Hokkaido Upopoy Ainu Culture In-depth Experience One-Day Tour | Departing from Sapporo
- Explore the unique and fascinating Ainu culture in Upopoy!
- Surrounded by abundant nature, Ainu culture continues to flourish here. Inherit the essence of Ainu culture!
- National Ethnic Symbiosis Park is an experiential field museum where you can experience the culture of the indigenous Ainu people with your five senses!
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What to expect
*** Warm reminder: Traffic jams are common on weekends and holidays, and Japanese law stipulates that bus drivers cannot work overtime, so the stay time at attractions will be adjusted appropriately based on the traffic conditions of the day.
【Upopoy (symbol space of national symbiosis)】 A popular tourist attraction that opened in 2020, the Ainu ethnic learning and experience facility “Upopoy (symbol space for ethnic symbiosis)” allows you to learn about the history and culture of the Ainu in the theater and exhibition room, and watch traditional performances in the exchange hall. Experience the charm of Ainu culture on the shores of Lake Poroto.
National Ethnic Symbiosis Park is an outdoor museum where you can experience the culture of the indigenous Ainu people with your five senses. An interactive outdoor museum where you can experience the Ainu culture of the indigenous people through the five senses in nature. You can deeply experience the charm of Ainu culture by watching performances of ancient Ainu dances, experiencing traditional skills, tasting food culture, and participating in activities such as making traditional handicrafts. It is also a resting place surrounded by rich nature and full of Ainu culture.
This is the first national museum in Hokkaido, dedicated to displaying the history and culture of the Ainu people. The exhibition is divided into a basic exhibition room narrated from the perspective of the Ainu people and a special exhibition room for visitors to visit. In addition to the exhibition room, the museum also has a theater showing films. In addition, the museum shop also offers a variety of handicrafts and original goods for visitors to purchase.
Lunch is free and you can choose from four restaurants. There are Ainu cuisine and desserts produced in the province, as well as a museum shop selling special souvenirs of Ainu culture!
Reviews
There wasn’t much time allotted to explore the entire facility and the “guide” assigned to us only speaks Japanese. The driver and point person only drove us to and from the area; it’s really more of a self-guided tour. Nevertheless the experience was memorable and the visit to this place was worthwhile.
This is not a guided tour, we met up with the person in charge at gathering point and was brought to the bus headed to Upopoy. The bus ride was 1hr, seats were pretty tight as small van was deployed probably due to little participants, we were the only foreigner participant along with around 6 Japanese old ladies. Upon arrival, another person in charge issued us ticket and did a simple explanation in Japanese which we couldn’t understand at all. From this point onwards was free and easy. There were a few performances available with English audio guide. Exhibitions and workshops are all in Japanese. 90% of the museum items are presented with English explanation which was really good enough for us. We got to try on simple ainu costumes for free and had picture taken by a helpful and friendly staff. Workshop such as embroidery and wood carving are available at a fee 1000yen, though it’s affordable but it takes 60mins, by then not much time left for you to explore the museum. The landscape is beautiful, we wish we could’ve stay there for more than 4hrs. Nit sure if it’s because we went there early in the morning, there wasn’t a lot of visitors. This is truly a hidden gem as it hasn’t been polluted by XHS and its user (if you know what I mean)
This was a shuttle bus with an English speaking guide to explain layout of Ainu cultural center and then time on our own (about 4 hours) to look around, see live performances, and eat. I found it very interesting but am also interested in native culture.
it’s really good. Knowing the Ainu culture and doing several activities there
Good to know
- Friendly reminder that traffic congestion is common on weekends and holidays. Japanese law stipulates that bus drivers' working hours cannot be exceeded, so the time spent at attractions will be adjusted appropriately based on the road conditions of the day. Thank you for your understanding.
- Please be sure to arrive at the designated location 10 minutes in advance. To avoid delaying the subsequent itinerary, those who are late will not be waited for. We will not contact you in advance, so please arrive at the meeting point on time.
- Emergency contact methods are limited to contacting us before departure; on the day of departure, please contact the tour guide directly.
- Bus arrival may be delayed due to road conditions. Please note that no guarantees are provided when transportation facilities are terminated. In this case, the fee for canceling the trip on the day will not be refunded, please understand.
- Delays may be caused by unavoidable factors such as traffic and weather, resulting in the cancellation of some itinerary attractions or affecting the time to visit each attraction. Thank you for your understanding.
- In the event of national holidays or temporary closure or restricted visiting hours due to special circumstances at the scenic spot, some scenic spots may be adjusted or the itinerary may end early, please understand the inconvenience caused.
- If there is traffic congestion or bad weather, the bus arrival time may be delayed. If you need to transfer to other means of transportation after the tour, please allow sufficient time.
- Please note that this tour does not include lunch; please take care of it yourself at Upopoy.
- The bus will be adjusted to a small bus or van depending on the number of people who sign up.
- Infants aged 0-2 who do not occupy a seat are free of charge. If a seat is required, a ticket must be purchased.
- If you are participating while traveling to Hokkaido/Sapporo, please avoid participating on the last day of your trip. (No compensation will be provided for bus delays.)
- Passengers may bring one suitcase each (not exceeding 30kg) to be stored in the bus trunk. The depth/height/width of each piece of luggage shall not exceed 155cm. Please do not store valuable luggage in the bus trunk. The company will not be liable for any loss, theft or damage to luggage stored in the bus trunk.
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