Kirari☆Ishikari (Soseigawa Street) found by university students on the marathon course

A boulevard in the center of Sapporo full of nature that appears in the middle of the marathon race

After crossing the Minami-Shichijo Bridge in the middle of the Olympic Marathon Course, soseigawa-dori, which connects the east and west of the center of Sapporo, appears. The Sosei River is based on a canal called Otomobori, which was opened in 1866, and Soseigawa-dori is a road that was developed in the wake of the Sapporo Olympics held in 1972. It is a nature-rich street with trees overflowing with greenery and various flowers that can be enjoyed every season around the Sosei River.

A place of relaxation surrounded by greenery, water and art

Soseigawa-dori is home to Soseigawa Park, a hydrophilic green space. Soseigawa Park was established in April 2011 on the banks of the North 1-jo river from Minami 4 of the Sosei River, which flows on the east side of the Sapporo TV Tower, as a place of relaxation for getting close to water and greenery. This park is surrounded by precious watersides and lush greenery in the city center, and is popular with Sapporo citizens. It is maintained on a two-stage seawall so that you can take a walk while feeling the murmuring of the river, and there are approach stairs and stepping stones to the waterside. In addition, there are 18 works of art in Soseigawa Park, especially the work called Snow Ring, which is right next to the Sapporo TV Tower, which is a large circular road. In addition, characteristic sculptures are scattered in various places, so you can stroll around the space like an open-air museum. Soseigawa Park, created by water and greenery, is a comfortable place and a recommended place where you can think that you will want to walk again and want to visit.

Soseigawa-dori Street full of historical romance

If you walk through Soseigawa Park, you will find Sosei Bridge, a rare stone bridge. In addition, you can find a statue of Kametaro Otomo nearby. Kametaro Otomo is considered to be the founder of sapporo village (Higashi-ku, Sapporo City), and built Otomobori, the origin of the Sosei River. The wooden bridge built in 1877 as a irrigation canal in otomobori was the first sosei bridge. After that, Minami-1-jo-dori and Sosei River, where Sosei Bridge is located, became the baselines of sapporo’s urban axis. However, due to the washover of Sosei Bridge in 1907, it was crosslinked as a stone arch bridge in 1903, and has continued to support east-west traffic in central Sapporo for 100 years as the oldest existing bridge in Sapporo City. In addition, it is sometimes called “Nihonbashi of Sapporo” after Nihonbashi in Tokyo, which is the same stone arch bridge and the base line of the city. Sosei Bridge has been restored in its original form, and you can still feel the wind of Sapporo’s history when you visit Sosei Bridge full of historical romance and the Statue of Kametaro Otomo, where you can see the citizens relaxing in the park.

Let’s feel the heat of athletes

Many of you may have left an impression on SoseiGawadori, which was a particularly long straight line, in the Marathon Course of the Olympics. Many of you will remember the many dramas that unfolded on SoseiGawa-dori. SoseiGawa-dori is a straight road with a loose slope, and there are many signals because it is a main road, but it is a place where it is easy to relive the actual marathon course. There is also Soseigawa Park, which is a resting place, where you can rest your body while touching nature. In addition, you can easily access the course from Sapporo Station, Odori Station, Kita-12jo Station on the Namboku Line of the Municipal Subway, Kita 18-jo Station, and Kita 24-jo Station. Why don’t you feel the heat of athletes at Sosei River Street?