This was my first visit, on March 22, 2025. The “temporary museum storage facility” formerly at リンケージプラザ was renamed “札幌市博物館活動センター,” a base for activities promoting plans for a comprehensive natural history museum (2001;H13). In 2016(H28), it relocated to the former ひまわり整肢園·かしわ学園 building (at the southwest corner of 平岸 Cemetery, north of 平岸高台 Elementary School) and reopened. Various preparations are reportedly underway for it to become a formal museum (it seems several more years will be needed, but I'm really looking forward to it). The two main pillars of the exhibits here are, quite simply, “サッポロカイギュウ化石” and “小金湯産クジラ化石”. サッポロカイギュウ is the giant sea cow of the 豊平 River, an 820万-year-old sea cow fossil from 札幌, said to be the world's oldest large, cold-adapted sea cow measuring 7m long. The whale fossil from 小金湯 is reportedly a 900万-year-old relative of large right whales, the world's oldest, unearthed from the lowest layer of the 小樽内川 Formation dating to the “Late Miocene” of the Cenozoic Tertiary, 4~500m upstream from that fossil. (The word “relative” is the key: in other words, it is very likely to be a so-called “new species,” which is exciting.) The reconstructed whale skeleton measures 14m in total length, 2.6m high, and 6m wide. Its display stand was completed in R5, and it seems to have been exhibited several times at events in spacious venues outside the center. Unfortunately, only part of it is displayed inside this “札幌市博物館活動センター” (apparently it is too cramped to display, so it is stored disassembled). What is interesting is that the sea cow fossil was discovered by someone who was an elementary school student at the time (they carefully recorded the circumstances of the discovery, leading to BIGNEWS 2 years later), while the whale fossil was discovered by someone who was a doctor at the time (perhaps because of their profession, they reportedly immediately recognized it as a giant animal fossil). I have tremendous respect for both of them: while doing fieldwork for other purposes, they used broad perspectives and keen observation to pursue the questions that arose instead of passing them by. I had an enjoyable time talking about the sea cow with an exhibit interpreter and receiving a thick report free of charge, and speaking with a curator who told me about the status of research papers on the whale fossil. Thank you. 🧐😄🙏 I don't know what the new 札幌 city museum will be like, but I'm glad I came now so that later I can say things like, “Before··· it was like this and that···~”. (Its location is not somewhere you can drop by while doing something else, but I'm satisfied that I have taken a proper look at least 1 time.) The fact that it's free is also a big help🤗.

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Admission is free. There is a skeletal specimen of a new whale species discovered in 札幌市. You can also view ancient 札幌 and its surroundings, including the time of tectonic movements, in 3D. I think it's worth visiting once. 2025.10.22.

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From 澄川 subway station, you head uphill toward higher ground without any signs directing you to the center, then descend slightly to find it beside 平岸高台 Elementary School. Admission was free, and there was a spacious parking lot. This time I visited for an exhibition of rare and treasured ammonite collections. It mainly consists of a collection storage and exhibition room, a permanent exhibition room, and a library corner. Without an event, I think you can see everything in less than 30 minutes. Perhaps because I visited on a weekday, there were no other visitors, which gave me a valuable opportunity to hear all kinds of very kind, detailed explanations in a homely atmosphere from the museum director? and the chairman of an associated research group. It is normally closed on Sundays, though it seems to open on Sundays during special exhibitions, so it may be a shame that parents and children cannot visit together on their day off. It reportedly used to be in the former municipal hospital downtown, but transport access here is not very good, and I felt it was a waste that such a worthwhile facility was not promoted more actively. With fossil specimens of the 札幌 sea cow and taxidermy of small birds from 札幌, I thought it was a perfect facility for parents and children to enjoy at a relaxed pace. I felt that 札幌市 should shine a light on steady, dedicated facilities like this as well, rather than focusing only on tourism and sports.

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It is a very compact museum, or rather an exhibition space, mainly displaying sea cows and whales. You can also watch projection-mapping videos, and the content is more than adequate for a free facility.

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This is a municipal public facility in 豊平区, on the outskirts of 札幌市, 北海道, where you can learn about how 札幌's natural environment developed and about its living things. It explains in detail the formation of 札幌 since the Ice Age, as well as its animals, plants, geological strata, and more. The collection storage and exhibition room also displays a reconstructed skeletal specimen of 「サッポロカイギュウ」 (approximately 7m in total length), the world's oldest large sea cow, discovered in 札幌 in 2003. The multipurpose room also features 3D projection mapping, with images projected onto a terrain model, making it easy to see how the natural environment developed from 札幌 1億3000万 years ago to the present. The facility's staff are all very kind, and you can easily ask them questions. The facility itself is not particularly large. Even taking a thorough look, you can explore it in about 30〜40 minutes. It is about a 15-minute walk from 澄川 Station on the Namboku subway line, and the journey there takes you uphill. The location is a little hard to find, so be aware. Admission is free.

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