Fun in the Sun - Explore the old historic villages of Hokkaido

The best season to visit Hokkaido is in summer from July to September. Usually it is very nice weather with temperatures around 20 – 28 degrees. Compared to the rest of Japan, Hokkaido is very cool in summer making it a perfect place to go if you are searching for a break from the city.

There are many things to see in Hokkaido. One of my favorite places is the Historic Village of Hokkaido in Sapporo. The village is an open air museum a little bit outside if the center of Sapporo. It belongs to the Nopporo Forrest Park. You can go to the village by train from Sapporo Station with the JR Hakodate to Shinrinkoen (around 13 minutes) and then take the bus directly to the Historic Village (around 5 minutes). Alternatively you can also walk from the station in 20 minutes. The entrance fee costs 830 yen or 1200 yen if you buy a combination ticket that also includes the historic museum.

The Historic Village has around 60 typical old Japanese houses mostly from the Meiji and Taisho period. There are different sections like the farm village, fishing village and a small town. If you walk around you can easily see the differences between the sections very well.

It is really a great experience to explore all the different houses. Most of them also have their old interior and you are allowed to enter all areas of the houses. Sometimes there are also some volunteers who will tell you the story of the house or they will invite you do to some handcrafts. Don´t be surprised by the dolls that really look like real people. They show how the life was in those old houses. I've visited the village in August and it was amazingly empty. The area is quite big and most of the time I was the only customer there. That was perfect for me to take many photos.

One of my favorite buildings is the old school, which is now a small museum. You will find many old school books, school clothes and the old interior from old times. There were even some old books for teaching English to the students.
Also, you should not miss to make a stop at the doctor and dentist. Their houses are full with all old doctor/dentist supplies. Watch out! It can be very scary, especially the glasses filled with organs.

There is also an old tram from the Meiji period. You can go inside and check it out. A perfect chance for train lovers who want to see an old tram. You can even find some western style buildings from the Second World War period, which are a great contrast to all the old traditional Japanese style buildings.

Just 10 minutes away from the village is the Historical Museum of Hokkaido, which has many documents about the history and the development of Hokkaido. The museum covers chronologically the history of the prefecture from 20,000 years ago and into the future. The Historical Museum of Hokkaido is the perfect addition to the Open Air Museum.

I really enjoyed visiting the Historic Village. It took me around 2 hours to check out all the houses, because the area is really amazingly big.