2026 Ishiyama Ryokuchi Spiral Spring Full-Day Course

A one-day course tracing sculpture and art, starring the Ishiyama Ryokuchi Spiral Spring water-play area in the south block of Ishiyama Ryokuchi Park (石山緑地) in Minami-ku, Sapporo. Water play at Ishiyama Ryokuchi Park usually runs from around Monday, June 15 to around Monday, August 31, from 10:00 to 16:00, and the City of Sapporo describes the period as mid-June to late August. The Spiral Spring, where the water flows in a spiral, is shallow enough that small children can touch the water safely. The site is an art space that makes use of a former Sapporo soft stone quarry, where the sheer soft-stone walls and geometric plazas are themselves like works of art. In the morning, follow that same thread to the Sapporo Art Park Open-Air Museum. Sculptures are scattered through a wide forest, and encountering the works as you walk is an entirely different pleasure from an indoor museum. After lunch, stop at the Sapporo Toyohira River Salmon Museum and look into the tanks at the life of the salmon that return to the Toyohira River (豊平川). In the afternoon, return to Ishiyama Ryokuchi Park for water play at the Spiral Spring amid the soft-stone scenery. Art, nature and water play link into a single line for a day that feels just like Minami-ku.