Moerenuma Park Mount Moere

Moerenuma Park is one of Sapporo's most remarkable spaces, a sprawling public park on the city's north-eastern edge conceived as a single enormous work of land art by the celebrated Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi. Built on the site of a former waste-processing ground, the entire 189-hectare park is designed as a sculpture you can walk through, and its constructed hills serve as some of the most distinctive viewpoints in the city.

The park's centrepiece hills are Play Mountain and Mount Moere, artificial peaks shaped from earth and rubble with geometric precision. Climbing the spiralling paths or stone steps of Mount Moere, which rises around 62 metres, brings you to a summit that commands a full 360-degree panorama: the flat Ishikari Plain stretching to the horizon, the distant ridgelines of the surrounding mountains, and the low sprawl of Sapporo laid out below. The clean, sculptural geometry of the park itself is part of the view, with paths, mounds and water features arranged with an artist's eye. It is a viewpoint unlike any other in the city — as much an experience of art as of scenery.

Noguchi designed the park at the very end of his life, and it was completed after his death and opened in 2005 as a realisation of his vision of merging art, landscape and public space. Beyond the hills, its landmarks include the Glass Pyramid, a striking crystalline structure that houses a cafe, gallery and atrium, and the Sea Fountain, a monumental fountain that performs large-scale, choreographed water shows on a set schedule during the warmer months — a genuinely dramatic spectacle worth timing a visit around.

The park changes completely with the seasons. In spring cherry trees bloom across the grounds; summer brings the fountain shows, cyclists on the rental bikes, and children playing among the sculptural playground equipment Noguchi designed. In winter the whole park is blanketed in snow and becomes a popular spot for cross-country skiing and sledding, the geometric hills softened into pure white forms. Each season reframes the land art in a new light, and clear days at any time of year reward the climb with sweeping views.

Getting there takes a little time, as the park sits away from the centre. The usual route is the Toho Subway Line to Kanjo-dori-higashi Station followed by a Chuo Bus to the park's east gate, from where the hills and Glass Pyramid are a pleasant walk. The park is large, so allow a couple of hours and consider renting a bicycle in the warmer months to cover more ground comfortably. Admission to the park is free, though the fountain shows and certain facilities follow set schedules.

For visitors interested in design, art or simply a grand outlook, Moerenuma Park is a highlight of Sapporo that rewards an unhurried visit. Walk the sculpted landscape, climb Mount Moere for the panorama, and if you can, come on a clear summer day to catch the Sea Fountain in full flow — it is a viewpoint and an artwork in equal measure.