Music
Top attractions for Sapporo sightseeing in the summer—rock, jazz, and classical music festivals!
In the summer, Sapporo becomes exuberant with music. Events during the period include the outdoor “Rising Sun Rock Festival (RSR)” representative of the Hokkaido music scene, the “Sapporo City Jazz (SCJ)” hailed as a festival of jazz music and held over a period of around two months, and the “Pacific Music Festival (PMF)”—an international educational music festival aimed at fostering young musicians in the genre of classical music. We would recommend the music festivals while sightseeing in Sapporo during the summer. You may enjoy music with food made from fresh local Hokkaido ingredients and a beer in your hand. Rock, jazz, and classical music—which would you prefer?
Rock music
Rock music
Enjoy rock music and local cuisine while sightseeing in Sapporo!
The “Rising Sun Rock Festival (RSR)”, held every year since 1999 and one of the key outdoor rock festivals in Japan, presents live performances from more than 100 groups of musicians throughout the night. One of the highlights of the festival is the restaurant area hosting more than 60 stores. Many visitors from outside Hokkaido even come to the festival just to get a bite off local food made from fresh Hokkaido local ingredients. The Kids’ Garden with its wide range of equipment and the foot bath are also popular. Shuttle buses connecting the venue of the festival and within the city of Sapporo are available until 23:00, so that a lot of the visitors would come on a one-day trip.
If you are into live acoustic performance, we would recommend “musica hall café” located near Sapporo’s Tanukikoji. A space of warmth decorated with art works allows you to sit back and immerse yourself in the music.
Jazz
A sense of freedom heightened with jazz and liquor while sightseeing in Sapporo!
If you would like to enjoy jazz during the sightseeing, definitely check out the “Sapporo City Jazz (SCJ)” held over for 9 days. During live shows at the outdoor stage of Sapporo Art Park, you may just lie down on the grass and listen to the music brought to you by celebrated musicians while guzzling your beer with abandon, overwhelmed by a sense of freedom. Free performance and live shows held in the morning where children can also enjoy are available as well.
If you would just like to drop by a music scene casually, pay a visit to the café-and-bar “Bossa” cherished by jazz fans in Sapporo. Since you may enjoy jazz, food, and liquor any time, it is also popular among women and tourists.
Classical music
Enjoy classical music and abundant nature while sightseeing in Sapporo!
To enjoy classical music during your sightseeing, go to the budget-friendly “Pacific Music Festival (PMF)”, where talented young musicians selected from around the world bring you concerts under the guidance of top-class performers. Free concerts are also held in a number of venues, including Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara located in Nakajima Park covered in green, Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, Sapporo Clock Tower, and Odori Park. The popular “picnic concert” held at the outdoor stage of Sapporo Art Park even welcomes baby music lovers (private nursing place available) and you may enjoy delicacies bought at food booths or box lunches you have brought with you as you unwind and enjoy the classical music. Come and enjoy the beautiful melodies of classical music while surrounded by abundant nature. And don’t miss out on the concerts by Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, Hokkaido’s only professional orchestra based at Kitara.
