Best known for 1972 winter Olympics, the Sapporo Snow festival and Sapporo beer, Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido Island, which sits just north of the main island of Honshu. Sapporo is one of Japan’s newest cities and also the fifth largest city in Japan.
Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture which is the second largest island of Japan, just north of the main island. Its location means during winter there is plenty of snow and February’s snow festival has become famous around the world.
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The development of Sapporo started much later than the rest of Japan and many ideas from around the world have come together to make the city a bit different from the rest of Japan. This outside influence can be seen in Sapporo’s famous Clock Tower that is now a National Important Cultural Property.
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Dating back to 1880 Hoheikan was built as a western style hotel and restaurant and played host to many important visitors not only from overseas but also many of Japans emperors.
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Located at the Nopporo Forest just outside Sapporo the Historical Village of Hokkaido is an open air museum and tourist attraction that covers an area of 54 hectares.
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At 531m above sea level Mt Moiwa is an excellent spot to get a glimpse of the city of Sapporo from the Mt Moiwa Observation Platform.
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Sapporo was home to the 1972 winter Olympics and many of the events were held on Mt. Okura where the ski jump overlooks the city. Today the jump is still used, not only for sporting events but as a tourist look out often known as the Okurayama Observatory.
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Nijo Ichiba is a famous fish market in the city centre of Sapporo and is a popular drawcard for tourists and potential iron chefs alike.
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Odori Park (sometimes called Odori Koen) is a long park in the centre of Sapporo that divides the city centre into north and south.
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The old Hokkaido government building is a neo-baroque building that is often known as “Red Brick” or akarenga by the locals due the thousands of red bricks that make up its construction. Red bricks were a rare material to build buildings out of in the Japan of 1880, hence the name.
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Susukino is an entertainment district and could be likened to Sapporo’s version of Osaka’s Dotombori and is packed with bars, restaurants, karaoke and pachinko parlors.
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The Sapporo Beer Museum is one of Sapporo’s most popular attractions. The museum traces the history of the Sapporo breweries and beer making in Japan.
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Built in 1957 the Sapporo TV tower sits at one end of Odori Park and provides great views all across the city.
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Sapporo is serviced by an extensive public transport system including JR lines, a subway system, a street car and busses.
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The airport serving the Sapporo area is called the New Chitose Airport, the largest airport on the island of Hokkaidō, it is probably the best way to get to Sapporo.
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These huge mechanical crabs are popular with many seafood restaurants.