Hokkaido · ShiraoiNo.735★★★Open in map →

Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park

cultureThe classic — done right

The national centre for Ainu culture stands on the shore of Lake Poroto in Shiraoi: a national museum on the rise above the water, and a park of reed-clad houses, craft studios and a performance hall laid out below it.

FromSapporo Station
Limited express, then 10-min walkJR Muroran Main Line, Suzuran expresses
Get off atShiraoi Station north exit (JR Muroran Main Line)
On foot
Upopoy National Ainu Museum and Park

Directions ↗

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

Cultural Exchange Hallthe park's stage building, where Ainu song and dance are performed to a daily timetable
Craft Studiowood carving and embroidery, worked in front of visitors rather than behind glass
Workshop buildingthe hands-on rooms, where the short timetabled sessions are run
Traditional Kotanreed-clad chise standing in a row along the water, rebuilt at full size
National Ainu Museumthe collections building on the rise, looking back down over Lake Poroto

How to actually get there

Sapporo Station → Shiraoi (JR Muroran Main Line; every Suzuran limited express stops).
Leave by the north exit, past the tourist information centre.
Walk about 500 metres, roughly ten minutes, to the Upopoy entrance.
Take the day's programme timetable at the gate before going any further.

JR Muroran Main Line to Shiraoi: Shiraoi sits on the Muroran Main Line between Tomakomai and Noboribetsu. Every Suzuran limited express calls there and some Hokuto services do as well, so the run from Sapporo is a single train with no change. The station carries a second name announcing Upopoy, which makes the stop hard to miss from inside the carriage.
Return from Shiraoi: The same line runs back towards Sapporo. Limited expresses thin out through the evening, and the park shuts earlier than a city attraction would, so settle the return train before you go through the gate rather than after.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Upopoy is two things behind one gate. The National Ainu Museum stands on the rise, holding the collections and the account of Ainu history. Below it the National Ainu Park runs along the shore of Lake Poroto, with a hall for song and dance, a craft studio, a workshop building and a reconstructed kotan of chise — houses framed in timber and clad in reed. A memorial site sits apart from both. The nickname Upopoy was chosen by public vote, and it fits what was built: a place for performing and for handling things rather than for reading labels in silence.

How to enjoy it

Doors open at 9:00, and the park closes earlier in winter than in summer, so build the day forwards from the opening rather than backwards from a train. Collect the timetable at the entrance first: the performances and the hands-on sessions are the reason to come, and they run at fixed times rather than on request. Mondays are closed, which catches out anyone treating this as a filler day.

Background & history

Upopoy opened to the public on 12 July 2020. The state built it as a national symbolic space for ethnic harmony — a phrase that reads like officialdom until you read the purpose attached to it, which is to serve as a base for the revival and creation of Ainu culture and as a standing acknowledgement of the Ainu as an indigenous people. The museum was given national status within that frame, the park was laid out along the lake around it, and a memorial site was set apart from both.

Before you go

Cash: Admission was 1,200 yen for an adult at the time of checking, with lower rates for school-age visitors and no charge for the youngest. Car parking is charged separately from entry. The site accepts cash, credit cards, transport IC cards and QR payments, so there is no need to arrive holding notes.
Good to know: Closed on Mondays — when a Monday falls on a public holiday the closure shifts to the next weekday — and over the New Year period. Winter hours are shorter than summer ones, and the difference is large enough to change a plan. Most of the park is open ground beside a lake, so wind and snow arrive undiluted.
Another way: By car, Shiraoi lies close to the Doo Expressway and the site has large paid car parks, including bays sized for coaches. Within the town itself, Shiraoi's community bus services and Donan Bus routes pass by, which helps if you are staying elsewhere along the coast rather than arriving by train.
After you get off: Leave the station by the north exit. The tourist information centre stands on that side of the tracks and the route to Upopoy is signed from it. The walk is about 500 metres — some ten minutes on flat ground, with no climb — and it ends at the main entrance.

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