Moerenuma Park （モエレ沼公園）| Sapporo

Moerenuma Park was designed by Isamu Noguchi, a world-famous Japanese American artist. The playground equipment, outdoor sport fields, as well as objects in the park are also his art works.

Construction of the park was begun in 1988, and opened in 2005. The park has won a number of awards including the Good Design Award in 2002.

I'll show you some of the popular areas in the park.

■Forest of Cherry Trees
In this area, there are seven playgrounds.

 All of them are interconnected by paths.

This area is always packed with a lot of children like this↓

■Moere Beach

A shallow pond is installed in the middle of this gentle, cone-shaped site, and paved with coral.

■Play Mountain

The mountain is 30m high and creates the major form for the entire park.

The one side of the slope is made of granite like this↓

 When you climbed the slope,

you can enjoy the wonderful landscape in the comfortable breeze.

■Tetra Mound
The stainless steel surface that was completed to resemble Isamu Nogushi's fountain works in Detroit shows different expressions with changing lighting.

■Music Shell
The hemispheric structure is in a circular stage approximately 15m in diameter. Inside of the building are anteroom for performers and restrooms.

■Aqua Plaza
Water springs forth form Aqua Plaza and slowly flows in tho the about 150-m long canal.

People can dangle their feet and contact with water↓

■Sea of Fountain
At its maximum height, the fountain can reach 25m.

Isamu had been studying fountains all his life.

■Glass pyramid "HIDAMARI"

Serving as the symbol of this park, Glass pyramid is the central facility.

This facility accommodates a gallery introducing sculptor Isamu Noguchi works with visuals and books as well as a multipurpose space that serves as a place for citizens' cultural activities. When we went there, the classical music concert was held in the atrium↓

You can buy his lightning works in the shop↓

If you're hungry, why don't you eat delicious food at a French restaurant named "L'enfant qui rev" in the facility?

All of the ingredients here are produced in Hokkaido.

If you're interested in this French restaurant, please refer to my next post→click!

You can enjoy the spray of water in front of the pyramid.

■Mt. Moere

This 62m mountain represents the only mountain landmark in the northeastern part of Sapporo.

From the summit, you can overlook not only the entire Moerenuma Park,

but also the entire city of Sapporo.

Visitors can enter the park, use the parking lot for free and can rent a bike at the entrance of the park.

■Where is "Moerenuma Park"?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?

I'll guide you! Plz click here!

YOSHIMI （カリーとオムライス ヨシミ）| Curry & Rice Omelet Retaurant | Odori BISSE | Sapporo

Odori BISSE is a business & GOURMET building located in the downtown area of Sapporo, and

very fashionable inside.

As some of the restaurants and cafes here are my favorites, I sometimes come here to eat cakes or have lunch. Actually, especially during the lunch hours, the restaurant floors - from the ground floor to the 4th floor - are crowded with local people and tourists.

Today's my choice was "YOSHIMI", a curry & rice omelet restaurant on the 4th floor.

Good atmosphere, isn't it?

They serve not only curry and omurice (rice omelet), but also some salad and desserts.

Depending on the season, they have special curry such as curry with summer vegetables and curry with chicken thigh with bone↓

I chose a today's special set for dinner because it's reasonable! The set includes main curry or rice omelet, salad and dessert! Furthermore, on the weekend in the summer time, if you order the set, you can drink beer at a discount price (550→200 yen) !

This is salad↓ Well, normal salad............. Hahaha!!

This is omurice or rice omelet, which consists of an omelet made with fried rice. This contemporary Japanese fusion cuisine is very popular among young people in this country. Usually we eat it with ketchup, but this one has two kinds of sauce!

This is brown sauce↓

The "RUNNY" egg, rice, meat and brown sauce go well with each other!!!

While this is white sauce↓

As you can see, it contains the seafood and mushroom↓

The set comes with this small cheese cake, too!

Some of you may remind YOSHIMI of this curry snack named "Kari kari madaaru?". Actually I love it!

Once you open the bag, you cannot stop eating it!!! This is curry-flavored rice cracker and one of the popular souvenirs among tourists.

Please try it when you come to Hokkaido because this is sold ONLY in Hokkaido! You can get it at airports and department stores as well as their restaurants.

■Where is "YOSHIMI"?

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■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?

I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Yoshiji （愛路） | Japanese Restaurant | Sapporo

If you want to eat delicious & large amount home-made type Japanese food at a reasonable price, I recommend "Yoshiji （愛路）", a Japanese restaurant in Sapporo.

This restaurant is in the Shikisima Building located in the downtown of Sapporo and always packed with business workers especially during the lunch hours like this↓

Why is this restaurant very popular? They serve home-style dishes which are very delicious of course, but look at the price list↓

You can eat sukiyaki for just 700yen!!!!
Other memus include today's special, katsu-don (pork cutlet on rice), shoga-yaki (ginger-flavored slices of fried pork), ebi-furai (deep-fried prawns) sets and so on, all of which are less than 900 yen!!!

I ordered a menchi-katsu (minced meat cutlet) set↓ Menchi-katsu is like a nice combination of hamburger steak and tonkatsu (cutlet), and one of the typical home-cooking in Japan. 

Look at the menchi-katsu! It's HUGE!!!

I put a toothpick on the sliced cabbegge so that you can imagine how BIG it is!

If you are very hungry, choose a big bowl of rice. Of course, I ordered the big one!!!

THREE handfuls of sliced cabbage comes with mench-katsu. THREE handfuls!!!! This is like a paradise for big eaters like me!!!

Pour Worcetershire sauce and have a bit! Yummy x 2!!!! 

This building is connected to an underground between Odori and Sapporo stations and it's easy to find it!

■Where is "Ajidokoro Yoshiji（味処　愛路）"?

View Larger Map

■Tour guide information■

Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?

I'll guide you! Plz click here!