Upopoy (National Ainu Museum and Park)

The first time I heard about the Ainu people was about 2 years ago. Over time, I got more information and when I planned to travel to Hokkaido, I just couldn’t miss visiting the Upopoy National Ainu Museum. There are a few ways to reach the place. I took a train from Sapporo station to Shiraoi station, which took me about an hour. 
It’s better to dedicate a whole day to exploring the whole Museum complex and park and dive deeper into the Ainu culture. You have a chance to observe traditional Ainu buildings, try to wear traditional Ainu clothes, learn their language or attend the craft workshops. There’s also the Cultural Exchange Hall, where you can watch a short film about Ainu culture. Take some time to walk around the park to enjoy the nature and the lake landscape. Don’t worry about the tickets, you can buy them at the ticket desk or ticket vending machine at the entrance. The place is highly recommended for visiting.

Great place to learn about the Ainu people thru exhibits and cultural performances. The museum building itself is impressive. Lake Poroto is inside the museum grounds, so you can take a calming walk along the lake shore. There are also dining options and gift shops with great products.

I visited on the Cultural day so it was free!!! I didn’t expect to get free access but seems a lucky day indeed. The artists were good at reflecting the Ainu culture through costumes, dances, musical instruments & so many things. It is better if you go there in the morning. Check the JR schedule & make plans ahead of visiting there otherwise you’ve to wait long time for the train. Definitely a place worth visiting.

Great day out learning and experiencing Ainu culture. Would recommend at least half a day if not a full day to experience all the activities, there are a lot at specific times so you might want to check those and decide what you want to do. They still have a partnership with Golden Kamuy and JR running until the end of March and you can get badges and stickers! People and staff are lovely and so helpful, keen to share and answer most questions, and even using translator apps to communicate if needed. We learnt and experienced a lot, as well as got some great souvenirs and they have a lot of walking routes along the kotan and lake, as well as shops, cafes and a bus if you need it to move around the area as it is quite big. We had a fantastic time, and it's only a 10 minute walk from the Shiraoi station, we decided to do it as a pit stop between Sapporo and Hakodate which worked great!

This is a facility that conveys the culture of the Ainu people, who are the indigenous people of Japan. I live in Hokkaido, but I didn't know much about Ainu culture, so it was very educational. There are not only exhibition facilities but also many events where you can have hands-on experiences, allowing you to enjoy half a day pleasantly.

New and interesting place with a lot of activities to do in addition to simply visiting the museum. We attended a dance performance, did a workshop for wood carving. Excepting a small section in the museum all the information was also in English (and Chinese and Korean). You can easily reach it by train from Sapporo Station, in less than 1h:30.

Amazing location and layout to inform on the Ainu people of Hokkaido. I wish there had been a little more acknowledgement of mainland Japan's colonial role in the suppression of Ainu people and their culture and a more general decolonial statement however. But worth going absolutely for the live performances, natural setting, and incredible museum and learning. I learnt so much and hope this helps Ainu history continue in perpetuity.

It's a moderately sized park, focusing on Ainu traditions and culture. The main challenges we faced were that most of the information was in Japanese, so we had to rely on Google Translate to figure things out. The performance and show schedule are all in Japanese, too, but they provide an English translation device during the show. If you enter the park after 2 pm, you get a 50% discount on the entrance fees.

Visiting the Ainu museum and village is usually part of any tour of Hokkaido. The last time I visited, well over 20 years ago, the village seemed more rustic. I really enjoyed the performance as it gave us a good insight into Ainu life back in the day. And the performers were excellent! I did visit the bears and dogs. But it was such a hot day that they looked so sad. Personally I'm not a fan of any caged animal so seeing the bears begging for treats was tough to watch. The museum was well done and informative. All in all a pleasant visit.