HokkaiDouga Block No. 1000

What is the relationship between people and land? Sapporo is a major city on Japan’s northernmost main island, Hokkaido. A square piece of undeveloped land measuring about 2,700 square meters occupied a prime location in the city centre. Originally virgin forest, it was given the name Senbanchi (a name that roughly translates as ‘block No. 1,000’) in the late 1800s, when the government was developing Hokkaido. It was long known as a run-down outskirt, left behind by development elsewhere in the city. More recently, most of Senbanchi was a parking lot. But right in the middle was a long, low-roofed, traditional wooden building that had stood there for 98 years. Inside were traditional bars that retained the look and feel of years gone by. Customers spent their evenings drinking together, complaining, joking, and sharing their life stories. But the bars had to close for good on 31 March 2024 to make way for construction of a condominium building. As the redevelopment of the neighbourhood continues apace, what will disappear and what will survive? This documentary follows the changes in the place and its people while revealing the feelings of a bar owner, her customers, and the developers.