All The Sapporo Flower Festivals You Need To Know About
For a city that spends so many months under metres of snow, it’s always hard to believe that by the time spring rolls around, flowers are blooming and there’s months ahead of flower festivals and beautiful flowers to admire in the Sapporo area.
If you’re travelling to Sapporo during late April-August, there’s always at least one flower festival or other flower viewing events that are happening, and it’s one of the best times to visit Sapporo in our opinion (from locals living in Sapporo)! The weather is very consistent in the summer, it’s hot, but not humid like other parts in Japan that makes it a great tourist hotspot for Japanese during the summer holidays as well.
Here are all the flower events that happen each year to bookmark in your Sapporo itinerary!
The Sapporo Flower Festivals You Need To Know About (And When)
Hiraoka Plum Blossom Festival (Late April-early May)
Sakura season arrives much later to Hokkaido than other parts of Japan, and this festival at Hiraoka usually starts in late April, to early May.
This is home to one of the largest plum groves in the city, the park features around 1,200 trees, with a striking mix of red and white Bungo plum blossoms.
It’s one of Sapporo’s most popular views of sakura and you can even grab a special sakura soft serve whilst you’re here. Come mid week and early in the morning to avoid the crowds. Many people bring a picnic with them to enjoy hanami (flower viewing), sitting underneath the blossoms and taking in the fleeting beauty of the trees here in Japan.
Tulip Lily of the Valley Festa Takino (Mid-late May)
May sees the arrival of tulips and one of the best places to check them out is at Takino Suzuran hillside park for the tulip lily of the valley festa which usually takes place from the middle to end of May.
This is actually one of the largest tulip displays you’ll find in Sapporo, the festival features 230,000 tulips across approximately 120 different varieties.
If you drive, car parking is ¥500 and ¥450 per adults to enter (kids go free) Takino as of 2026. This has been one of our favourite flower festivals, the colours, variety and size is incredible! I really recommend taking along a picnic to enjoy by the tulip fields and grabbing a soft serve ice cream afterwards.
This festival gets really busy, so if you can only come during the weekend, come for opening so you have a better opportunity to get photos without lots of other people in them!
Yurigahara Park (May-August)
Yurigahara Park is very famous in Sapporo for showing different flowers throughout the seasons, and it really is a must visit if you’re in the Sapporo area between May and August.
In May, expect tulips, peonies, lupines and roses in June, lilies, lavender and roses in July and hibiscus and day lilies during August. There is also a super cute lily train which goes around the park which costs ¥600, it’s operates from Monday to Saturday and runs every 30 minutes.
To get here on public transport from the city, take the Gakuen Toshi JR line directly from Sapporo station to Yurigahara station, the park is then a short 5 minutes walk away.
Sapporo Lilac Festival (Mid-late May)
Odori Park hosts so many festivals throughout the year, it’s really the central hub of the city. The lilac festival welcomes spring beautifully as it’s the first proper festival post the snow festival which takes place in February.
It features over 2,000 lilac trees, live music, wine tasting and plenty of opportunities to eat delicious food from the street vendors on site. There’s also an opportunity to purchase a lilac sapling if you’re able to take one home with you (not by plane!).
The food stalls offer so much variety, if you get anything, try the lilac mont blanc style ice cream (shown below), it’s so good!
Lavender Picking at Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill (End of June to mid July)
July is all about lavender season in Sapporo, and it smells incredible! There’s nowhere better to take it all in than at Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill where you can go lavender picking, this experience is included in the entry fee and is open daily from 10:00-15:00, (last entry of the day is 14:45).
You can pick up to 50 sprigs to take home with you, you don’t need to bring anything along as scissors, wrapping and paper will be provided to you from the registration tent.
It wouldn’t be Sapporo without a themed soft serve too, so do grab a beautiful lavender soft serve before you leave.
Lavender In Full Bloom at Takino Hill of the Buddha – July
The hill of the buddha is an iconic place to visit in Sapporo, no matter the season, but perhaps July really is one of the best times to see it as the buddha’s head is seemingly carpeted with 150,000 lavender plants.
It’s one of those sights that you just have to see in person! Admission is ¥500 for adults, and free for elementary students and younger.
Flower Festa – Odori Park 4 chome to 7 chome (End of June- early July)
This early summer festival features the most beautiful floral displays that line either side of Odori Park (4 chome-7 chome), the famous Agricultural High School Gardening Koshien, flower markets, and local food stalls.
Some of the floral displays feature chairs or areas within them, offering unique and beautiful photo spot opportunities! If you’re staying in the city, this is a must visit, and it can easily be accessed on the Namboku subway line from Sapporo Station (only one stop).
Rose Gardens (Mid June-July and September)
June and July sees the arrival of the most beautiful roses throughout Sapporo, in their first bloom. You can actually catch them again during their second bloom in September which is super special.
There are a number of places you can catch the roses in Sapporo, but two key places you’ll find them are at the sunken garden in Odori park 12 chome which is home to 65 types of roses.
The Shiroi Koibito park rose garden also features 200 types of roses, and it’s the most quintessential spot! Whilst it costs to enter the shiroi koibito chocolate factory, the rose garden area is completely free to access.
These are the main flower festivals and flower viewings that take part throughout the spring and summer in Sapporo, but there are of course so many other opportunities to spot flowers throughout these seasons.
We also love hydrangea season in July and think Nakajima Park is one of the best places to take them in!
Keep your eyes peeled during your spring and summer trip to Sapporo, as there are opportunities to spot beautiful flowers throughout the entire city!
