Odori Park
Odori Park, A Broad Strip Of Lawn And Flowerbeds, 1.5 Km Long, That Cuts Through The Middle Of Sapporo, With A TV Tower At Its East End, Summer Beer Gardens And The Winter Snow Festival'S Big Snow Statues. A Free, Easy Place To Sit In The Middle Of The City. · Sapporo, Hokkaido
Odori Park is a long strip of lawns, flowerbeds, fountains and sculptures that runs east and west through the middle of Sapporo, about 1.5 km long - confirm - and split into numbered blocks, commonly counted 1 to 12 from west to east. It separates the north and south halves of the city centre, and Odori Station sits beneath it, so most visitors cross it without trying. The Sapporo TV Tower stands at the east end, around 147 m high - confirm. The park is free to enter and open all day, and it works as a place to sit, eat a convenience-store lunch or watch the city. Its fame comes from events: the Sapporo Snow Festival in early February with large snow and ice sculptures, the Lilac Festival in May, a summer beer garden from about July to August and an Autumn Fest - confirm dates. Outside event weeks it is a pleasant, ordinary park, not a major garden, so give it an hour. Sapporo has its own listing.
Odori, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, a long strip of park running east-west through the middle of the city, beside Odori Station, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
The park is an open public space with no gate or ticket, and it can be entered at any hour, though the lawns are dark and quiet at night and the TV Tower and any event stalls keep their own hours - confirm. Festivals set their own dates and times, commonly the Snow Festival in early February, the Lilac Festival in May, the beer garden from about July to August and the Autumn Fest - confirm. Odori Station is directly beneath the park, on the subway lines. Nothing needs booking for the park, but festival-season hotels fill early, so book rooms well ahead.