This village on the outskirts of Sapporo carries a century of Hokkaido

First of all, congratulations to "Hokkaido Kaitaku Mura" for becoming the filming location for the 2024 manga-adapted Japanese movie "Golden Kamuy"! This is a reference spot for many buildings in the show, recreating buildings from all over Hokkaido from the Meiji era to the early Showa era. Every nearby building is very similar to the buildings in the "Golden Kamuy" show, such as Hijikata Toshizo's hideout, Nishin Soba House, and the old Yamamoto Barber Shop. You can take photos freely and ride the same carriage as in the show!

In Nopporo Forest Park in the eastern suburbs of Sapporo, there is an uninhabited village. On the vast land of 54 hectares, there are 60 hotels, restaurants, shops, and even temples, schools, and fishing villages that existed more than 100 years ago. This is Hokkaido's open-air museum - Hokkaido Kaitaku no Mura. In my impression, this is the largest museum in Japan, except for Meiji Mura on the outskirts of Nagoya.


Gate of Kaituo Village

I have been to Hokkaido four times in total, but this is my first time to Kaituo Village. Because museums often give people a boring and time-consuming feeling. In addition, it is not in the city center, so it has never been included in the Travel plan. But after visiting Kaituo Village once, my idea was completely overturned. It is so interesting here that it is not too much to buy an annual pass for it.


Hokkaido in February

Actually, there are buses to the village. You can take JR Hokkaido Bus Shin-22 from Shin-Sapporo Station to get there directly, which takes about 15 minutes. It is very convenient. In the whiteness, at the end of the stairs, I recognized the entrance to the village, a magnificent building with yellow sTripes (the red roof was completely covered by snow). From here, it feels like going back in time, a hundred years ago.


Baby strollers in winter

Generally, Japanese museums lend out baby strollers and wheelchairs, but this is the first time I've seen a baby stroller that looks like a sled. If Maomao comes here, she'll definitely be very happy. In addition, there are also various styles of skis for rent. I wonder if I've entered a ski resort.


Ski equipment in the village

Tickets to the pioneer village are 800 yen, and maps in various languages ​​are provided. This pioneer village, which opened in 1983, displays buildings from the Meiji and Taisho periods. It is divided into four major areas: the city area, the fishing village, the rural area, and the mountain village. The park presents the life, industry, economy, and cultural history of Hokkaido's pioneering period, and condenses all the content of Hokkaido's early development.


Map of the Pioneer Village

After reading the introduction, I began to regret that I couldn't ski, otherwise I could borrow the free sled and save a lot of hiking time. But no matter what, I wanted to visit as much as possible.


Former Sapporo Development Commissioner's Office

City Cluster

The city cluster has 31 buildings in total, the most densely populated of the four blocks. Each building can be visited, and there are many decorations inside, which fully reproduce the scene at that time. If you look carefully and slowly, this block will take a lot of time. However, each building has different characteristics, so if you have time, it is recommended that you explore one by one. People who like taking pictures can take a lot of photos here.


Hotel

This hotel was opened on the main road of Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Until 1984, it was used as a Tourist accommodation and waiting room. It was once very prosperous. After moving to the development village, it also became the location for the Japanese drama "A Zheng" adapted from the life of Taketsuru Masataka, the founder of Nikka Whisky.


Wooden building with Japanese decoration style

Next to the hotel is a soba noodle shop. Not only the whole building was moved here, but also the hundreds of wooden bowls and all the tableware and kitchen utensils inside were moved here. They were also arranged in the original order, which surprised me the most.


Soba noodle shop

When I arrived at the brewery, the staff were shoveling snow on the roof. The snow removal uncle saw me taking pictures and asked me worriedly: Is (the ladder) in the way? I answered: No, it's very interesting.


Sake Brewing

For such a large open-air museum, it is indeed a very realistic problem that more staff than tourists need to be employed for snow removal in winter.


Inside the sake brewery, there are many wooden barrels used to store wine.

The presence of the hospital further enhances the sense of reality. The white coat draped over the back of the chair looks like a consultation has just ended.



And the mixed smell of medicine lingering in this ancient hospital, as if it is still in business.


The office inside the hospital looks very old.

There was a photo studio at the intersection, originally in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, and it operated until 1958. Part of the roof was changed to glass for lighting.


Photo Gallery

Although the people in the photos are no longer known, their photos are preserved forever.


Various old photos on the wall

Oishi Sanseido is the shop of pastry chef Taizo Oishi. The factory, shop and residence run by two generations are connected into one whole.


Pastry shop



Isn't this cake fish in the mold very lifelike? It seems to be reluctant to be eaten (laughs).



The sled manufacturing factory. Next to the sled manufacturing factory is the iron factory. I believe that the owners here used to work closely together.



If it is not surprising to move some houses and shops to open up the village, then it is really amazing to move a complete temple into the village. The poor immigrants from the state spent a lot of money to build a luxurious temple because the temple became their spiritual support.



In addition, Christian immigrants who founded Kobe also invested in building a church, which was also used as a gathering place and educational venue.


Church

Nakatonbetsu, which was once prosperous due to the gold rush, once had many grocery stores like this. This is a stucco-walled warehouse building built using sophisticated fire-resistant and cold-resistant technology.



There is a wide variety of goods inside, and similar shops are still preserved in rural Japan today.



The small post office, located in a seaport that was once prosperous for mackerel fishing, carries the spiritual sustenance of many migrant fishermen who miss their hometown and the practical needs of sending remittances.



In order to tour the filming locations, I have been to many abandoned schools, including the filming location of "Little Forest". Hokkaido's oldest private middle school, Hokkai Middle School, was able to be reborn in the pioneer village, which can be said to be very lucky.



Hokkai Junior High School started as an English school at Sapporo Agricultural College and features a Western-style design, which can be said to be a major style here.


The inner corridor of Hokkaido Junior High School

The three-story stone building moved from Otaru is a news agency from the Meiji period. The heavy architectural style makes people feel the pride of journalists.


Movable type printing templates in the newspaper office

Such a cute sign makes it easy to tell that this is a dyeing factory. Writing phone numbers on the sign was also a fashion back then.



If moving an entire middle school is not shocking enough, there is a university dormitory called "Edi-ryo" in the forest away from the main road. This dormitory is not an ordinary dormitory, but one of the three "wild" dormitories in Japan. Autonomous student dormitories are prone to being dirty and messy, and are very likely to breed student movements.



From the students' bold and handsome attire, we can infer the free academic style of the time.


Huidi Dormitory

It served until 1903, when it was demolished by Hokkaido University and moved here. But in fact, the new dormitory built by Hokkaido University is still a self-governing dormitory. NHK also sent reporters to interview and recorded an episode of "Documentary 72 Hours". I sneaked into the new Huidi Dormitory last year. If you are interested, please read this.



The exhibition board on the second floor records the dark history of Huidi Dormitory in detail, including text, pictures, and videos. Before it was demolished, it had sent more than 10,000 students. By the way, the "dormitory song" would be heard as soon as you entered the gate. I was the only one walking inside at the time, and I was really a little scared.



Fishing Village Group

After walking for so long, I finally entered the second area of ​​the pioneer village. Hokkaido is surrounded by the sea and is rich in seafood. Of course, the fishing village plays a very important role. It is mainly divided into 4 buildings, and there are also representative seas and ponds. The buildings are divided into rice warehouses, net warehouses, board warehouses, library warehouses, etc., which are very interesting.



Located on the coast of Otaru, this large fisherman's house has many ancillary facilities such as net warehouses and rice warehouses. The right side of the main house is the owner's living space, and the left side is the living place for fishermen who go out to work.



Looking at the shiny floor, the staff here must have spent a lot of time cleaning it and keeping it exactly the same as it was back then.



A warehouse for temporarily storing the fish that have been caught. Once the fishing season is over, it is used as a warehouse for storing fishing gear such as boats, oars, and poles.



Mountain Village Group

The mountain village group mainly consists of 3 buildings, as well as a suspension bridge, trails and a small stream. Surrounded by trees, it feels like you are really in the mountains, which is very different from the other three blocks. I didn't have time to go there, I will make up for it next time.



Rural Group

The rural group mainly consists of 14 buildings, including farmhouses and dairy farms. Some buildings have many wax figures showing the life of the people at that time, which are very realistic. I only went to one of the forest railway depots, which is where the locomotives for transporting wood are kept, repaired and maintained.



There are horse-drawn carriages in the park. Adults can experience riding a horse-drawn carriage for 250 yen. In summer (mid-April to November), it is a horse-drawn carriage railway, and in winter (mid-December to March holidays), it is a sleigh. Unfortunately, I went on a weekday, so I didn't experience it.



Kaituo Village Canteen

I was so hungry after visiting Kaituo Village, but luckily there is a very spacious canteen in the village. In summer, they provide barbecue, and in winter, we recommend white miso udon noodles + grilled glutinous rice balls. The taste is great, and it is said to be the taste of Hokkaido's pioneering period.



White miso udon + grilled glutinous rice balls

Address: Onoporo 50-1, Atsubetsu-cho, Atsubetsu-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
Transportation: Take JR Hokkaido Bus Shin No. 22 from Shin-Sapporo Station and get off at "Kaitaku no Mura".