Commemorative Ceremony and Events

Over two days, September 26 and 27, 2026, Hokkaido University will hold its 150th Anniversary Commemorative Ceremony and related events at the Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater hitaru and the Sapporo Cultural Arts Community Center SCARTS. In addition to invited guests from Japan and abroad, these events will be open to the public, with an emphasis on both celebration and participation. Through the entire program, the University will honor its 150-year history while also presenting its vision, values, and commitment to society for the future.

For more information about the ceremony and events, please visit this webpage.

Furukawa Hall Renovation and Utilization Project

^{Current Condition of Furukawa Hall (Widespread decay and cracks throughout the building)}

Hokkaido University has a history dating back to 1906, when it received a donation from the Furukawa family for facility improvements. This enhanced educational infrastructure and enabled the institution, then known as Sapporo Agricultural College, to be elevated to university status. While most of those original facilities donated by the family have since been dismantled and removed over time, the Furukawa Hall, the sole surviving structure, is preserved as a nationally registered Tangible Cultural Property.

Hokkaido University is now advancing plans to revitalize this historic building not merely as a preservation target, but as a regional hub for complex disaster research. This hub aims to strengthen the foundations of Hokkaido’s agriculture, forestry, fisheries, livelihoods, economy, and logistics, while creating safe and secure watershed areas.

The development of this hub represents the first step toward a future society resilient to disasters. It will serve as a “fortress of knowledge” supporting safety and security not only for Hokkaido but for all of Japan, acting as a bridge connecting sustainable living and hope for future generations.

Human Resource Development Project: Cultivating “Innovation Frontrunners”

Specialized Education for Students Aiming to Excel at the Forefront of Society

A new educational program honoring the spirit of Nitobe College begins. With corporate support, our program goes beyond what a university alone can provide, offering ambitious educational opportunities that turn regional communities and the world into classrooms. In this way, we are cultivating pioneers of future society, or “Innovation Frontrunners”.

Three educational courses to develop real-world implementation skills

○ Co-Creative Education Course
Learn in the real world through collaboration with companies and local governments, transcending the boundaries of undergraduate and graduate programs.

○ Global Education Course
Cultivate skills that encourage students to pursue study abroad opportunities and embrace the challenges of living overseas.

○ Entrepreneurship Education Course
Foster entrepreneurs and innovators who contribute to local and global communities with an entrepreneurial spirit.

This program provides funding for overseas travel expenses, field research costs, and collaborative research grants among students enrolled in each course, supporting their proactive learning.

“Children’s Book Forest” Project

Designed by world-renowned architect Tadao Ando, who also covered the construction costs and donated it to the university, the library facility “Children’s Book Forest Sapporo−Hokkaido University” will open in summer 2026. This space aims to nurture children’s imagination and curiosity through reading—serving as a place that supports new encounters with books.

[About Children’s Book Forest]

Children’s Book Forest is a children’s library facility designed and funded by Tadao Ando himself, donated to municipalities and other entities. It embodies his desire for “children to pick up diverse books and cultivate boundless imagination and curiosity” and for them to “spontaneously engage with the words, emotions, and ideas within books, learning that the world holds people and ways of life different from their own.” As of July 2025, five such facilities have been opened nationwide, and “Children’s Book Forest Sapporo−Hokkaido University” will be the sixth, and the first in Hokkaido.

[Joint Operation by Hokkaido University and Sapporo City]

“Children’s Book Forest Sapporo−Hokkaido University” will be donated to the university and operated jointly by Hokkaido University and the City of Sapporo as a public library facility.

This marks the first attempt nationwide to establish a library primarily for elementary and junior high school students within a university campus. It will provide children with new experiences that foster free learning opportunities and intellectual curiosity, leveraging the university’s diverse resources.

[Facility Overview]

Location: Kita 8-jo Nishi 6-chome, Kita-ku, Sapporo (within Hokkaido University campus)
Structure: Steel frame, 1 story above ground (Total floor area: approx. 350 m²)
Collection Size: Approximately 15,000 volumes (planned)

Virtual Campus Project

We are developing a digital education environment for Hokkaido University students while also creating a VR-based Virtual Campus as a platform for the wider public to learn about the university’s educational and research achievements.

[Educational Applications for Students]

• Participate in seminars, lectures, and research meetings via the web
• Access explanatory videos and lectures for more specialized learning
• Participate in virtual guided tours

[Utilization for Outreach to External Audiences]

• Access the university campus anytime, anywhere via the web to experience research and exhibition content while enjoying the campus atmosphere
• Experience areas not open to the public on the actual campus through the virtual space
• Participate in events exclusive to the virtual campus
• Prepare for visits to the University Museum through advanced learning

―HU COMMONS META PLACE―
The HU COMMONS META PLACE website has been launched as part of this initiative.
Aimed at developing a digital education environment for Hokkaido University students, it also serves as a “space” to share the university’s educational and research achievements with the wider public.
Parts of the Virtual Campus project can be experienced on YouTube.

Hokkaido University 150th Anniversary History Publication Project

To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the university’s founding, this project is dedicated to the compilation and release of the following materials under the title Hokkaido University 150th Anniversary History Publication.

• Hokkaido University 150-Year History

Comprising six volumes in total—two volumes of the main text and four volumes of source materials—each volume will be approximately 700–800 pages long, comprehensively covering the 150-year history of Hokkaido University.

• Photo Collection: 150 Years of Hokkaido University

This volume will feature approximately 500 photographs, illustrating the development of Hokkaido University over its 150 years. Publication is scheduled to coincide with the 150th Anniversary Commemoration Ceremony.

• Student Booklet: Hokkaido University Students and the History of Hokkaido University (working title)

This booklet is being created to serve as a textbook for student lectures on Hokkaido University’s history. It is planned to be distributed to undergraduate freshmen for several years starting in the 2026 academic year.

All of these will be distributed to national universities, archives-related institutions, libraries, relevant local governments, etc. For item 1, in addition to the printed book, we are considering making digital data available online via HUSCAP, etc. For items 2 and 3, we are considering the possibility of general sales through Hokkaido University Press, etc.

This project is primarily managed by the Editorial Office for Hokkaido University’s 150-Year History. For details, please see here (Editorial Office website in Japanese).