[Event Report] From Tricks to Community: UNWIND SKATEBOARDING DAY Recap
Hello from UNWIND HOTEL & BAR SAPPORO!
As September begins and the summer heat in Sapporo slowly fades, we’re excited to share a look back at a special celebration. On Sunday, August 24, 2025, to mark our hotel’s 8th anniversary, we hosted an event dedicated to the vibrant world of skateboarding culture: UNWIND SKATEBOARDING DAY.
At UNWIND HOTEL & BAR SAPPORO, our mission has always been to create meaningful connections through culture. For our 8th anniversary, we chose to celebrate by spotlighting a culture that continues to inspire creativity and community: skateboarding.
Skateboarding became an official Olympic sport at the Tokyo 2020 Games, and in recent years Sapporo has welcomed three new public skate parks—mirroring a nationwide boom. The energy and passion surrounding this culture made it the perfect theme for our milestone celebration.
To bring it to life, we invited some of Japan’s top professional skaters, along with artists, filmmakers, media, and brands, to showcase skateboarding’s influence across music, art, and fashion. The result was a vibrant, one-of-a-kind event that blended the worlds of hotel x skateboarding culture—something truly unique to UNWIND.
The celebration took place across two venues:
• Bar Ignis Sapporo on our 10th floor rooftop terrace, where guests could soak in the city views alongside art, music, and drinks.
• PARKING, a one-day-only skate park built in the hotel’s ground floor parking lot, where skateboarding came alive right in the heart of Sapporo.
It was a day filled with energy, creativity, and connection, perfectly capturing what we aim to offer as a hotel.
This article gives you a behind-the-scenes look at the event, complete with photos—and don’t miss the event digest video at the end for the full experience.
▼ For more details about the event, please see the article below.
■11:00~13:00｜1st floor parking lot UNWIND SKATE PARK “PARKING”
LESQUE presents UNWIND SKATE ACADEMY
A skating school for kids was held before the event began!
The skate school produced by the popular skate deck brand “LESQUE” was filled to capacity immediately after it went on sale, as participants could receive lessons from three admired professional skaters! Thanks to the kind and careful instruction from popular professional skaters Itoshin (Ito Shinichi), Okken (Okuno Kenya), and Mantaro (Tokura Mantaro), everyone’s skills improved.
This opportunity, which was held with the full cooperation of LESQUE, was a very satisfying program, as we saw the bright smiles of the kids skaters working hard at skateboarding in Hokkaido and the expressions of their cheering families.
After the event, kids skaters were given the chance to try their hand at DJing thanks to the cooperation of DJ School Sapporo, who provided the background music for the event!
It was a wonderful opportunity to touch turntables, which you normally don’t get to touch, and experience DJ culture.
Lesque
Lesque is a skateboarding brand founded in Tokyo in 2007. The brand name is a combination of “Les” and “Que,” derived from the phrase “Endless Question.” It symbolizes the brand’s constant questioning and pursuit of new values and expressions. As a challenger that pushes the boundaries of skateboarding, the brand offers products that are deeply connected to design, art, and culture. Their high-quality decks and apparel have garnered support from skaters both in Japan and overseas, and the brand continues to grow alongside top riders.
■16:00~17:00｜1st floor parking lot UNWIND SKATE PARK “PARKING”
PRO SKATER DEMO
The skaters who gathered for this event
- Shinichi Ito (LESQUE)
- Kenya Okuno (LESQUE, GRAVIS),
- Mantaro Tokura (LESQUE, PUMA)
- Tom Ogasawara (TACTICS)
- Namekawa Kento (Vans, Highsox)
- Sasaki Raimu (FLIP, VANS, XLarge)
The audience was thrilled by the spectacular demonstration by the artist. It was a special time that everyone couldn’t take their eyes off of.
■17:00~18:00｜1st floor parking lot UNWIND SKATE PARK “PARKING”
TACTICS presents UNWIND SKATE JAM
After the pro skater’s demo brought the excitement to a fever pitch, a skate jam session sponsored by TACTICS was held! Entry was possible at the venue on the day, but more than 30 people were so influenced by the pro skater’s style that they entered.
SKATEJAM was held with divisions for elementary school students, junior high school students, and adults!
They did a lot of tricks in a special section created by TACTICS for the day!
The judges were TACTICS and professional skaters.
In addition to gifts from the many sponsoring brands, TACTICS also provided some luxurious products.
TACTICS
TACTICS, a major skateboard and snowboard equipment retailer based in Oregon, has opened its first brick-and-mortar store in Japan at Sapporo Factory in the heart of Sapporo. The store specializes in the latest skateboards, snowboards, skate shoes, and apparel from the US and Japan, catering to skateboarders and snowboarders of all levels.
■14:00~18:00｜10th floor rooftop terrace
“HIROTTON” LIVE PAINTING
On the rooftop terrace on the 10th floor, we welcomed the highly acclaimed artist “HIROTTON,” who is heavily influenced by skateboarding culture, to perform a live painting session.
As he is a skater himself and has provided designs for numerous skate brands, he agreed with the purpose of this event and accepted the offer!
Many of HIROTTON’s fans also came to the venue, and it was a wonderful opportunity for them to see their favorite artist’s live painting up close.
The order this time was for art to be displayed in the hotel’s smoking area, with the keywords UNWIND and Hokkaido, and they created a wonderful piece of art based on the concept of “DEER, BEAR, BEAR!”
On the day, under the crisp summer sun of Hokkaido, it took a total of five hours to complete the project.
→ Click here to watch the live paiting video
You can enjoy the art created for UNWIND in the smoking area in the parking lot on the 1st floor!
HIROTTON
Born in 1986. After graduating from art school, he moved to London and engaged in art activities for about four years. In 2012, he relocated to Japan and established his current style.
While he is strongly influenced by the punk scene and skateboarding culture, he also incorporates his surroundings, such as living things and nature, as well as political themes, through his own filter into his work, and continues to work energetically both in Japan and abroad.
He has designed a deck series for Heroin Skateboards, a skate company based in Los Angeles, USA, and has also provided artwork for various brands such as TOY MACHINE, CREATURE, VANS, and PUMA.
He actively holds solo exhibitions both in Japan and abroad, and his solo exhibition in London in 2024 also received a great response.
He also runs his own apparel project, “PARADOX,” based on the DIY spirit.
■ 19:00~20:00｜10th floor rooftop terrace
“NOISE” VIDEO PREMIERE & SATORU TAGUCHI TALK SHOW
The event also saw the premiere of “NOISE,” a full-length skateboard video made to commemorate the 50th birthday of Taguchi Satoru, designer of the popular fashion brand CHALLENGER, and a talk show was held to coincide with the event. The weather was perfect, and the screening took place on the rooftop, attracting many visitors.
The weather was perfect, and the screening took place on the rooftop, attracting many visitors. The audience erupted in cheers and excitement as they watched the wonderful time Taguchi and many others enjoyed the amazing footage, the meaning behind the video’s title “NOISE,” and the special footage, which touched on the many cultures that can be linked to skateboarding.
Limited edition NOISE T-shirts from Challenger x UNWIND HOTEL & BAR SAPPORO, created especially for this day, will also be on sale.
■14:00~22:00｜10th floor rooftop terrace & 1st floor entrance
ROOFTOP BBQ & TACOS & DRINK
The weather was lovely on this day, and the rooftop terrace on the 10th floor was very busy.
A local DJ will be playing soothing music to create a lively atmosphere.
The open and relaxed atmosphere was a stark contrast to the active and lively atmosphere on the first floor, and visitors seemed to be spending their time relaxing in their own way, some engrossed in the live performances, some enjoying the event-exclusive food and drinks provided by the bartenders, and some swaying to the music.
▲ Lamb rochette and bone-in sausages from the BBQ menu served on the rooftop terrace
▲Event-only tacos (venison x jalapeno) served at the entrance on the first floor
Starting with this event, we aim to open the door to a new style of travel that blends skateboarding with tourism. Hokkaido’s wide-open landscapes are home to skate parks, world-renowned skate shops, and a vibrant community of skaters ready to share the ride.
To support this new way of exploring, we’ve launched a skateboard rental service and are collaborating with a local Sapporo skate park to offer special accommodation plans that include lessons and entry tickets.
At UNWIND HOTEL & BAR SAPPORO, we pride ourselves on providing the comfort of a lodge-style retreat, but we also see ourselves as a cultural hub—offering experiences where people can gather, connect, and discover something new.
Through skateboarding and beyond, we will continue to create opportunities that inspire new culture and connections, staying true to our mission of being more than just a hotel.