Hakodate International Art Festival to Hold Preview Edition in October 2027, Produced by GLAY’s TERU

A new art festival, the Hakodate International Art Festival, is being launched in Hakodate, Hokkaido. The Hakodate International Art Festival Executive Committee and the general incorporated association Hakodate International Culture Organization announced it on October 20, 2026. A large-scale project that uses historic buildings and other sites to bring together art, music and food, it plans a preview edition at a single venue from Saturday, October 9 to Monday, October 11, 2027 (national holiday), followed by the main edition at multiple venues around the city in 2028. TERU (Teruhiko Kobashi) of GLAY, a Hakodate native, serves as executive producer, and Hakodate Mayor Jun Oizumi chairs the executive committee.

Three days at one venue in 2027, then a month-long main edition in 2028

According to the announcement, the preview edition is scheduled for Saturday, October 9 to Monday, October 11, 2027 (national holiday). Positioned as a trial run ahead of the full-scale festival, it will first use a single venue. The experimental edition will feature exhibitions by several artists, live music and food stalls, and aims for a total of about 10,000 visitors.

The main edition in 2028 will run for about a month and include large-scale exhibitions at multiple venues around the city. It plans to invite a dozen or so artists and groups from Japan and abroad, and admission will be charged. The organizers say they intend to grow it into an international art festival drawing around 150,000 visitors in total.

Why Hakodate? Historic buildings and the “Hakodate Art Road”

The announcement describes Hakodate as “a historic port city that Japan can be proud of.” According to the City of Hakodate, the Motomachi-Suehirocho Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings was designated on April 21, 1989, as the 29th Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in Japan. Covering about 14.5 hectares, it is lined with Japanese-style, Western-style and hybrid Japanese-Western buildings constructed from the Meiji era to the early Showa era. It also includes cultural property buildings such as the Old Public Hall of Hakodate Ward, an Important Cultural Property, and the Church of the Resurrection of the Hakodate Orthodox Church.

The festival aims to revitalize Hakodate’s tourism infrastructure and local industries together through the use of historic buildings and other sites. It sets out to create the “Hakodate Art Road,” a new tourism and cultural route linking its sites on foot and by public transportation, and to contribute to the development of a sustainable local community through culture and the arts. However, the announcement does not name the buildings that will serve as venues.

GLAY’s TERU as executive producer, the mayor as committee chair

The festival is co-organized by two bodies: the Hakodate International Art Festival Executive Committee, made up of the city government, the business community, the tourism association and others, and the Hakodate International Culture Organization, a general incorporated association that provides specialist knowledge and practical capacity. The organization was established in September 2026, is headquartered in Nishiazabu, Minato City, Tokyo, and is represented by Naoto Kamase.

The executive producer is Teruhiko Kobashi (TERU of GLAY), a director of the organization. The announcement introduces him as a Hakodate native who has contributed to the city’s cultural life not only through live concerts but also by organizing local festivals and exhibitions. The organizers say they will bring in an art director and a curator active at art festivals in Japan and abroad, but have not disclosed their names.

Press conference announcing the launch on October 27

A press conference announcing the establishment of the executive committee will be held on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, from 17:15 to 18:00 at Hakonoki CAFÉ in Toyokawacho, Hakodate. It will include an outline of the project, a Q&A session and a photo session, with Jun Oizumi (Mayor of Hakodate and chair of the executive committee), Toshiyuki Kubo (Chairman of the Hakodate Chamber of Commerce and Industry and adviser to the executive committee), Takahisa Kashiwagi (President of the Hakodate International Tourism and Convention Association and adviser to the committee) and Teruhiko Kobashi scheduled to appear.

Elsewhere in Hokkaido, the Sapporo International Art Festival 2027 opens on January 16, 2027. Schedules for other art festivals in Japan are compiled in our 2026–2027 art fair and art festival calendar.

Editor’s perspective

Rather than opening at multiple venues from the start, the plan is phased: a trial at a single venue for three days in 2027, followed by the full-scale festival in 2028. The organizers have also put numbers on their visitor targets: about 10,000 in 2027 and around 150,000 in 2028. On the other hand, the venues, participating artists and admission prices have yet to be announced. With a locally born musician joining the city government, the business community and tourism organizations, the focus from here is how international a program they can present.

Overview

Name: Hakodate International Art Festival
Dates: Saturday, October 9 – Monday, October 11, 2027 (national holiday), planned (preview edition) / About one month in 2028 (main edition)
Venue: Hakodate, Hokkaido (one venue in 2027, multiple venues in 2028)
Admission: Charged in 2028 (prices not yet announced)
Organizers: Hakodate International Art Festival Executive Committee and Hakodate International Culture Organization (co-organizers)
Executive committee chair: Jun Oizumi (Mayor of Hakodate)
Executive producer: Teruhiko Kobashi (TERU of GLAY)
*Information as of October 21, 2026. Please check the official website for the latest information.

*Top image: Old Public Hall of Hakodate Ward (Motomachi, Hakodate), July 2012 (Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on an announcement by the Hakodate International Culture Organization (October 20, 2026) and information on the City of Hakodate’s official website.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team