Goshuin and hanachōzu are both a kind of "seasonal hospitality." Pray at the shrine or temple, admire the flowers on the water basin, and receive the ink and vermilion — model itineraries for weaving that day, unhurried, across the city of Sapporo.
Sapporo is an easy city to explore on foot and by subway. To enjoy both goshuin and hanachōzu on a single outing, the right measure is to keep it to two to four places rather than trying to see everything. Hanachōzu are a seasonal display, and goshuin are received at the offering desk — each an encounter of "that day, that moment."
Here we introduce model courses by area (Maruyama and Chūō), by length (half-day or full-day), and by season. Please check the temples, shrines and highlights shown here together with the directory and the events map.
札幌は歩いても乗ってもめぐりやすい街。欲張らず2〜4社に絞り、花と墨との出会いを楽しんで。エリア別・時間別・季節別のコースをご案内します。
Before you photograph the hanachōzu, and before you receive your goshuin, pray from the heart.
Pray first — then the flowers, then the seal.
Four model routes to choose by area and by length. Distances and times are approximate.
Begin at Hokkaidō Jingū, the region's grand guardian shrine, and take your time through the woods of Maruyama. Plum and cherry in spring, fresh green in early summer, crimson maples in autumn — the grounds themselves are the season's highlight.
Guide Tōzai subway line "Maruyama-kōen" → Hokkaidō Jingū → Maruyama Park & around ／ half day (3–4 hours)
Start at Hokkaidō Jingū in Maruyama — the season is in the grounds themselves.
A route linking the temples and shrines of the city centre by subway and streetcar. It is a way of praying woven into everyday life, dropped in between shopping and a coffee. Meet a hanachōzu, and count that day lucky.
Guide The Ōdōri and Nakajima-kōen area by subway / streetcar ／ half to full day (as many places as you like)
Thread the central wards by subway and streetcar, between coffee and errands.
Pray and receive goshuin in Maruyama in the morning, then rest in the neighbourhood at midday. In the afternoon, head to another area and reach two to four places by dusk. Keep it unhurried — a day with room to breathe.
Guide Morning = Maruyama → midday rest → afternoon = 1–2 places in another area ／ full day (6–7 hours)
Maruyama in the morning, another ward in the afternoon — two to four places, unhurried.
Cherry blossoms and hanachōzu in spring, lotus and cool shade in summer, maples in autumn, and the stillness of snow and shrines in winter. The same route wears another face as the season turns. For the year's news, see Four Seasons of Hokkaido.
Guide Spring = cherry × hanachōzu ／ Summer = lotus ／ Autumn = maples ／ Winter = snowbound temples and shrines
The same route wears four faces — cherry, lotus, maple, and snow.