The landscape of the remains of a coal-mining town inspired the world-renowned artist. Sculptor, Kan Yasuda, and the outdoor sculpture park where you can enjoy the great outdoors.

Arte Piazza Bibai is an outdoor sculpture park about 60 kilometers northeast of Sapporo, located close to the center of Ishikari plain in Bibai city. “Arte Piazza” is Italian for “Art Square”. In what was once a coal-mining town, an obsolete elementary school building and gymnasium was renovated and left mostly as it was, the 30,000 square-meter area, including the surrounding forest, was redeveloped, and the sculptures from the Bibai-born, world-renowned sculptor Kan Yasuda were placed throughout the building and the surrounding grounds. The park was first opened 1992. Since then, the facilities and works of art continued to increase, becoming the vast 70,000 square-meter outdoor sculpture park it is today. The wooden school building and gymnasium, where numerous art events and hands-on classes are run throughout the year, is also used as a municipal kindergarten. It is a valuable space where you can enjoy the great outdoors and art just by taking a short trip from Sapporo.

Address: Ochiaicho Sakaemachi, Bibai, Hokkaido

Open: 9:00 – 17:00

Closed: Tuesdays, the days after public holidays (excluding Sundays), year-end and New Year holidays

Fee: Free admission

Telephone: 0126-63-3137

Website: www.artepiazza.jp/english