Over two years ago, I enjoyed the full SBG by walking to every major point of interests without repeating my track, when Lily was on a business trip. Early in May, we decided to enjoy the full garden again, together, with a twist - to locate every sculptures in the Garden.
The Garden published the list of sculptures on its website, and suggested 2 trails to go to visit each of them. This made it easier for sculpture hunt. We completed the two trails in one 5 miles (8km) hike in 3 hours.
Sculpture trail at SBG
We started from the famous iron Tanglin Gate,.
We are very familiar with the area - but had a hard time to locate the first Sculpture on the list - The Book Reader. In the search process we saw the usual wood sculptures but the not the Book Reader. We almost gave up before walking deeper into the Botany Center first floor hallway, the book reader is at a corner by the lift, on a stone bench, leaning to a column.
wood sculpture of an owl
The Book Reader
The next several sculptures, Swing me Mama, Flight of Swans, Gees, Chang Kuda, Joy, Sundial, Swiss Granite Fountain, Nurturing, Lady on a Hammock, Girl on a bicycle, Girl on a sing, are along the main paved trails, I remember exactly where they are, but did not know their exact names.
We noticed most of the sculptures the first time we walked around the area. Lady on a Hammock is an exception. We passed by it, which is in the shade of a couple of trees, and separated from the road by plants, many times, and did not see. We were surprised to "discover" it one day.
swing me mama
Joy
Lady on a hammock
There are a couple of wire formed sculptures near the Sundial Garden - The passing of knowledge and Love in the Air. It is interesting to note that the latter is not on the SBG sculpture trail map, but on the SBG website sculpture list. In the Sundial garden, the sundial is listed as a sculpture, but the not the 4 white sculptures at the 4 corners of the garden - the sculptures are based on the same model. Not sure how the sculptures are counted on the list.
Passing of Knowledge
l
Love in the Air - on SBG Sculpture list
The sundial
A white sculpture at 4 corners of the Sundial Garden 1
A white sculpture at 4 corners of the Sundial Garden 2
A white sculpture at 4 corners of the Sundial Garden 3
A white sculpture at 4 corners of the Sundial Garden 4
The next group of sculptures are around Ginger garden/Orchid Garden/rainforest, which include Rainforest Mural, Clock towers, fifty wings, Chopin, Conversation from Nature, and A little Girl Swing on a tree at Ginger garden - which is not on the trail map, we saw before but did not take picture this time. I took a picture of it later, and added it to the post. We see all them regularly, but are more interested in some but not others - We actually read the signage for the conversation from nature, but never checked the other sculptures signages until this time.
The rainforest mural
Fifty Wings
conversation from nature
A little Girl Swing on a tree at Ginger garden
Next stop after the ginger garden and etc. is Nassim Gate which is the end of SBG trail1, and end of trail 2 as well. We basically walked trail 2 in reverse direction. There are two sculptures Gaboon Viper, Bull frog on the trail map, and the sculpture list. We saw them before, never realized those are sculptures - and had a hard time to locate them - we looked at wrong places! They are in the bushes and lay low on the ground.
Nature has its own art pieces as usual. On the way to evolution garden, a white fallen flower elegantly rested on the gate to the corner house. The sculptures at evolution garden are decorative, immersive to the environment and we did not regard them as sculptures - stone trees and Lepidodendron.
Nature made
Stone Trees
Lepidodendron
The next cluster of Sculptures is located at the Seed Bank Garden - we checked them out before, and one more time this time for completeness. But we did not see the Tandok-Tandok Seeds in the seed bank garden. After some detective work, we figured that it was not in the seed bank garden, but at seed bank building's front entrance!
Tandok-Tandok Seeds
The last batch of Sculptures is located in the Echo lake area - Ethnobotany Garden, and Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden.
In Ethnobotany Garden, the sculptures are mostly stone murals, and a few standalone sculptures in the trees, they might be decorative but not really artistic. We saw that one sculpture, the wooden spear in the hands fell off - due to aging and likely inadequate design.
stone mural
hunter gatherer 1
Hunter Gatherer 2 - damaged due to age - spear on its hands were broken
The last two pieces of sculptures are Native Wildlife and Mystree just outside the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden, which marks the start of sculpture trail 2, and the end of our Sculpture trail.
Native Wildlife
Mystree
We have been to the garden over 1500 times, almost daily visit there in the last 5 years, it is our backyard garden, we appreciate the flora, and enjoy the fauna, especially birds.
This hike was different, it was a unique, very interesting, informative and fun hiking for us.
Notes
1.We did not see every sculptures on the list due to mismatch between the trail map and the Sculpture list, we saw many more sculptures that are not on the list as well.
Last Thursday evening, as I walked along the trail leading to the hidden southwest entrance of the Sun-Dial Garden, I spotted a White-breasted Waterhen about to cross the path. To my delight, a tiny fluffy black chick followed closely behind.
The moment they noticed me, both were startled. The mother dashed across the trail and disappeared into the bushes. The chick, however, stumbled at the edge of the path and collapsed. It looked like nothing more than a small black puffball. Completely motionless, it appeared to be playing dead.
I quickly walked past the chick and concealed myself behind the bushes near the entrance. Standing still in the hot, humid evening air, I hoped the mother would return for her baby.
the fallen waterhen chick, playing dead
From within the bushes, the waterhen began calling loudly—sharp, repetitive *ku-e* chirps. Rather than approaching the chick, she moved farther away, apparently trying to lure me away from it. I waited. The mother stayed hidden. The chick remained motionless.
Time seemed to stretch endlessly.
In reality, about twelve minutes passed before the adult waterhen reappeared. She crossed the trail again and entered the bushes near the chick. Soon, she began calling once more. Hearing its mother's voice, the tiny chick stirred, moving its head and fluttering its little wings.
I quickly started recording a video.
The mother stopped calling and appeared to check on her baby. After another two minutes, she chirped again and slowly walked out from the bushes. The chick stood up and began moving toward her.
Its effort was heartbreaking and inspiring to watch.
Every few steps, it lost its balance and fell. Using its tiny wings for support, it struggled back to its feet and continued forward.
(screen capture from my video)
(screen capture from my video)
White-breasted Waterhen chicks are *precocial*, meaning they hatch covered in down, with their eyes open and ready to move about almost immediately. They typically leave the nest within a day or two of hatching and follow their parents wherever they go.
The chick before me was likely no more than one or two days old.
As the mother started crossing the trail, the chick followed. It would dash forward two or three tiny steps while emitting faint chirps, then collapse from exhaustion. After resting briefly, it would struggle upright and continue.
At one point, the mother turned around and lowered her head, seemingly checking on her baby before continuing on. The chick resumed its determined effort.
After several bursts of progress, it had covered only about two feet when it fell hard onto its side. For a moment it lay there, kicking its legs. Then, with remarkable determination, it rolled itself upright and continued on.
The surrounding bushes began to block my view. Unable to resist, I stepped into the middle of the trail to watch the final stage of its journey.
Stand up. Walk a few steps. Fall.
Stand up again. Walk. Fall.
Over and over.
It melted my heart.
I watched until the chick finally crossed the trail and disappeared beneath a layer of fallen leaves under the bushes, safely following its mother.
final dash
Observing that tiny fuzzy black ball on legs scrambling after its parent was one of the most endearing wildlife encounters I have ever witnessed. Its struggle, determination, and trust in its mother's call made an ordinary evening walk into an unforgettable experience.
Nature often reveals its greatest wonders in its smallest creatures.
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Note -
1. The post text was polished by chatGPT based on my original full length post:
chatGPT
This is already a charming story. Its strength is that it focuses on behavior and observation, allowing the reader to experience the event with you. I would improve it mainly by: tightening the narrative flow, reducing repetition, improving grammar and word choice, strengthening the emotional arc from curiosity → concern → relief → wonder.
2. My original post
White Breasted Waterhen and its Precocial Newborn
Last Thursday evening, I was on the trail to the Sun-Dial Garden's hidden southwest entrance, I saw a white breasted waterhen about to cross the trail, and was pleasantly surprised to see a fluffy black chick followed behind. Seeing me, they were startled, the mom ran across the trail into bushes. The chick fell at the edge of the trail, and looked really just a fluffy blackball, and stayed motionless, playing dead.
I quickly passed the fallen chick, and hided behind the bushes at the entrance, motionless in the hot humid air, observing the fallen chick, hoping the mom waterhen would go back to get the chick.
The mommy waterhen was making loud ku-e chirps in the bushes, and moving away, trying to lure me away from the chick. I waited for waterhen to return to the chick, the waterhen stayed away, and waited, it felt like forever!
It was actually about twelve minutes before the adult waterhen reappeared, and crossed the trail again, went into bushes, and was very close to the chick. It started making chirps again. Hearing mom's call, the chick started moving its wings and head.
I quickly turned on video recording on my phone!
The mom waterhen stopped chirping, and apparently checking its baby. Two minutes passed, it started chirp again, and walked out of the bush. The chick stood up, walking toward its mom, unsteadily, ever step of the way, it fell to the ground, using its wings to support, and stood up again...
The waterhen chicks are precocial. This means: 1) They hatch out of their eggs covered in fuzzy black down feathers with their eyes completely open. 2) They hit the ground running (and swimming) almost immediately. They typically leave the nest within 1 to 2 days after hatching to follow their parents around.
So this chick in front of me was about 1 or 2 days old.
As the mom started crossing the trail, the chick followed, now it spurted forward two to three steps while making faint chirps then fell, and then stood up moving forward again. It must be really tiring to this chick, after 2 spurts, it rested on the ground a bit, the mom turned around, and lowered her head to check on the chick, then walked forward without waiting. The chick stood up, started the spurts again. After several spurts, it covered about 2 feet distance, and fell hard on its side! It kicked legs, and rolled itself to stood up again.
The bushes branches blocked my view of the mom and chick. I walked into the middle of the trail, and continued to witness the chick's struggle, stood up, walked a couple steps, fell, stood up, walked, fell ...
It melted my heart!
I watched until the chick successfully crossed the trail, walked into the fallen leaves under the bush.
Observing the tiny, fuzzy "black ball" on legs is absolutely adorable to watch as they scramble after their parent. It is an incredible and endearing sight to capture in person.
The Hokkaido bear, or Ussuri brown bear (Ursus arctos lasiotus), is Japan's largest land mammal, with males weighing 150–250 kg. They are native to Hokkaido, shy by nature, but have caused a record number of encounters and a fatal attack recently, leading to high-level warnings in 2025/2026. It is the only bear species inhabiting Hokkaido. While some brown bears in Hokkaido have a dark coat, they are not black bears.
Seeing the bears in the wilderness is a dream of nature lovers. Despite the large population of the bear in Hokkaido, estimated at roughly 11,600 to over 20,000 in 2026, the encounter of the bears in the wild is not common. The best chance for us during our Sapporo trip was the tour we booked for the day 5.
Our last stop of the tour included two locations, Mt Usu and the Showa-shinzan Bear Ranch. We choose to hike on Mt Usu ( go to trail head by Gondola) and to visit the bear ranch. With total stop time being 2 hours, after hiking, we had only 20 minutes to spare. When we checked at the ticket office, the staff told us that we had enough time.
Torii of the bear ranch
Going inside, I realized instantly that we had more than enough time, the whole path is less than 100 meters long. That is not to say that there’s not enough to see.
In the ranch, the bears are grouped by ages, and sizes. The bear kindergarten is the first pit I saw
On the left side of the path, I saw baby bears playing on the “playground”. Their bodies are covered in furry black fur, but their faces are bare and in pale brown color. At first I thought that’s because they were just babies, but actually the adults look exactly the same way. Those baby bears were so cute together, pushing the tires and climbing the stations.
baby bears
bear kindergarten
The adult bears are in separate enclosures. Most of them were just lying there and resting, walking around aimlessly. Except for two bears in the water hole, they started by nuzzling, then cuddling, fighting, and getting excited. A couple of other bears walked by nonchalantly, leaving the two enjoying themselves. The two bears in the water were actually engaged in courtship wrestling. After a while they mated.
Courtship wrestling full episode!
There are several cages on the left hand side of the walkway, one bear in each enclosure, and they roar, they wave, and they beg for food. Apparently these bears were trained to do those things.
The last “den” hosted even larger bears. There is a path to go down to the same level as the bears and watch them through the barred windows. Those bears are huge! The are twice as tall as I am. When they stand up, they are just massive. I certainly do not wish to meet one in the wild.
Note
The tour guide provided a couple misinformation:
1. there were two types bears in Hokkaido - black bears and brown bears - in fact there is only one species.
2. The bear ranch was a sanctuary - it is not, it is a commercial zoo.
I did not know those claims were false until I did some research when writing this blog.
Moerenuma Park was designed by the architect Isamu Noguchi. The whole site, including the glass pyramid, is a work of art. We visited there on the last day of our Hokkaido trip.
It took 1 hour bus ride from Sapporo city center to the park, and when the bus reached the stop at the park west entrance, we were the only passengers. We basically had the whole park to ourselves except few locals exercising.
West Entrance to Moerenumma Park
The center of the park is wide open, with a couple hills which have simple clean profiles
The large sculptures dotted the park are simple, abstract and elegant.
A stainless tetrahedral truss structure stands out in the green landscape, like an alien object. It is over a grassy mound, and next to a performance platform. It is intriguing. The reflective stainless steel contrasts with the surrounding nature, alien, an accentuation of the landscape.
This is Tetra Mound, 13 meters in height, the truss is 2 meter in diameter.
Tetra Mound
Climbing on to the play mountain by the Tetra Mound, looking around, a white sculpture, like a cut open fruit caught our eyes. It resembles the split apple in New Zealand. The color contrast of the white sculpture, green grasses, and dark green trees, are sharp, and soothing.
It is The Music Shell, a unique outdoor performance space. Situated directly at the base of the granite slope of Play Mountain, it serves as a functional art piece where nature and music merge.
Music shell
There are a few other functional art work in the park at the playground area, such as the conical shaped slide in the Cherry forest, and the glass pyramid.
slides
The glass pyramid reminded us of the glass pyramid outside the Louvre. This glass pyramid is a quiet shelter by Mount Moere. It is also a gallery with photographs showing the 4 seasons at the park, and a museum of the architect Isamu Noguchi. The platform on the rooftop provides views of the whole park, the moat surrounded the park, the downtown Sapporo, and snow covered mountainsin the distance.
The river southwest of the park, serves as a boundary of the park
The moat
After the glass pyramid, we walked up the Mt Moere - in fact a hill. Two straight stairs, one curved stairs lead to the mountain top. Look up or look down, the views are clean, and profiles are simple.
As we completed the loop around the park, we came across another large open area, with wall at the far side, and a paved trail along the wall. There are trees by the wall, on the other side of the wall from our viewpoint. Outside the wall there are several fields including a baseball field.
It was a tranquil place, the tranquility was broken occasionally by bird chirping in the woods, and overhead in the sky.
Entering the park, we saw many large birds flying overhead, black wings, sometimes showing brown feathers - obviously some species of hawks - they are black kites (Hawks - new bird species to me, #208 on my list)). They flew confidently, steadily, scanning the landscape beneath them.
In contrast, there were light colored large birds flying closer to the river water - grey herons. They fly calmly and elegantly barely flapping their wings.
Note; there were a least one black kite couple, and one pair of grey herons.
The big birds don't chirp or make calls frequently. The smaller birds, sparrows, magpies, brown eared bulbuls ..., they sing, chirp tirelessly.
In the cherry forest, while enjoying the blooming cherry blossoms, I heard bird chirps and saw a medium size dark color bird hopping around, pecking at cherry blossoms. After a few tries, I finally capture the bird on camera - it was a brown eared bulbul, a new species on my list (#209)
Walking up the Mt Moere, I heard a pleasant bird song, repeating intermittently, looking around, I did not locate any birds, finally I saw a bird with black head, white collar, and white breast, and a tint of brown throat - it is Siberian Stonechat (#210)!
This is a great park for simple elegancy, tranquility and nature!!
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