Hiroshi Oba Memorial Museum

Well-loved by the Japanese, Hiroshi Oba is famous for his tender, thoughtfully inquistive drawings that cause a warm glow in the heart. His single-panel manga drawings and illustrations have a universal appeal, covering a broad spectrum of themes and motifs, from the modern fascination with aeroplanes to dreamy scenery, and transcending genres from illustrations for magazines and food packaging to character images.

Born in Sapporo in 1921, Hiroshi Oba kept painting until his death in 1988, having never forgotten his love for his hometown. With his family’s idea to showcase his works to the people in Sapporo, Hiroshi Oba Memorial Museum was opened in Sapporo Shiryokan in 1995, acquiring 296 original drawings, a collection of airplane models and dolls, as well as favourite possessions, which were donated to Sapporo city from the Oba family. An artist’s studio has even been constructed, complete with bookshelves, a desk lined with sketches and his memorabilia, to reproduce the feeling that you are in an artist’s creative work environment.

When you first enter the museum, you’ll be enchanted by the vibrant and vivid colours of Oba’s illustrations. His work captures very radiantly the different hues of life, but always in a charming, surreal, quirky manner, such as the smallness of human beings compared to the jumbo sizes of aeroplanes, Aladdin on a flying envelope instead of a carpet, and beautiful cities set against a backdrop so bright yellow it’s almost unreal.

After checking out the gallery, do visit the original goods shop, which displays a wide array of cute products with Oba’s illustrations on them, making for truly memorable souvenirs.