Dreamy MOERE NUMA PARK

This article first written in September 2009 and compiled in September 2011

Play Mountain

Moere Numa Park in the suburbs of Sapporo, Hokkaido has always been in my heart for the last ten years. The time has come; I had to go; and it was the right move. 

A  short TV program featuring Arte Piazza Bibai, lying about one-hour-drive away from Sapporo, made me convinced that I had to go to Hokkaido. I somewhat knew that it was time to finally go to Moere. The combination of Moere and Arte seemed just right and made sense to me.

Then the wonderful thing happened. I checked the Arte web site to find that a day tour to Moere and Arte was available soon and the tour was set only one time.

I called the agency, made a reservation, and started other arrangements like flight between Hiroshima and Hokkaido, accommodations, etc.

Lots to write, but first, look at the pictures. The stories will come much later. I just need to show you some of the pictures without any further delay.

Let me start with PLAY MOUNTAIN. The 30-meter-high mountain cheerfully attracts you and you'll feel you are free of any scale.

Play Mountain & Tetra Mound 

Music Shell & Play Mountain

Here's Moere Beach and Moere Mountain in Moere Numa Park. Between them is a larch grove making the Sea Fountain invisible from outside.

The beach has ripples just like a calm friendly sea. A special gift to children living in Sapporo where real sea is far away.

Underneath the mountain is simply garbage. Which is inevitably produced in big cities. A mountain of garbage is now transformed into a small grassy hill, 62 meters high and recognized as an authentic mountain for the government-authorized map.

Moere Mountain from a different angle

If you come from the Sapporo area, Moere Mountain is the first you sea as a sign of the park. Completed and opened to the public in 2004, the mountain now looks very natural and part of the landscape. Sixty two meters high. Try climbing it. The mountain is very inviting.

Glassy Pyramid

This pyramid is a combination of a quadratic prism and a quadrangle. The structure gives you a different impression depending on from which side you see.

Inside of the GLASS PYRAMID. The 1st floor.

Sea Fountain

Sapporo does not face the sea. So the SEA FOUNTAIN is another gift to the Sapporo citizens. The fountain has shows, with pumps and motors operating under the fountain bowl, some of which last for 15-minute and the rest of which for 45 minutes.

The longer program creates waves in the center bowl.

A larch grove surrounds the fountain, hiding it from its neighborhood.