Hokkaido · Capital · Designated city

Sapporo

札幌市さっぽろしSapporo-shi

Hokkaido's planned capital on the Ishikari Plain

Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido and the largest city in northern Japan, laid out on a grid in the 1870s as the seat of Japan's colonisation of the island. It hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics and is known for its Snow Festival, miso ramen and beer.

Overview

Sapporo lies on the south-western edge of the Ishikari Plain, where the Toyohira River fans out from the mountains of Jōzankei. Little more than an Ainu settlement area and a few Japanese farmsteads before 1869, it was chosen by the Kaitakushi (Hokkaido Development Commission) as the seat of the new administration and laid out on a rectilinear grid inspired by American town planning. That plan still defines the centre: Ōdōri Park runs east to west as a long green firebreak, and addresses are given as blocks north, south, east or west of it.

The city grew into the political, commercial and educational centre of Hokkaido, home to the prefectural government, Hokkaido University and the island's main rail and road hub. American advisers of the Meiji era left traces that are still visible: the Clock Tower, the red-brick former government office and the agricultural college associated with William S. Clark. Sapporo became a designated city in 1972, the year it hosted the first Winter Olympics held in Asia.

Winters bring heavy snow – the city is one of the snowiest large cities in the world – and the Snow Festival in February turns that into a major event. Food culture draws on Hokkaido's farming and fisheries: miso ramen, grilled mutton, soup curry and seafood markets, with the beer that bears the city's name brewed here since the 1870s.

Landmarks

Ōdōri Park
大通公園Ōdōri Kōen
A strip of lawns, flowerbeds and fountains about 1.5 km long dividing the grid into north and south; the main venue of the Snow Festival and summer beer gardens, closed at its eastern end by the Sapporo TV Tower.
Sapporo Clock Tower
札幌市時計台Sapporo-shi Tokeidai
Wooden drill hall of the Sapporo Agricultural College (1878) with an American-made clock added in 1881; an Important Cultural Property and the city's emblem.
Former Hokkaido Government Office
北海道庁旧本庁舎Hokkaidō-chō Kyū-honchōsha
Neo-Baroque red-brick building completed in 1888, known as Akarenga (red brick); an Important Cultural Property.
Hokkaido Shrine
北海道神宮Hokkaidō Jingū
Founded in 1869 to enshrine the deities of land development; set in Maruyama Park, a popular spot for cherry blossom in early May.
Mount Moiwa
藻岩山Moiwa-yama
A 531 m hill with a primeval forest protected as a natural monument; a ropeway leads to a summit viewpoint over the city and the Ishikari Plain.
Moerenuma Park
モエレ沼公園Moerenuma Kōen
Former landfill transformed into a landscape sculpture by Isamu Noguchi, with an artificial hill, a glass pyramid and geometric play areas.
Hokkaido University
北海道大学Hokkaidō Daigaku
Successor to the Sapporo Agricultural College, with a large campus north of Sapporo Station known for its poplar and ginkgo avenues.
Historical Village of Hokkaido
北海道開拓の村Hokkaidō Kaitaku no Mura
Open-air museum in Nopporo Forest Park with relocated and reconstructed buildings from the settlement era, from herring fishermen's quarters to town shops.

Districts

Susukino
すすきのSusukino
The largest entertainment district north of Tokyo, with thousands of bars and restaurants and the Ganso Ramen Yokochō lane.
Ōdōri and Tanukikōji
狸小路Tanuki-kōji
The commercial centre around Ōdōri Park and the covered Tanukikōji shopping arcade, one of the oldest in Hokkaido.
Sapporo Station area
The northern hub with department stores, the JR Tower and underground passages linking the station to Ōdōri and Susukino.
Maruyama
円山Maruyama
Residential district at the foot of the western hills with Hokkaido Shrine, Maruyama Zoo and cafés.
Jōzankei
定山渓Jōzankei
Hot-spring village in the Toyohira River gorge in Minami Ward, about an hour south of the centre, known for autumn colours.

History

Sapporo is a planned city of the Meiji period. The Kaitakushi moved its headquarters here from Tokyo in 1871 and built government offices, factories and an agricultural college to develop Hokkaido along Western lines. Settlers and tondenhei (farmer-soldiers) cleared the surrounding plain, and the city became the administrative centre when the Hokkaido Government replaced the Kaitakushi system in 1886.

In the twentieth century Sapporo overtook the port cities of Hakodate and Otaru as Hokkaido's largest city. The 1972 Winter Olympics brought the subway, underground shopping streets and expressways, and the city continued to absorb population from across the island.

1869
The Kaitakushi is established and Sapporo is chosen as the site of its main office; Shima Yoshitake begins the grid plan.
1871
The Kaitakushi headquarters moves from Tokyo to Sapporo.
1876
Sapporo Agricultural College opens under William S. Clark; the Kaitakushi brewery begins producing beer.
1878
The Clock Tower is built as the college's drill hall.
1888
The red-brick Hokkaido Government Office building is completed.
1922
Sapporo is incorporated as a city.
1950
Students build six snow statues in Ōdōri Park, the start of the Snow Festival.
1971
The first subway line, the Namboku Line, opens on rubber-tyred trains.
1972
Sapporo hosts the XI Olympic Winter Games and becomes a designated city.
2005
Moerenuma Park, designed by Isamu Noguchi, is completed.

Culture

Sapporo's culture reflects its short history as a planned frontier capital: Western-style Meiji buildings, a strong university presence and a civic life organised around the seasons. Winter sports are part of everyday life, with ski slopes inside the city limits and the Ōkurayama and Miyanomori ski jumps used in 1972 still in competition use. The Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara and the Pacific Music Festival, founded in 1990 by Leonard Bernstein, anchor classical music, and the Ainu heritage of the Ishikari region is presented at the Sapporo Pirka Kotan Ainu culture centre in Minami Ward.

Festivals

Sapporo Snow Festival
さっぽろ雪まつりSapporo Yuki Matsuri
About a week in early February: large snow sculptures in Ōdōri Park and ice carvings in Susukino.
YOSAKOI Soran Festival
YOSAKOIソーラン祭りYosakoi Sōran Matsuri
Held in early June since 1992; dance teams combine Kōchi's yosakoi with the Sōran-bushi herring-fishing song.
Hokkaido Shrine Festival
北海道神宮例祭Hokkaidō Jingū Reisai
The annual festival of Hokkaido Shrine on 14–16 June, known as the Sapporo Matsuri, with a procession of portable shrines through the centre.
Sapporo Summer Festival
From late July to mid-August, beer gardens fill Ōdōri Park and Susukino hosts its own summer events.

Food

Sapporo miso ramen
味噌ラーメンmiso rāmen
Rich miso-based broth with thick, curly noodles, often topped with stir-fried vegetables and butter or corn; popularised in Sapporo in the 1950s and 1960s.
Genghis Khan
ジンギスカンJingisukan
Mutton or lamb grilled with vegetables on a domed iron pan, a Hokkaido staple linked to sheep farming promoted in the early twentieth century.
Soup curry
スープカレーsūpu karē
Thin, spicy curry broth with large pieces of chicken and vegetables, a Sapporo creation that spread from the 1990s.
Seafood rice bowls
海鮮丼kaisendon
Rice topped with sea urchin, salmon roe and crab, served at Nijō Market and the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market outer market.
Sapporo beer
Brewing began at the Kaitakushi brewery in 1876; the former brewery buildings house the Sapporo Beer Museum.

Getting around

New Chitose Airport, south-east of the city in Chitose, is Hokkaido's main airport; JR rapid trains reach Sapporo Station in about 40 minutes. Okadama Airport in the north of the city handles regional flights.
The municipal subway has three rubber-tyred lines – Namboku, Tōzai and Tōhō – crossing at Ōdōri; a streetcar loop serves the Susukino, Moiwa and Nishi districts.
JR Hokkaido limited express trains link Sapporo with Asahikawa, Hakodate, Kushiro, Obihiro and Abashiri; local trains reach Otaru in about 30–45 minutes.
The Hokkaido Shinkansen is planned to extend from Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto to Sapporo; JR Hokkaido publishes the state of the works.
An extensive underground walkway links Sapporo Station, Ōdōri and Susukino, sheltered in winter.

Day trips

Otaru
Canal-side port town of warehouses, glassworks and former banks, about 30–45 minutes by train.
Shikotsu-Tōya National Park
Lake Shikotsu, a deep caldera lake, lies about an hour south of the city; the park also includes Noboribetsu and Lake Tōya.
Lake Shikotsu
Clear caldera lake ringed by volcanoes, including Tarumae-zan with its lava dome.
Mount Yōtei and Niseko
The conical 'Ezo Fuji' and the ski resorts of Niseko, about two hours west by road.
Asahikawa
Hokkaido's second city, gateway to Daisetsuzan, about 85 minutes by limited express.

Other cities in the prefecture

Core cityAsahikawaAsahikawa-shiRiver city of the Kamikawa Basin and gateway to Daisetsuzan Core cityHakodateHakodate-shiTreaty port between two bays at the foot of Mount Hakodate CityKushiroKushiro-shiFog, cranes and fish: the Pacific gateway to eastern Hokkaido CityOtaruOtaru-shiHerring, coal and banks: the port that built Hokkaido's economy

Frequently asked questions

What does the name Sapporo mean?

The name comes from Ainu. The two usual explanations are sat poro pet, 'dry, great river', and sari poro pet, 'river with a great reed marsh', both referring to the Toyohira River's alluvial fan.

When is the Sapporo Snow Festival held?

The Snow Festival takes place over about a week in early February, with large snow sculptures along Ōdōri Park and ice sculptures in Susukino.

How do I get from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo?

JR rapid trains run from New Chitose Airport to Sapporo Station in roughly 40 minutes; airport buses serve the city centre and major hotels.

Why are Sapporo's streets numbered?

The city was planned on a grid from 1869, with Ōdōri Park dividing north from south and the Sōsei River dividing east from west, so addresses read like coordinates, e.g. Kita 3-jō Nishi 4-chōme.

Is Sapporo a good base for exploring Hokkaido?

Yes. Otaru, Lake Shikotsu, Jōzankei Onsen and the ski areas around Niseko are all within day-trip range, and trains and flights link Sapporo with the rest of the island.

Sources

1.令和2年国勢調査 (opens in a new tab) — Statistics Bureau of Japan
2.札幌市公式ホームページ (opens in a new tab) — 札幌市
3.北海道庁 (opens in a new tab) — 北海道
4.Japan National Tourism Organization (opens in a new tab) — JNTO