Top Things to do in Asahikawa
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The 10 Best Things to Do in Asahikawa, Japan
Discover the best top things to do in Asahikawa, Japan including Asahiyama Zoo, Asahikawa Station, Ueno Farm, Otokoyama Sakezukuri Museum, Ayako Miura Literature Museum, Asahikawa City Museum, Aeon Mall Asahikawa Ekimae, Tokiwa Park, Snow Museum, Hokuchin Memorial Museum.
Restaurants in Asahikawa
1. Asahiyama Zoo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2 reviews
Reviewed By KoolTan - Singapore, Singapore
What a marvellous parade of penguins! It's everything as advertised. Mind you, these are independent-minded magnificent critters. So if they don't feel like exercising, you don't have the full force marching in step !
We felt a little sorry for the polar bear who was pacing up and down but hey, what can you do with limited space in a zoo. Certainly Asahiyama does it better than our Singapore Mandai Zoo ...
2. Asahikawa Station
Overall Ratings
4 based on 243 reviews
Reviewed By OpaMarnie - Wollongong, Australia
We travelled from Sapporo to Asahikawa for a day trip on a very cod day in February. The station is very spacious, with room to dress for outside, and we found it easy to find the correct platform. It was also linked to a shopping mall.
3. Ueno Farm
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 142 reviews
Reviewed By KKYZ
If you enjoy colorful and beautiful flowers like me, do visit Ueno Farm, especially if you love gardening. We enjoyed the flowers and how the landscaping of each part of the farm was done up. Spend the afternoon relax in this garden. What amused me most was a rooster who roams freely and we also stopped to enjoy the birds and insects and truly experienced the nature with wonderful colors of the different flowers.
4. Otokoyama Sakezukuri Museum
Overall Ratings
4 based on 117 reviews
Reviewed By Gary Y - Singapore, Singapore
The museum (also the distillery which opens in Oct) was a great experience for the family even for our 2 underaged daughters who couldn't tasted the sake. Seeing the lovely garden just outside the museum, learning the sake making process and dressing up in traditional sake makers was a lot of fun. Being the driver, i was not allowed to drink either but the rest of the adults enjoyed the tasting and bought several bottles and some souvenirs.
The museum is about a 20min drive from Asahikawa Station. There is no admission fee other than paying a small sum for tasting its special sake. One of the staff speaks excellent English. Remember to taste the so called "longevity water"! It really is interesting just to even see the locals bringing their own water containers to have then filled up !
5. Ayako Miura Literature Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 79 reviews
Reviewed By Chuzaa - Vancouver, Canada
This is a small private literature museum to commemorate the life and works of Ayako Miura and her husband. It is well-maintained and run by local volunteers who adore Miura's works.
She has written over eighty novels and non-fiction works in the second half of the 20th century. The debut novel was "Freezing Point (Hyouten)" in 1965 (English version in 1986). Some other novels translated into English include: "Shiokari Pass (Shiokari Touge)" in 1968 (English version in 1974), "Hidden Ranges (Kairei)" in 1981 (English version in 1993), "Lady Gracia (Hosokawa Garasha)" in 1975 (English version in 2004).
Many of her works are also translated into Chinese, Korean, French, Indonesian, etc.
Almost all her works are Christian-based.
If you have read her works before, it is definitely worth visiting this museum. Of course, a visit could encourage you to read some of her works in your own language.
6. Asahikawa City Museum
Overall Ratings
4 based on 52 reviews
Reviewed By melscottmax - Boston, Massachusetts
We had an hour or two to kill before catching the bus to the airport. The city museum (housed in the "Crystal Hall") is just across the river from the JR Station. We were short on time and so caught a taxi, but I imagine you could walk from the CBD fairly easily.
Very little signage in English, but interesting exhibits none the less. There was a famous artist given a demonstration of his technique whilst we were there which was a bonus. There are two floors of exhibits, focused on the natural and human history of Hokkaido. the lady at the desk spoke English and gave us printed information in English. A small fee to enter (300 yen I think).
7. Aeon Mall Asahikawa Ekimae
Overall Ratings
4 based on 71 reviews
Reviewed By Kimitaka S
It is just in front of JR Asahikawa station, and it is an ideal place to kill your waiting time for a train. There are plenty of shops and restaurants. It is nice to take a look of the everyday life of local people. Or, you can just relax in a coffee shop.
8. Tokiwa Park
Overall Ratings
4 based on 45 reviews
Reviewed By Mark A - Queenstown, New Zealand
Great park to stroll through, there are art exhibits a lake with Fountains and lots of wildlife, I enjoyed this park as it offered a break from our busy sightseeing schedule, we walked leisurely through and took in the beautiful trees, the little stream with koi carp and peacefulness. I think there would have been many a picnic had here, I think the kids would enjoy it too.
9. Snow Museum
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 140 reviews
Reviewed By flapflap - Sydney, Australia
It's all very pretty and white, and features a pretty spectacular icicle display. Gift shop was surprisingly small. Plenty of photo opportunities both inside and outside the building.
10. Hokuchin Memorial Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 28 reviews
Reviewed By Andrew M
My son and I visited this museum as we had a few hours in Asahikawa during our trip from Wakkanai to Hakodate. We took a taxi from the train station to the Gokoku Jimja Shrine across the road, and then walked across the road to the museum.There are quite a few exhibits in front and to the rear of the museum, so we walked around outside firstly before entering the museum. Hokuchin means the defence and stabilization of the north in Japanese. The 2nd Division of the Japanese Self Defence Force has a camp to the right facing the museum. Asahikawa was a military city prior to world war 2, and the museum displayed items of military history that were very rare. we had visited most of the Military Museums in Japan, and rated this museum as ranked second after the Yushukan War memorial in Tokyo.
Entrance to the museum is free. The museum is comprised of two floors, with the first floor dedicated to the activities of the self defence force. There are many pictures and photographs of the defence force activities. There is also a children's section with comics (Manga) in a small library. There were also quite a few models of military equipment displayed, and a small gift shop near to the entrance.We found the signboard detailing the museums history very interesting, particularly the closing statement that the Kuril Islands were seized by the Russian forces, and the occupation continues today.This is the main reason why Japan and Russia have not signed a peace treaty since the end of World War 2.
The second floor is where the best exhibits are found, and we were really interested in these displays.It was mainly dedicated to the 7th Division which was established in Hokkaido in 1896. It should be noted that Japan exchanged Sakhalin for the Kuril Islands in 1875.To the right, there were ancient items that Hokkaido residents would have used in daily life e.g farming, and many beautiful paintings and pictures on display. The sword collections and guns were excellently displayed, and the uniforms that the Japanese Military wore through the centuries was well done.
We had traveled to quite a few of Japans battlefield sites, and were impressed by the small models and explanations provided on the major battles that the 7th Division were involved in. These battles included the Battle with the Russians for the Kuril Islands (Shumshu and Paramushir) , the Attu Island Battle (near to Alaska) with US forces, Guadalcanal Island (Battle of Midway) with the US Forces and the Nomonhan Incident (Khalk Gol Battle) on the Mongolian border with Russian Forces. We had just returned from Kamchatka, so were very familiar with the Kuril Islands battle, and had visited Mongolia the previous year, and toured the Khalk Gol Battle site.The Battle of Midway was particularly devastating for the 7th Division, as only 200 of 2,000 soldiers sent to battle returned to Hokkaido.
There are many other historical displays that we did not understand, as not all displays had English translations.We spent over an hour at this museum, and enjoyed our time here. I would recommend a visit to this museum be combined with the shrine across the street, and if possible a translator would have been helpful to have a better understanding of the displays. We were the only visitors in the museum at the time, and the staff were very helpful to us, although there were no English speakers.
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