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Cityscape of Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan at Odori Park.
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Odori Park, Building Exterior, Tabi, Downtown District, Dusk, Twilight, Sapporo, Famous Place, Architecture, Urban Scene, Hokkaido, Japan, Asia, Day, Mountain Range, Park - Man Made Space, Town Square, Financial District, Urban Skyline, Cityscape, City

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Overview

Japan's fifth-largest city, and the prefectural capital of Hokkaidō, Sapporo (札幌) is a dynamic urban centre that offers everything you'd want from a Japanese city: a thriving food scene, stylish cafes, neon-lit nightlife, shopping galore – and then some. While many travellers see the city as a transit hub from which to access Hokkaidō's mountains and hot springs, there are enough worthwhile attractions to keep you here for days. Summer is the season for beer and food festivals. In February, despite the bitter cold, Sapporo's population literally doubles during the famous Snow Festival.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Cityscape of Sapporo at odori Park, Japan

    Ōdōri-kōen

    Sapporo

    This haven in the heart of the city is fully 13 blocks (1.5km) long, with the TV Tower at its eastern end. Among the green lawns and flower gardens are…

  • Sapporo Beer Museum

    Sapporo Beer Museum

    Sapporo

    This legendary Sapporo attraction is in the original Sapporo Beer brewery, a pretty, ivy-covered brick building. There's no need to sign up for the tour;…

  • Ōkura-yama Ski Jump Stadium

    Ōkura-yama Ski Jump Stadium

    Sapporo

    This ski-jump slope was built on the side of Ōkura-yama for the Sapporo 1972 Winter Games. At 133.6m it's just slightly shorter than Sapporo TV Tower,…

  • Hokkaidō Brewery

    Hokkaidō Brewery

    Sapporo

    This is one of the current brewing and bottling facilities for Sapporo beer. Guided tours are led (in Japanese only) by very enthusiastic brand…

  • Kaitaku-mura

    Kaitaku-mura

    Sapporo

    This expansive collection of historical buildings (and some recreations), in Nopporo Shinrin-kōen east of central Sapporo, shows the diversity of…

  • Moerenuma-kōen

    Moerenuma-kōen

    Sapporo

    Completed in 2005, this former waste-treatment plant to the northeast of the central city is now an impressive reclaimed green belt. It was originally…

  • Hokkaidō Museum

    Hokkaidō Museum

    Sapporo

    This museum does an admirable job of explaining Hokkaidō's multilayered history, from the age of the woolly mammoths to the age of the steam locomotives,…

  • Sapporo TV Tower

    Sapporo TV Tower

    Sapporo

    Beating Tokyo Tower by two years, Sapporo TV Tower (147m) arrived in 1956, bringing with it the modern television age. It was designed by 'Dr Tower' Naitō…

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