is one of the 10 wards in

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

Hokkaidō is the second-largest island of Japan 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 railway via the Seikan Tunnel. The ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Minami-ku is directly translated as "south ward". Having the area of 657.48 km² in total, Minami-ku occupies 60 percent of the area of Sapporo.City of Sapporo General Overview
/ref>

Overview

According to the

jūminhyō A (resident record or residence certificate) is a document issued by municipalities in Japan proving the registry of ones current residential address in Japan. Japanese law requires all Japanese citizens and foreign residents to report their cur ...

(registry) in 2008, 149,139 people were living in Minami-ku. The total area of the ward is 657.48 km², which is the largest in Sapporo. 17 mountains including Mount Yoichi (1488.1 metres, the highest mountain in Sapporo) are included in the ward, along with part of the

Shikotsu-Tōya National Park is a national park in the western part of the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. Named after the volcanic caldera lakes of Lake Shikotsu and Lake Tōya, it has a total area of 993.02 square kilometers. The popular hot spring resorts of Noboribetsu ...

. Sapporo's five wards: Chūō-ku, Toyohira-ku, Kiyota-ku, Nishi-ku, Teine-ku, have boundaries with Minami-ku, and four cities ( Chitose,

Otaru is a Cities of Japan, city and Seaports of Japan, 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 ...

Date Date or dates may refer to: * Date, the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') * Jujube, also known as red date or Chinese date, the fruit of ''Ziziphus jujuba'' Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activi ...

, Eniwa), two towns ( Kimobetsu, Kyōgoku), and a village ( Akaigawa) also have boundaries.

History

Originally, the area where currently Minami-ku is located has been famous for the hot springs in Jōzankei area and mines in Ishiyama area, and many pioneers and their families have settled from the outside of Hokkaidō. In 1918, the Jōzankei Railroad was opened for traffic from Shiroishi area to current Minami-ku area. In 1946, after the end of World War II, American army took over farms in Makomanai area and built a military facility called Camp Crawford.Minami-ku, History 1950 - 1979
/ref> The restoration of the Camp Crawford began in 1955, and camps of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force were started to build. In 1972, Sapporo Winter Olympics was held in Sapporo, and a number of sports competitions were held in Makomanai area, including

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing whereby skiers traverse snow-covered terrain without use of ski lifts or other assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreational activity; however, some still use it as a m ...

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

, and the cross-country skiing portion of the

Nordic combined Nordic combined is a winter sport in which athletes compete in cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The Nordic combined at the Winter Olympics has been held since the first 1924 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics in ...

events. In the same year, Sapporo was listed as one of the cities designated by government ordinance, and Minami-ku was established. The camp of the Self-Defense Force has been one of the venues of the

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 o ...

, however, it was abolished and moved to the

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 ...

site located in Higashi-ku, in 2005.

Transportation

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: ...

** Namboku Line: Sumikawa - Jieitai-Mae - Makomanai

Education

Universities

Public

* Sapporo City University

Private

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 Cities of Japan, city in Kamikawa Subpr ...

DIRECTIONS TO HOKKAIDO TOKAI UNIVERSITY (HTU)
().

. November 20, 2005. Retrieved on April 10, 2015. "5-1-1-1 Minami-sawa, Minami-ku, Sapporo 005-8601, Japan" and "224 Chuwa, Kamui-Cho, Asahikawa 070-8601, Hokkaido, Japan"

Colleges

* Koen Gakuen Women's Junior College * Hokkaido Bunkyo University Junior College

High schools

Public

* Hokkaido Sapporo Nanryou High School * Hokkaido Sapporo Keihoku Commercial High School * Hokkaido Sapporo Moiwa High School

Private

Hokusei Gakuen Girls' Junior & Senior High School - 北星学園女子中学高等学校
*Sapporo Shinyo High School * Hokkaido Bunkyo University Meisei High School * Tokai University Daiyon High School

Points of interest

* Jozankei hot springs resort - a number of hotels and resorts with hot springs. *

Makomanai Park Makomanai Park (真駒内公園) is a city park in Minami-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. It is home to attractions such as Makomanai Open Stadium, Makomanai Ice Arena and the Sapporo Salmon Museum. It also contains a small gymnasium, restaurant ...

- a park including 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 ...

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.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 * ...

- observation deck and ski resort. **

Mount Moiwa Ropeway The is a 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 ...

Sources

External links

Minami-ku, official homepage
{{Authority control Wards of Sapporo