( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. It is the largest city north of
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
and the largest city on
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city in Japan. It is the capital city of
Hokkaido Prefecture
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...
of the
Toyohira River
The is a river in Hokkaidō prefecture, Japan. It is 72.5 km in length and has drainage area of 894.7 km². It is a tributary of the Ishikari River.
It supplies water to Sapporo city, the capital of Hokkaidō built on the alluvial fan ...
, which is a tributary stream of the Ishikari. It is considered the cultural, economic, and political center of Hokkaido.
As with most of Hokkaido, the Sapporo area was settled by the indigenous Ainu people, beginning over 15,000 years ago. Starting in the late 19th century, Sapporo saw increasing settlement by
Yamato
was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan.
Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan.
Japanese his ...
migrants. Sapporo hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics ever held in Asia, and the second Olympic games held in Japan after the
1964 Summer Olympics
The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...
. Sapporo is currently
bidding
Bidding is an offer (often competitive) to set a price tag by an individual or business for a product or service ''or'' a demand that something be done. Bidding is used to determine the cost or value of something.
Bidding can be performed ...
Sapporo Dome
is a stadium located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, and is primarily used for baseball and association football. It is the home field of the association football club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and was also home to the baseball team Hokkaido Nipp ...
hosted three games during the
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
and two games during the
2019 Rugby World Cup
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...
. Additionally, Sapporo has hosted the
Asian Winter Games
The Asian Winter Games (AWG) is an international multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) which features winter events. The Japanese Olympic Committee first suggested the idea of holding a winter ...
three times, in
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
,
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
Sapporo Snow Festival
The is a festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan, over seven days in February. Odori Park, Susukino, and Tsudome are the main sites of the festival.
In 2007 (57th festival), about two million people visited Sapporo to see the hundreds of ...
draws more than 2 million tourists from abroad. Other notable sites include the Sapporo Beer Museum, which is the only beer museum in Japan, and the
Sapporo TV Tower
The , built in 1957, is a TV tower with an observation deck at a height of 90.38 metres. Located on the ground of Odori Park, in the northern city of Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, the tower is open to tourists. Tourists can view Sapporo and Odori Park ...
located in
Odori Park
is a park located in the heart of Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. means "large street" in Japanese. It stretches east to west through Nishi 1 chōme, Ōdōri to Nishi 12 chōme, Ōdōri ("Nishi" means west, and "chōme" is a block in Japanese), and d ...
. It is home to
Hokkaido University
, or , is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation's finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered ...
, just north of
Sapporo Station
is a railway station in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It is served by Hakodate Main Line and other lines of Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), and is also connected to the Subway Sapporo Station.
Sapporo Station is the starting p ...
. The city is served by
Okadama Airport
is an airport located in Okadama-chō, Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, north of the city center of Sapporo. Its scheduled airline service is limited to turboprop flights to other cities in Hokkaidō; larger aircraft use New Chitose Airport, ...
and
New Chitose Airport
is an international airport located south-southeast of Chitose and Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan, serving the Sapporo metropolitan area. By both traffic and land area, it is the largest airport in Hokkaidō.
It is adjacent to Chitose Air Ba ...
Sapporo's name was taken from Ainuic ''sat poro pet'' (), which can be translated as the "dry, great river", a reference to the Toyohira River.
History
Early history
Before its establishment, the area occupied by Sapporo (known as the Ishikari Plain) was home to a number of indigenous Ainu settlements. In 1866, at the end of the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...
, construction began on a canal through the area, encouraging a number of early settlers to establish Sapporo village. In 1868, the officially recognized year celebrated as the "birth" of Sapporo, the new Meiji government concluded that the existing administrative center of Hokkaido, which at the time was the port of
Hakodate
is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...
, was in an unsuitable location for defense and further development of the island. As a result, it was determined that a new capital on the Ishikari Plain should be established. The plain itself provided an unusually large expanse of flat, well-drained land which is relatively uncommon in the otherwise mountainous geography of Hokkaido.
During 1870–1871,
Kuroda Kiyotaka
Count , also known as , was a Japanese politician of the Meiji era. He was Prime Minister of Japan from 1888 to 1889. He was also vice chairman of the Hokkaido Development Commission ( Kaitaku-shi).
Biography
As a Satsuma ''samurai''
Ku ...
, vice-chairman of the Hokkaido Development Commission (Kaitaku-shi), approached the American government for assistance in developing the land. As a result, Horace Capron, Secretary of Agriculture under President
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
, became an ''
oyatoi gaikokujin
The foreign employees in Meiji Japan, known in Japanese as ''O-yatoi Gaikokujin'' (Kyūjitai: , Shinjitai: , "hired foreigners"), were hired by the Japanese government and municipalities for their specialized knowledge and skill to assist in the ...
'' and was appointed as a special advisor to the commission. Construction began around
Odori Park
is a park located in the heart of Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. means "large street" in Japanese. It stretches east to west through Nishi 1 chōme, Ōdōri to Nishi 12 chōme, Ōdōri ("Nishi" means west, and "chōme" is a block in Japanese), and d ...
, which still remains as a green ribbon of recreational land bisecting the central area of the city. The city closely followed a
grid plan
In urban planning, the grid plan, grid street plan, or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid.
Two inherent characteristics of the grid plan, frequent intersections and orthogona ...
with streets at right-angles to form city blocks. The continuing expansion of the Japanese into Hokkaido continued, mainly due to migration from the main island of
Honshu
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...
immediately to the south, and the prosperity of Hokkaido and particularly its capital grew to the point that the Development Commission was deemed unnecessary and was abolished in 1882. In 1871, the
Hokkaidō Shrine
The , named the until 1964, is a Shinto shrine located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Sited in Maruyama Park, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, the Hokkaido Shrine enshrines four ''kami'' including the soul of the Emperor Meiji. A number of early ex ...
was built in its current location as the Sapporo Shrine.
Edwin Dun
Edwin Dun (June 19, 1848 – May 15, 1931) was a rancher from Ohio who was employed as an ''o-yatoi gaikokujin'' in Hokkaidō by the Hokkaidō Development Commission (''Kaitakushi'') and advised the Japanese government on modernizing agricu ...
came to Sapporo to establish sheep and cattle ranches in 1876. He also demonstrated pig raising and the making of butter, cheese, ham and sausage. He was married twice, to Japanese women. He once went back to the US in 1883 but returned to Japan as a secretary of government. William S. Clark, who was the president of the Massachusetts Agricultural College (now the
University of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst, UMass) is a public research university in Amherst, Massachusetts and the sole public land-grant university in Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded in 1863 as an agricultural college, it ...
), came to be the founding vice-president of the
Sapporo Agricultural College
was a school in Sapporo, Hokkaidō established in September 1875 for the purpose of educating students in the agriculture industry.
History
The first president of the college was Zusho Hirotake.
Dr. William Smith Clark, a graduate of Amhers ...
(now
Hokkaido University
, or , is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation's finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered ...
) for only eight months from 1876 to 1877. He taught academic subjects in science and lectured on the Bible as an "ethics" course, introducing Christian principles to the first entering class of the college.
In 1880, the entire area of Sapporo was renamed as "Sapporo-ku" (Sapporo Ward), and a railroad between Sapporo and Temiya,
Otaru
is a city and port in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular to ...
was laid. That year the
Hōheikan
The is a historical building and a wedding venue, located in Nakajima Park, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The building has previously been a hotel, guest house, event venue, and military camp. Currently, the Hōheikan is registered as o ...
, a hotel and reception facility for visiting officials and dignitaries, was built adjacent to the Odori Park. It was later moved to
Nakajima Park
is a city park in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The park has a lake, two streams, a museum, a concert hall, an observatory, a historical building housing a tea shop, and several lawns and forests. At the south end, there are two shrines.
...
where it remains today. Two years later, with the abolition of the Kaitaku-shi, Hokkaidō was divided into three prefectures: Hakodate, Sapporo, and Nemuro. The name of the urban district in Sapporo remained Sapporo-ku, while the rest of the area in Sapporo-ku was changed to Sapporo-gun. The office building of Sapporo-ku was also located in the urban district.
Sapporo, Hakodate, and Nemuro Prefectures were abolished in 1886, and Hokkaidō government office building, an American- neo-baroque-style structure with red bricks, constructed in 1888. The last squad of the Tondenhei, the soldiers pioneering Hokkaido, settled in the place where the area of Tonden in Kita-ku, Sapporo is currently located. Sapporo-ku administered surrounding Sapporo-gun until 1899, when the new district system was announced. After that year, Sapporo-ku was away from the control of Sapporo-gun. The "ku" (district) enforced from 1899 was an autonomy which was a little bigger than towns, and smaller than cities. In Hokkaido at that time, Hakodate-ku and Otaru-ku also existed.
File:明治24年札幌中心部.jpg, Sapporo city map in 1891, showing the city's grid plan
File:Kiyotaka_Kuroda_formal.jpg,
Kuroda Kiyotaka
Count , also known as , was a Japanese politician of the Meiji era. He was Prime Minister of Japan from 1888 to 1889. He was also vice chairman of the Hokkaido Development Commission ( Kaitaku-shi).
Biography
As a Satsuma ''samurai''
Ku ...
File:Hokkaido Jingu.JPG, The
Hokkaidō Shrine
The , named the until 1964, is a Shinto shrine located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Sited in Maruyama Park, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, the Hokkaido Shrine enshrines four ''kami'' including the soul of the Emperor Meiji. A number of early ex ...
at
Maruyama Park
is a park in Kyoto, Japan. It is noted as the main center for cherry blossom viewing in Kyoto, and can get extremely crowded at that time of year (April). The park's star attraction is a weeping cherry tree (''shidarezakura'') which becomes li ...
20th century
In 1907, the
Tohoku Imperial University
, or is a Japanese national university located in Sendai, Miyagi in the Tōhoku Region, Japan. It is informally referred to as . Established in 1907, it was the third Imperial University in Japan and among the first three Designated National ...
was established in
Sendai
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...
Miyagi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...
, and
Sapporo Agricultural College
was a school in Sapporo, Hokkaidō established in September 1875 for the purpose of educating students in the agriculture industry.
History
The first president of the college was Zusho Hirotake.
Dr. William Smith Clark, a graduate of Amhers ...
was controlled by the university. Parts of neighbouring villages including Sapporo Village, Naebo Village, Kami Shiroishi Village, and districts where the Tonden-hei had settled, were integrated into Sapporo-ku in 1910.
The
Sapporo Streetcar
The is a tram network located in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by the Sapporo City Transportation Bureau. The system is sometimes referred to by residents as simply the . The first section of the network opened in 1909 as the ; i ...
was opened in 1918, and Hokkaido Imperial University was established in Sapporo-ku, as the fifth Imperial University in Japan. Another railroad operated in Sapporo, the Jōzankei Railroad, which was ultimately abolished in 1969.
In 1922, the new city system was announced by the Tokyo government, and Sapporo-ku was officially changed to Sapporo City. The Sapporo Municipal Bus System was started in 1930. In 1937, Sapporo was chosen as the site of the 1940 Winter Olympics, but due to the outbreak of the
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
, this was cancelled the next year. Maruyama Town was integrated as a part of Chūō-ku in 1940, and the
Okadama Airport
is an airport located in Okadama-chō, Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, north of the city center of Sapporo. Its scheduled airline service is limited to turboprop flights to other cities in Hokkaidō; larger aircraft use New Chitose Airport, ...
was constructed in 1942. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Sapporo Snow Festival
The is a festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan, over seven days in February. Odori Park, Susukino, and Tsudome are the main sites of the festival.
In 2007 (57th festival), about two million people visited Sapporo to see the hundreds of ...
was held in 1950. In the same year, adjacent Shiroishi Village was integrated into Sapporo City, rendered as a part of Shiroishi-ku, and Atsubetsu-ku. In 1955, Kotoni Town, the entire Sapporo Village, and Shinoro Village were merged into Sapporo, becoming a part of the current Chūō-ku, Kita-ku, Higashi-ku, Nishi-ku, and Teine-ku. The expansion of Sapporo continued, with the merger of Toyohira Town in 1961, and Teine Town in 1967, each becoming a part of Toyohira-ku, Kiyota-ku, and Teine-ku.
The ceremony commemorating the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Sapporo and Hokkaido was held in 1968. The
Sapporo Municipal Subway
The is a mostly-underground rubber-tyred rapid transit system in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Operated by the Sapporo City Transportation Bureau, it is the only subway system on the island of Hokkaido.
Lines
The system consists of three lines: ...
system was inaugurated in 1971, which made Sapporo the fourth city in Japan to have a subway system. From February 3 to 13, 1972, the 1972 Winter Olympics were held, the first Winter Olympics held in Asia. On April 1 of the same year, Sapporo was designated as one of the cities designated by government ordinance, and seven wards were established. The last public performance by the opera singer,
Maria Callas
Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...
, was in Sapporo at the Hokkaido Koseinenkin Kaikan on 11 November 1974. The Sapporo Municipal Subway was expanded when the Tōzai line started operation in 1976, and the Tōhō line was opened in 1988. In 1989, Atsubetsu-ku and Teine-ku were separated from Shiroishi-ku and Nishi-ku. Annual events in Sapporo were started, such as the
Pacific Music Festival The Pacific Music Festival (パシフィック・ミュージック・フェスティバル) is an international classical music festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan. It was founded in 1990 by Leonard Bernstein, along with the London Symphony Or ...
in 1990, and Yosakoi Sōran Festival in 1992. A professional football club,
Consadole Sapporo
is a Japanese professional football club, which plays in the J1 League. The team is based in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido.
The club name of "Consadole" is made from ''consado'', a reverse of the Japanese word and the Spanish express ...
, was established in 1996. In 1997, Kiyota-ku was separated from Toyohira-ku. In the same year, Hokkaidō Takushoku Bank, a Hokkaido-based bank with headquarters in Odori, went bankrupt.
File:Sapporo-City-1918-Taisho-Era.png, Sapporo City, Taisho era, 1918
File:Odori Park in 1936.JPG, Odori Park in 1936
File:Hokkaido Prefectural Office02s5s4272.jpg, The Former Hokkaido Government Office Building
File:Sapporo TV Tower 20070812.jpg, The
Sapporo TV Tower
The , built in 1957, is a TV tower with an observation deck at a height of 90.38 metres. Located on the ground of Odori Park, in the northern city of Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, the tower is open to tourists. Tourists can view Sapporo and Odori Park ...
was built in 1957.
21st century
In 2001 the construction of the
Sapporo Dome
is a stadium located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, and is primarily used for baseball and association football. It is the home field of the association football club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and was also home to the baseball team Hokkaido Nipp ...
was completed, and in 2002 the Dome hosted three games during the
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
; Germany vs Saudi Arabia, Argentina vs England and Italy vs Ecuador, all of which were in the first round. Fumio Ueda, was elected as Sapporo mayor for the first time in 2003. Sapporo became the home to a
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
team,
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...
, in 2004, which won the
2006 Japan Series
The Japan Series, the 57th edition of Nippon Professional Baseball's championship series, began on October 21 and ended on October 26, and matched the Central League champion Chunichi Dragons against the Pacific League champion, Hokkaido Nippon ...
, and the victory parade was held on Ekimae-Dōri (a street in front of
Sapporo Station
is a railway station in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It is served by Hakodate Main Line and other lines of Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), and is also connected to the Subway Sapporo Station.
Sapporo Station is the starting p ...
) in February 2007.
The 34th G8 summit took place in Tōyako in 2008, and a number of people including anti-globalization activists marched in the heart of the city to protest. Police officers were gathered in Sapporo from all over Japan, and the news reported that four people were arrested in the demonstrations.
The
Hokkaidō Shinkansen
The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line that links up with the Tōhoku Shinkansen in northern Aomori Prefecture in Honshu and continues on into the interior of Hokkaido through the undersea Seikan Tunnel. Construction started in May ...
line, which currently connects
Honshu
, historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...
to
Hakodate
is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...
through the
Seikan Tunnel
The Seikan Tunnel ( ja, 青函トンネル, or , ), is a dual-gauge railway tunnel in Japan, with a portion under the seabed of the Tsugaru Strait, which separates Aomori Prefecture on the main Japanese island of Honshu from the northern isla ...
, is planned to link to Sapporo by 2030.
Geography
Sapporo is a city located in the southwest part of Ishikari Plain and the
alluvial fan
An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to semiarid climates, but a ...
of the
Toyohira River
The is a river in Hokkaidō prefecture, Japan. It is 72.5 km in length and has drainage area of 894.7 km². It is a tributary of the Ishikari River.
It supplies water to Sapporo city, the capital of Hokkaidō built on the alluvial fan ...
, a tributary stream of the
Ishikari River
The , at long, is the third longest in Japan and the longest in Hokkaidō. The river drains an area of , making it the second largest in Japan, with a total discharge of around per year.
It originates from Mount Ishikari in the Daisetsuzan V ...
. It is part of Ishikari Subprefecture. Roadways in the urban district are laid to make a grid plan. The western and southern parts of Sapporo are occupied by a number of mountains including Mount Teine, Maruyama, and
Mount Moiwa
is a mountain located about southwest of the center of Sapporo, Hokkaido and southwest of Sapporo Station. A ropeway
Ropeway may refer to:
Cable transport
* Cableway, or cable transport, a broad class of transport modes that have cables
* A ...
, as well as many rivers including the Ishikari River, Toyohira River, and Sōsei River. Sapporo has an elevation of .
Sapporo has many parks, including Odori Park, which is located in the heart of the city and hosts a number of annual events and festivals throughout the year.
Moerenuma Park
is a municipal park in Sapporo, Japan. It has playground equipment, outdoor sports fields, and objects that are designed by Isamu Noguchi, a Japanese American artist. Visitors can enter the park and use the parking lot for free. Construction ...
is also one of the largest parks in Sapporo, and was constructed under the plan of
Isamu Noguchi
was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several ...
Otaru
is a city and port in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular to ...
,
Date
Date or dates may refer to:
*Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner
** Group dating
*Play date, a ...
File:SapporoCity Skylines2020.jpg, Sapporo City Skyline from
Asahiyama Memorial Park
is a park located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The park's peak, at above sea level, offers a great panoramic view of Sapporo, and the Sea of Japan beyond.
History
Prior to the construction of Maruyama Park, the area was the site ...
(2020)
File:SapporoCity CBD.jpg,
Central business district
A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...
of Sapporo City(2020)
File:Susukino, Sapporo at night on July 17th, 2018.jpg,
Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Susukino
is a red-light district in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is one of the major red-light districts in Japan along with Kabukichō, Tokyo, and Nakasu, Fukuoka. Currently, the district is congested with many restaurants, bars, hotels, and ...
(2018)
File:Sapporo view of city from Sapporo TV tower - 2016 08 14.ogg, View of the city from above (2016)
File:Hokkaido_University.jpg, A view of Sapporo city and Hokkaidō University (2009)
Climate
Sapporo has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Dfa''), with a wide range of temperature between the summer and winter. Summers are generally warm and humid, but not oppressively hot, and winters are cold and very snowy, with an average snowfall of per year. Sapporo is one of few metropolises in the world with such heavy snowfall, enabling it to hold events and festivals with snow statues. The heavy snowfall is due to the
Siberian High
The Siberian High (also Siberian Anticyclone; russian: Азиатский антициклон (''Aziatsky antitsiklon'')) is a massive collection of cold dry air that accumulates in the northeastern part of Eurasia from September until April. It ...
developing over the Eurasian land mass and the
Aleutian Low
The Aleutian Low is a semi-permanent low-pressure system located near the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea during the Northern Hemisphere winter. It is a climatic feature centered near the Aleutian Islands measured based on mean sea-level press ...
developing over the northern Pacific Ocean, resulting in a flow of cold air southeastward across Tsushima Current and to western Hokkaido. The city's annual average precipitation is around , and the mean annual temperature is .
The highest temperature ever recorded in Sapporo was on 7 August 1994. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 1 February 1929.
Demographics
The first census of the population of Sapporo was taken in 1873, when 753 families with a total of 1,785 people were recorded in the town. The city has an estimated population of 1,957,914 as of May 31, 2019 and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
of 1,746 persons per km2 (4,500 persons per mi2). The total area is .
Economy
The tertiary sector dominates Sapporo's industry. Major industries include information technology, retail, and tourism, as Sapporo is a destination for winter sports and events and summer activities due to its comparatively cool climate.
The city is also the manufacturing centre of Hokkaido, manufacturing various goods such as food and related products, fabricated metal products, steel, machinery, beverages, and pulp and paper. The
Sapporo Breweries
is a Japanese beer brewing company founded in 1876. Sapporo is the oldest brand of beer in Japan. It was first brewed in Sapporo, Japan, in 1876 by brewer Seibei Nakagawa. The world headquarters of Sapporo Breweries is in Ebisu, Shibuya, Toky ...
, founded in 1876, is a major company and employer in the city.
Hokkaido International Airlines
, previously known as , is a Japanese regional airline headquartered in Sapporo, Japan. It operates scheduled service between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in cooperation with All Nippon Airways, from its hubs at New Chitose Airport in Sap ...
(Air Do) is headquartered in Chūō-ku. In April 2004, Air Nippon Network was headquartered in Higashi-ku. Other companies headquartered in Sapporo include
Crypton Future Media
, or simply Crypton, is a Japanese media company based in Sapporo, Japan. It develops, imports, and sells products for music, such as sound generator software, sampling CDs and DVDs, and sound effect and background music libraries. The company al ...
,
DB-Soft
was a Japanese software development company that was in business from 1980 to 2003 based in Sapporo, Hokkaido. They started as a video game developer, releasing titles for various home computer platforms (including the Family Computer), but su ...
,
Hokkaido Air System
, or HAC, is a regional airline that operates scheduled services in Hokkaidō and Aomori Prefecture, Japan from a main base of operations at Okadama Airport in Higashi-ku, Sapporo.Royce'.
Greater Sapporo, Sapporo
Metropolitan Employment Area
is a definition of metropolitan areas used in Japan, defined by the Center for Spatial Information Service of the University of Tokyo. Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry defined 233 areas for the UEAs of Japan. It is different from ...
(2.3 million people), had a total
GDP
Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjective nature this measure is ofte ...
of US$84.7 billion in 2010.
In 2014, Sapporo's GDP per capita (PPP) was US$32,446.
Culture and entertainment
Music
* 1934 – The International Contemporary Music Festival was held by
Akira Ifukube
was a Japanese classical and film music composer, best known for his works on the ''Godzilla'' franchise.
Biography Early years in Hokkaido
Akira Ifukube was born on 31 May 1914 in Kushiro, Japan as the third son of a police officer Toshimi ...
,
Fumio Hayasaka
Fumio Hayasaka (早坂 文雄 ''Hayasaka Fumio''; August 19, 1914 – October 15, 1955) was a Japanese composer of classical music and film scores.
Early life
Hayasaka was born in the city of Sendai on the main Japanese island of Honshū. In ...
Alexander Tcherepnin
Alexander Nikolayevich Tcherepnin (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Черепни́н, link=no; 21 January 1899 – 29 September 1977) was a Russian-born composer and pianist. His father, Nikolai Tcherepnin (pupil of Nik ...
visited Sapporo
* 1960 – The
Sapporo Symphony Orchestra The Sapporo Symphony Orchestra (札幌交響楽団 ''Sapporo Kokyo Gakudan'') is a Japanese orchestra based in Sapporo, Japan. Colloquially known as "Sakkyo", this is the only professional orchestra in Hokkaido. The orchestra gives its concerts a ...
founded
* 1962 –
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...
and
David Tudor
David Eugene Tudor (January 20, 1926 – August 13, 1996) was an American pianist and composer of experimental music.
Life and career
Tudor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied piano with Irma Wolpe and composition with Stefan W ...
visited Sapporo
* 1966 –
Berliner Philharmoniker
The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
History
The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
with
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...
performed
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
's Symphony No. 2 at Sapporo Shimin Kaikan (April)
* 1974 –
Maria Callas
Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...
last public performance at the Hokkaido Koseinenkin Kaikan (11 November)
* 1986 – The
Sapporo Art Park
is an open-air complex of sites in Minami-ku, Sapporo, dedicated to visual and performing art exhibits and facilities. Constructed in 1986, the park was established ''"to cultivate unique new culture in Sapporo and create an environment in wh ...
include the Outdoor Stage and Art Hall (27 July)
* 1990 – The
Pacific Music Festival The Pacific Music Festival (パシフィック・ミュージック・フェスティバル) is an international classical music festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan. It was founded in 1990 by Leonard Bernstein, along with the London Symphony Or ...
Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art
The opened in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan in 1977. The collection includes works by Jules Pascin and the École de Paris as well as by modern Japanese artists, in particular those with a connection to Hokkaidō.
There are five related prefectur ...
represents Hokkaido artists like Eien Iwahashi, Kinjiro Kida, Nissho Kanda,
Tamako Kataoka
(5 January 1905 in Sapporo – 16 January 2008) was a Japanese ''Nihonga'' painter.
She is known for her series of Mount Fuji and other mountains, painted in bold colours such as red.
Biography
Tamako Kataoka was born in Sapporo, Japan in 1 ...
, and especially glass objects of
Ecole de Paris
The School of Paris (french: École de Paris) refers to the French and émigré artists who worked in Paris in the first half of the 20th century.
The School of Paris was not a single art movement or institution, but refers to the importance ...
Sapporo Art Park
is an open-air complex of sites in Minami-ku, Sapporo, dedicated to visual and performing art exhibits and facilities. Constructed in 1986, the park was established ''"to cultivate unique new culture in Sapporo and create an environment in wh ...
contains Art museum featuring outdoor installations & a sculpture garden, and the old house of
Takeo Arishima
was a Japanese novelist, short-story writer and essayist during the late Meiji and Taishō periods. His two younger brothers, and , were also authors. His son was the internationally known film and stage actor, Masayuki Mori.
Early life
Ar ...
.
* The
Moerenuma Park
is a municipal park in Sapporo, Japan. It has playground equipment, outdoor sports fields, and objects that are designed by Isamu Noguchi, a Japanese American artist. Visitors can enter the park and use the parking lot for free. Construction ...
including the Glass Pyramid, designed by
Isamu Noguchi
was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several ...
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
Takeo Arishima
was a Japanese novelist, short-story writer and essayist during the late Meiji and Taishō periods. His two younger brothers, and , were also authors. His son was the internationally known film and stage actor, Masayuki Mori.
Early life
Ar ...
Residence in
Sapporo Art Park
is an open-air complex of sites in Minami-ku, Sapporo, dedicated to visual and performing art exhibits and facilities. Constructed in 1986, the park was established ''"to cultivate unique new culture in Sapporo and create an environment in wh ...
*
Junichi Watanabe
was a Japanese writer.
Biography
Jun'ichi Watanabe was born in Kamisunagawa, Hokkaido, Japan. His starting point as a literate was the death of a classmate who was his first love in high school. He published his first works while still studyin ...
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...
* The Northern Museum of Visual Culture
* Theater Kino
* The Sapporo International Short Film Festival and Market
Video games
* ''
Yakuza 5
is an action-adventure video game developed by Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and published by Sega for the PlayStation 3. The game is the fifth main entry in the ''Yakuza'' series. The game was released in December 2012 in Japan, and localized for North ...
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl
and are 2006 role-playing video games developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. They are the first installments in the fourth generation of the Pokémon (video game series), ''Pokémon'' v ...
'', ''
Pokémon Platinum
is a 2008 role-playing video game developed by Game Freak, published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is an enhanced version of ''Pokémon Diamond'' and ''Pearl'' and is part of the fourth g ...
'' and '' Pokémon Legends: Arceus'', Jubilife City, the capital of the Sinnoh region, is based on Sapporo.
former Hokkaidō government office building
A former is an object, such as a template, gauge or cutting die, which is used to form something such as a boat's hull. Typically, a former gives shape to a structure that may have complex curvature.
A former may become an integral part of th ...
* The
Sapporo Clock Tower
is a wooden structure and tourist attraction, located at North 1 West 2, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, the largest city on the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. As of 2021, this tower is the oldest clock tower in Japan.
The building is of American design and i ...
* The
Hokkaidō Shrine
The , named the until 1964, is a Shinto shrine located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Sited in Maruyama Park, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, the Hokkaido Shrine enshrines four ''kami'' including the soul of the Emperor Meiji. A number of early ex ...
*
Nishino Shrine
Nishino Shrine (西野神社, ''Nishino jinja'') is a Shinto shrine located in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was established in 1885, and enshrines the kami Toyotama-hime (豊玉姫命), Ugayafukiaezu no mikoto (鵜草葺不合命), and Emperor Ōjin as ...
*
Hokkaido Museum
opened in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan in 2015. Located within Nopporo Shinrin Kōen Prefectural Natural Park, the permanent exhibition is dedicated to the nature, history, and culture of Hokkaido. Also known as , the museum integrates and replaces ...
*
Historical Village of Hokkaido
is an open-air museum in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It opened in the Nopporo Shinrin Kōen Prefectural Natural Park in 1983. It includes fifty-two historical structures from the "frontier days" of the Meiji period to the Shōwa period that have ...
*
Sapporo Buried Cultural Property Center
opened in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan in 1991. Its aim is to research, collect, provide expertise on the preservation of, and display the city's buried cultural properties. The collection includes Jōmon artefacts as well as those of the Satsu ...
Edwin Dun
Edwin Dun (June 19, 1848 – May 15, 1931) was a rancher from Ohio who was employed as an ''o-yatoi gaikokujin'' in Hokkaidō by the Hokkaidō Development Commission (''Kaitakushi'') and advised the Japanese government on modernizing agricu ...
Memorial Hall
* The
Hokkaido University
, or , is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation's finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered ...
Sapporo Beer Museum
The is a museum located in the Sapporo Garden Park in Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Registered as one of the Hokkaidō Heritage sites in 2004, the museum is the only beer museum in Japan. The red-brick building was erected originally as ...
Sapporo TV Tower
The , built in 1957, is a TV tower with an observation deck at a height of 90.38 metres. Located on the ground of Odori Park, in the northern city of Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, the tower is open to tourists. Tourists can view Sapporo and Odori Park ...
* The
Sapporo Convention Center
Sapporo Convention Center (札幌流通総合会館) also known as ''SORA'', is a convention center located in Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
Overview
Opened in June 2003, this multipurpose convention center comprehends the Main Hal ...
Sapporo Station
is a railway station in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It is served by Hakodate Main Line and other lines of Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), and is also connected to the Subway Sapporo Station.
Sapporo Station is the starting p ...
.
Sapporo Ramen Yokocho and Norubesa (a building with a Ferris wheel) are in
Susukino
is a red-light district in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is one of the major red-light districts in Japan along with Kabukichō, Tokyo, and Nakasu, Fukuoka. Currently, the district is congested with many restaurants, bars, hotels, and ...
district. The district also has the Tanuki Kōji Shopping Arcade, the oldest shopping mall in the city.
The district of Jōzankei in Minami-ku has many resort hotels with steam baths and
onsen
In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...
.
The Peace Pagoda, one of many such monuments across the world built by the Buddhist order Nipponzan Myohoji to promote and inspire world peace, has a
stupa
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In Buddhism, circumamb ...
that was built in 1959, halfway up Mount Moiwa, to commemorate peace after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. It contains some of the ashes of the Buddha that were presented to the Emperor of Japan by Prime Minister Nehru in 1954. Another portion was presented to
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
by the Nipponzan-Myohoji monk, Junsei Terasawa.
Parks/gardens
* The
Odori Park
is a park located in the heart of Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. means "large street" in Japanese. It stretches east to west through Nishi 1 chōme, Ōdōri to Nishi 12 chōme, Ōdōri ("Nishi" means west, and "chōme" is a block in Japanese), and d ...
* The
Nakajima Park
is a city park in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The park has a lake, two streams, a museum, a concert hall, an observatory, a historical building housing a tea shop, and several lawns and forests. At the south end, there are two shrines.
...
* The
Maruyama Park
is a park in Kyoto, Japan. It is noted as the main center for cherry blossom viewing in Kyoto, and can get extremely crowded at that time of year (April). The park's star attraction is a weeping cherry tree (''shidarezakura'') which becomes li ...
Maruyama Zoo
is a municipal zoo in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It opened on May 5, 1951.
The zoo is located within Maruyama Park (Sapporo), Maruyama Park in western Sapporo, and is the oldest zoo in Hokkaido.
History
Sapporo Maruyama Zoo official ...
.
* The
Moerenuma Park
is a municipal park in Sapporo, Japan. It has playground equipment, outdoor sports fields, and objects that are designed by Isamu Noguchi, a Japanese American artist. Visitors can enter the park and use the parking lot for free. Construction ...
* The Nishioka Park is a location of rich nature which centers around a pond and consists of marshland and the forest of the Tsukisamu River and its upper river basin. This park also serves as one of the main habitats in
Hokkaido
is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel.
The la ...
for many types of wild birds.
* The
Asahiyama Memorial Park
is a park located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The park's peak, at above sea level, offers a great panoramic view of Sapporo, and the Sea of Japan beyond.
History
Prior to the construction of Maruyama Park, the area was the site ...
offers great views of the city.
* The
Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens
The are botanical gardens operated by Hokkaido University. They are located at North 3, West 8, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan, and open daily; an admission fee is charged.
The gardens were established in 1886 as part of the Old Sapporo A ...
Sapporo Snow Festival
The is a festival held annually in Sapporo, Japan, over seven days in February. Odori Park, Susukino, and Tsudome are the main sites of the festival.
In 2007 (57th festival), about two million people visited Sapporo to see the hundreds of ...
The main site is at Odori Park, and other sites include Susukino (known as the Susukino Ice Festival) and
Sapporo Satoland
is an amusement park located in Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Sapporo Satoland, which has an agricultural theme, was opened in 1995. Its official name is .
History
The Sapporo Satoland was established in 1995. Facilities have been ...
. Many of the snow and ice statues are built by members of the
Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...
.Tourism Statistics of Sapporo 2006, p.29 (pdf file)
May: the Sapporo Lilac Festival. Lilac was brought to Sapporo in 1889 by an American educator, Sarah Clara Smith. At the festival, people enjoy the flowers, wine and live music.
June: the Yosakoi Soran Festival. The sites of the festival are centered on Odori Park and the street leading to Susukino, and there are other festival sites. In the festival, many dance teams dance to music composed based on a Japanese traditional song, "
Sōran Bushi
is one of the most famous traditional songs and dance (''min'yō'') in Japan. It is a sea shanty that is said to have been first sung by the fishermen of Hokkaido.
The commonly known version of the song and dance is called and was created in ...
". Members of the dancing teams wear special costumes and compete on the roads or stages constructed on the festival sites. In 2006, 350 teams were featured with around 45,000 dancers, and over 1,860,000 people visited the festival.
The Sapporo Summer Festival. People enjoy drinking at the beer garden in Odori Park and on the streets of
Susukino
is a red-light district in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is one of the major red-light districts in Japan along with Kabukichō, Tokyo, and Nakasu, Fukuoka. Currently, the district is congested with many restaurants, bars, hotels, and ...
. This festival consists of a number of fairs such as Tanuki Festival and Susukino Festival.
September: the Sapporo Autumn Festival
December:
Christmas market
A Christmas market, also known as ''Christkindlmarkt'' (literally: ''Christ Child Market'', but the term "Christkind" usually refers to an angel-like "spirit of Christmas" rather than literally the Christ Child), ''Christkindlesmarkt'', ''Chris ...
in Odori Park, similar to German Christmas markets.
From November through January, many citizens enjoy the Sapporo White Illuminations.
Cuisine
The city is home to
Sapporo Brewery
is a Japanese beer brewing company founded in 1876. Sapporo is the oldest brand of beer in Japan. It was first brewed in Sapporo, Japan, in 1876 by brewer Seibei Nakagawa. The world headquarters of Sapporo Breweries is in Ebisu, Shibuya, Toky ...
, white chocolate biscuits known as 'shiroi koibito' (白い恋人), and also as the birthplace of
miso
is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and ''kōji'' (the fungus '' Aspergillus oryzae'') and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spre ...
ramen. Kouraku Ramen Meitengai, in the Susukino district, is an alley lined with many miso ramen restaurants, since 1951. After its demolition, due to plans for the
Sapporo Olympics
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe ...
, the Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho was established in its place. It attracts many tourists throughout the year. From the year 1966, a food company named, Sanyo Foods, began to sell instant ramen under the brand name, "
Sapporo Ichiban
is a brand of instant noodles (primarily ramen) manufactured by Sanyo Foods of Maebashi, Gunma, Japan. Sapporo Ichiban noodles are also manufactured in Garden Grove, California for the United States and North American market.
Introduced in 19 ...
honeysuckle
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both conti ...
, similar to blueberries, is a specialty in Sapporo. Other specialty dishes of Sapporo include; soup curry, a soupy
curry
A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included.
There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...
made with vegetables and chicken, sometimes other meats too, and
jingisukan
is a Japanese grilled mutton dish prepared on a convex metal skillet or other grill. It is often cooked alongside beansprouts, onions, mushrooms, and bell peppers, and served with a sauce based in either soy sauce or sake. The dish is particula ...
, a
barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...
. Sapporo Sweets, is a confectionery using many ingredients from Hokkaido where there's also the Sapporo Sweets Competition held annually. Sapporo is also well known for fresh seafood including;
salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...
,
sea urchin
Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...
and
crab
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
. Crab in particular is famed. Many types of crab are harvested and served seasonally in Sapporo like the Horsehair crab, Snow crab, King crab, and Hanasaki crab with numerous dishes revolving around them.
Sports
The
Sapporo Dome
is a stadium located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, and is primarily used for baseball and association football. It is the home field of the association football club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and was also home to the baseball team Hokkaido Nipp ...
was constructed in 2001 and is currently host to the local professional teams,
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
is a Japanese professional football club, which plays in the J1 League. The team is based in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido.
The club name of "Consadole" is made from ''consado'', a reverse of the Japanese word and the Spanish expression ...
(
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
), and
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...
(
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
).
ES CON Field Hokkaido (エスコンフィールド北海道, ''Esukon Fīrudo Hokkaidō''), a
baseball park
A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...
under construction in
Kitahiroshima, Hokkaido
is a city located in Ishikari, Hokkaido, Japan. "Kita" is the Japanese word for "north", so the town's name, ''Kitahiroshima-shi'', is translated as "North-Hiroshima city" or "city of North-Hiroshima".
As of April 30, 2017, the city has an es ...
, will become the future home to
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
's
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...
and is scheduled to open in March, 2023.
Sapporo was selected as host to the 5th Winter Olympics, scheduled for February 3 to 12, 1940; however Japan had to cancel the event, consequently handing the decision back to the
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
, after the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937.
In 1972, Sapporo hosted the 11th
Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...
. Some structures built for Olympic events remain in use today, including the ski jumps at Miyanomori and Okurayama. After considering a bid for the
, Olympic representatives in Sapporo have said that the city is considering a bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics. The city predicts it may cost as much as 456.5 billion yen ($4.3 billion) to host the games and is planning to have 90 percent of the facilities within half an hour of the Olympic village, according to a report published 12 May 2016. The Alpen course would be in
Niseko
Niseko ( ja, ニセコ町, , ) is a town located in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. To Japanese people, Niseko principally refers to a mountain range and a municipal area. However, overseas the name has come to refer to a wider area o ...
, the world's second-snowiest resort, while the village would be next to the
Sapporo Dome
is a stadium located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, and is primarily used for baseball and association football. It is the home field of the association football club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and was also home to the baseball team Hokkaido Nipp ...
, the report said. The plans were presented to the
Japanese Olympic Committee
The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...
on 8 November 2016. In 2002, Sapporo hosted three group matches of the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
2006 Women's Volleyball World Championship
The 2006 FIVB Women's World Championship was the fifteenth edition of the competition, contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of the ' (FIVB), the sport's global governing body. The final tournament was held from 31 October ...
. In 2007, Sapporo hosted the
FIS Nordic World Ski Championships
The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships is a biennial nordic skiing event organized by the International Ski Federation (FIS). The World Championships was started in 1925 for men and opened for women's participation in 1954. World Championship e ...
at the Sapporo Dome, Miyanomori ski jump, Okurayama ski jump, and the Shirahatayama cross-country course. It has been the host city to two
Asian Winter Games
The Asian Winter Games (AWG) is an international multi-sport event held every four years for members of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) which features winter events. The Japanese Olympic Committee first suggested the idea of holding a winter ...
Obihiro
is a city in Tokachi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Obihiro is the only designated city in the Tokachi area. As of February 29, 2020, the city has an estimated population of 165,851. The next most populous municipality in Tokachi is the ...
. Sapporo also hosted games during the
2019 Rugby World Cup
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...
.
Skiing remains a major sport in Sapporo with almost all children skiing as a part of the school curriculum. Okurayama Elementary School is unusual in having its own ski hill and ski jumping hill on the school grounds. Within the city are commercial ski hills including Moiwayama, Bankeiyama, KobaWorld, Sapporo Teine and Fu's.
Many sports stadiums and domes are located in Sapporo, and some of them have been designated as venues of sports competitions. The
Sapporo Community Dome
, widely known for its nickname , is a multi-purpose hall located in Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Owned by Sapporo city, the dome is run by the Sapporo Health Sports Foundation.
Overview
The dome is 132.4 m in diameter, 43 m in height, ...
, also known by its nickname "Tsu-Dome", has hosted the Golden Market, a huge
flea market
A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
event which is usually held twice a year, along with some sports events. The
Makomanai Ice Arena
Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena (真駒内セキスイハイム
アイスアリーナ) is an indoor ice skating arena in Minami-ku, Sapporo, Japan. It was built in December, 1970, holds 11,500 people (10,024 seats, fixed plus temporary, and 1,476 ...
, in Makomanai Park, was one of the venues of the Sapporo Olympics in 1972. It was renamed the Makomanai Sekisuiheim Ice Arena in 2007, when
Sekisui Chemical
Sekisui Chemical is a Plastics manufacturer with head offices in Osaka and Tokyo. The company owns a plethora of subsidiaries engaged in a variety of businesses. Sekisui has over 27,000 employees in more than eighteen countries worldwide.
Histor ...
Co., Ltd., acquired
naming rights
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...
and renamed the arena after their real estate brand. Other large sports venues include the
Makomanai Open Stadium
The Makomanai Sekisui Heim Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Sapporo, Japan. During the 1972 Winter Olympics, it hosted the opening ceremonies and the speed skating events.Tsukisamu Dome
Tsukisamu Dome (月寒ドーム) was an indoor arena located in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. The full capacity of the arena was 5,831.
Overview
This facility was used for Agricultural show , car exhibitions and sales, concerts, spor ...
,
Maruyama Baseball Stadium
Sapporo Maruyama Baseball Stadium (札幌市円山球場), is a baseball stadium in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest P ...
Levanga Hokkaido
Levanga Hokkaido is a Japanese professional basketball team based in the city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido.
The club was founded in 2006 as ''Rera Kamuy Hokkaido'', this name comes from the language of the Ainu, an ethnic group indigenou ...
.
Toyota Big Air Toyota Big Air is a Japanese snowboarding (Straight jump) contest. This contest has been held in the Makomanai Open Stadium, Sapporo, Hokkaido since 1997, and from 2012 at the Sapporo Dome. The organizing office of the event announced on September 3 ...
is a major international snowboarding event held annually in Sapporo Dome. As one of the richest events of its kind in the world, it draws many of the world's best snowboarders.
Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo
is a Japanese professional football club, which plays in the J1 League. The team is based in Sapporo, on the island of Hokkaido.
The club name of "Consadole" is made from ''consado'', a reverse of the Japanese word and the Spanish expression ...
(J1 in 1998, 2001–2002, 2008, 2012, 2017–present; J2 in 1999–2000, 2003–2007, 2009–2011, 2013–2016) .
*
NPB
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
–
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a s ...
in
Pacific League
The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...
Transportation
Sapporo has one streetcar line, three
JR Hokkaido
The is one of the constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group), and is often referred to using its official abbreviation of . It operates intercity and local rail services in Hokkaido, Japan. The company introduced Kitaca, a sm ...
lines, three subway lines and
JR Bus
JR Bus collectively refers to the bus operations of Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies in Japan. JR Bus is operated by eight regional companies, each owned by a JR railway company. JR Bus companies provide regional, long distance, and ch ...
, Chuo Bus and other bus lines. Sapporo Subway trains have rubber-tired wheels.
Rapid transit
*
Sapporo Municipal Subway
The is a mostly-underground rubber-tyred rapid transit system in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. Operated by the Sapporo City Transportation Bureau, it is the only subway system on the island of Hokkaido.
Lines
The system consists of three lines: ...
*
Sapporo Streetcar
The is a tram network located in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is operated by the Sapporo City Transportation Bureau. The system is sometimes referred to by residents as simply the . The first section of the network opened in 1909 as the ; i ...
*
Mount Moiwa Ropeway
The is Japanese aerial lift line in Sapporo, Hokkaidō. This is the only line operates, while the company also operates a ski jumping course and an amusement park. Opened in 1958, the line climbs . The observatory is built for the panoramic v ...
Chitose Line
The is a railway line in Hokkaido operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), connecting Numanohata, Tomakomai and Shiroishi Station in Shiroishi-ku, Sapporo, linking the Muroran Main Line and Hakodate Main Line. There also is a branch ...
Sasshō Line
The is a railway line in Japan operated by Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), which connects in Sapporo and in Tōbetu, Ishikari District. Its name is made up of two characters from and , the latter of which was the terminus of the l ...
Okadama Airport
is an airport located in Okadama-chō, Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, north of the city center of Sapporo. Its scheduled airline service is limited to turboprop flights to other cities in Hokkaidō; larger aircraft use New Chitose Airport, ...
, which offers regional flights within Hokkaido, and
New Chitose Airport
is an international airport located south-southeast of Chitose and Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan, serving the Sapporo metropolitan area. By both traffic and land area, it is the largest airport in Hokkaidō.
It is adjacent to Chitose Air Ba ...
, a larger international airport located in the city of Chitose away connected by regular rapid trains taking around 40 minutes. The Sapporo-Tokyo route between New Chitose and Haneda is one of the busiest in the world.
Airport shuttle, tour and charter bus service
An airport shuttle bus servicing all hotels in Sapporo operates every day of the year SkyExpress was founded in 2005 and also provides transport to and from various ski resorts throughout Hokkaido, including
Niseko
Niseko ( ja, ニセコ町, , ) is a town located in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. To Japanese people, Niseko principally refers to a mountain range and a municipal area. However, overseas the name has come to refer to a wider area o ...
.
Education
Universities
National
*
Hokkaido University
, or , is a Japanese national university in Sapporo, Hokkaido. It was the fifth Imperial University in Japan, which were established to be the nation's finest institutions of higher education or research. Hokkaido University is considered ...
*
Hokkaido University of Education
is a national public university administered by the government of Japan. It has five campuses in Hokkaido, Japan.
The main campus is on the outskirts of Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido. Hokkaido University of Education, Sapporo (HUES) is the la ...
''See
Japanese national university
As of 2013, there were 86 , 90 public universities and 606 private universities in Japan. National universities tend to be held in higher regard in higher education in Japan than private or public universities.
As of the 2019 fiscal year, the nu ...
''
Public
*
Sapporo Medical University
is a public university in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The precursor of the school was founded in 1945, and it was chartered as a university in 1950.
History
The , the precursor of the university, was founded in 1945. The Sapporo Medi ...
*
Sapporo City University
is a public university with campuses in Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Chuo-ku and Minami-ku, Sapporo, Japan. The predecessor of the school was established in 1991, and it was chartered as a university in 2006 when it merged with a nursing school.
External ...
Private
*
Sapporo University
, also known as 札大 (Satsu-dai) for an abbreviation, is a private university in Sapporo, Japan. It was founded in 1967. In 2018, 2775 students were enrolled at the university, including 103 foreign students.
Teaching staff
* Yūtokutaishi Ak ...
*
Hokusei Gakuen University
is a four-year private university in Atsubetsu-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The university is run by Hokusei Gakuen School System, whose education philosophy is based on Christianity.
Its name Hokusei (北星) means "north (北)" and "star ( ...
*
Hokkai School of Commerce
is a private university in Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It was originally set up in 1977 as the Commerce Faculty of the Kitami campus of Hokkai Gakuen University; it was spun off as a separate university in April 2006, at which point it ...
*
Hokkai Gakuen University
is a private university in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The precursor of the school was founded in 1885, and it was chartered as a university in 1952.
Organization
Faculties
*Economics
*Business Administration
*Law
*Humanities
*Engineering
...
*
Fuji Women's University
is a private university in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.
History
The predecessor of the school was founded in 1925, and it was chartered as a university in 1961. The university was founded by three Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George a ...
Tenshi College
is a private university in Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by t ...
Sapporo Ōtani University
is a private university in Higashi-ku, Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the ...
*
Hokkaido Tokai University
was a university with two campuses in Hokkaido, Japan: the Sapporo campus in Minami-ku, which housed the School of Engineering and the School of International Cultural Relations; and the Asahikawa
is a city in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkai ...
Hokkaido Bunkyo University
is a private university in Hokkaido, Japan, established in 1999. It has campuses in Eniwa, Hokkaido, Eniwa and Sapporo, Hokkaido, Sapporo. Its junior college division is coeducational. The predecessor of the school, a women's school, was found ...
*
Hokkaido University of Science
, or HUS, is a private university in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the ...
Hokkaido Institute of Technology
, or HUS, is a private university in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan, established in 1967. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1924.
Athletics
HUS's intercollegiate sports teams are called the "Wolves".
External links
*
*
Educat ...
*
Hokkaido College of Pharmacy
was a private university
Private universities and private colleges are institutions of higher education, not operated, owned, or institutionally funded by governments. They may (and often do) receive from governments tax breaks, public st ...
*Sapporo University of Health Sciences
*Japan Health Care College
Primary and secondary schools
Sapporo Odori High School provides Japanese-language classes to foreign and Japanese returnee students, and the school has special admissions quotas for these groups.
The city has two private international schools:
*
Hokkaido International School
The is a private American educational system PreK-12 boarding school in Hokkaido. It was founded in 1958.Hokkaido Korean Primary, Middle and High School
or the Hokkaido Corean School is a North Korean elementary, junior high, and senior high school in Kiyota-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido.
Elementary schools in Japan
High schools in Hokkaido
Schools in Sapporo
North Korean schools in Japan ...
Daejeon
Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and ...
, South Korea (since October 2010)
*
Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
,
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
, Germany (since August 1972)
*
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...
,
Novosibirsk Oblast
Novosibirsk Oblast (russian: Новосиби́рская о́бласть, ''Novosibirskaya oblast'') is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in southwestern Siberia. Its administrative and economic center is the city of Novosibirsk ...
, Russia (since June 1990)
*
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
Shenyang
Shenyang (, ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ), formerly known as Fengtian () or by its Manchu language, Manchu name Mukden, is a major China, Chinese sub-provincial city and the List of capitals in China#Province capitals, provincial capital of Lia ...
,
Liaoning
Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...
, China (since November 1980)
See also
*
Sapporo Brewery
is a Japanese beer brewing company founded in 1876. Sapporo is the oldest brand of beer in Japan. It was first brewed in Sapporo, Japan, in 1876 by brewer Seibei Nakagawa. The world headquarters of Sapporo Breweries is in Ebisu, Shibuya, Toky ...