SAPPORO - Arashi will hold the opening concerts of its final nationwide dome tour in Sapporo in March 2026, sending hotel bookings soaring across the city and raising concerns that the spike in accommodation prices will affect university entrance examinees arriving for crucial tests on March 12th.
The group, which will end its activities in May 2026, announced tour dates that begin on March 13th in Sapporo before moving on to four other major domes nationwide. Excitement is already building at shops connected to Arashi, including a patisserie in Sapporo’s Minami Ward where cakes said to have been eaten by the members during a concert visit seven years ago became a hit among fans. The owner-patissier, Tsutomu Nakamoto, said, “On the morning after the concert, several taxis pulled up right at opening time and the first customer who walked in said, ‘This is the cake.’ I only realized then when fans told me, ‘The cakes given to Arashi were from this shop.’” Nakamoto added that he hopes to recreate the cakes from seven years ago even though some items have changed in shape, saying he wants to prepare thoroughly so the shop can handle large crowds.
Meanwhile, hotels across Sapporo are already at full capacity. A business hotel in the Susukino entertainment district, with roughly 400 rooms, shows no availability from March 12th to 15th, the period surrounding the concert dates. Director Mikio Hayashi said other hotels in the group within the city also appear to have no vacancies. Hotel operators say reservations poured in immediately after the tour schedule was announced on November 22nd.
At another hotel in Nishi Ward with 150 rooms, single rooms priced at 7,800 yen on March 10th and 11th have jumped to as high as 52,000 yen from March 13th, according to Hayashi.
The combination of sold-out rooms and soaring prices is likely to impact university entrance examinees. Arashi’s concerts will run from March 13th to 15th, but on March 12th—just one day before—the latter-stage entrance exams for Hokkaido University and other institutions are scheduled. Preparatory school officials say around 2,000 students typically sit for Hokkaido University’s later-stage exams each year, with many traveling from outside Hokkaido. Takeshi Kawasaki, principal of Yoyogi Seminar Sapporo School, said students coming from distant regions after completing the unified tests may face accommodation costs higher than normal and that it will be difficult for examinees to find countermeasures at this point.
With heavy snowfall and transport disruptions common during the exam season, concerns are growing over how far the ripple effects will spread.
Source: 北海道ニュースUHB
