Sōseigawa park

This guide to Sōseigawa park in Sapporo follows the Sosei River back to the early Meiji years, when fishermen paddling up from Ishikari Bay landed their catch and called out prices on this exact bank. It traces the canal to the settler who first dug it, and to the thirteen riverside stalls that banded together into a market known as the Thirteen Union. You'll hear how bars and greengrocers moved in beside the fish sellers, and how a 1902 fire left the market a scorched lot before it was rebuilt plank by plank. Listen for how close today's Nijo Market still sits to this same stretch of water.