B · Libertaria bar, Chitose City — A four-hour set hosted by MyTea AtOm of the Sapporo International Network. Beer ¥100 extra, other drinks ¥200 extra, per the poster. Source: the host's post in the Sapporo International Network Facebook group

MURORAN

Sun Oct 25, 11:00–16:00, cancelled in rain - Muroran Daisakusen, Chapter 3 (室蘭大作戦 第3章 — 松建祭) · 八丁平北公園 (松建パーク) — A citizen-run day of food, crafts, hands-on experiences and live music, organized by the volunteer group Machi Crew Muroran. Vendors and performers are announced on its Instagram.

TOMAKOMAI

Through Sat Oct 31, 9:00–17:00 - Charity Event: Northern Horse Park Halloween 2026 · Northern Horse Park — Halloween with the park's ponies and horses. Park admission applies (see the park's site for current prices). Free parking, about 15 minutes by car from New Chitose Airport.

AKAN| KUSHIRO

Through Oct 31, free - AKAN AINU ARTWEEK 2026 · Lake Akan Onsen & Ainu Kotan — Ainu and contemporary artists show work across the hot-spring town. Theme: "Pirka Kar Kar — on the act of making something beautiful." Works on the Bokke Promenade can't be viewed after 17:00.

Through Nov 3, starting 30 minutes after sunset, about 50 minutes, 1.2 km - KAMUY LUMINA, an immersive night walk in the Lake Akan forest — Light, sound and Ainu mythology woven through the trees, created by the studio Moment Factory.

TOMAMU

Through Sat Oct 31, 9:00–22:00 (lights on from 17:00) - Potato Halloween · Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, Hotaru Street, Shimukappu — A 4-meter "Jaga Gate," a giant jack-o'-lantern potato more than 3 meters across, and limited potato menus at seven restaurants. Free entry; a ¥1,000 Halloween Pass adds a face-paint sticker, bag workshop and potato soup. Open to day visitors.

AUTUMN COLOR WATCH (forecast peaks)

Moiwayama and Lake Shikotsu around Oct 23 · Odori Park around Oct 27 · Hakodate's Kōsetsuen late October to early November.

WEEKEND PICK

The Sapporo International Short Film Festival: a world of films in one weekend at Kotoni

Here is a plan that works in any weather. For three days, Concarino beside JR Kotoni Station screens shorts from around the world, culled from more than 2,600 entries from 94 countries and regions. Each program is about 90 minutes and bundles five or six films, so you can sample a drama block, an animation block, or the midnight slot without committing to a feature. Japanese-language films come with English subtitles, and the jury includes Hong Kong director Johnnie To. Buy a one-program ticket (¥1,300 in advance) or a one-day pass, and pair it with a walk through Nakajima Park's lights on Friday or Saturday night.