Sapporo

Sapporo (in Japanese, ; Sapporo-shi) ( listen) is a city of Japan, located in the southwest part of Hokkaidō. It is the capital of the homonymous prefecture and its population exceeds $1.9 million of inhabitants, making it the fifth largest town in the nation and the largest in the island of Hokkaidō. The total area of the territory is 1121 square kilometres.

It was founded in 1869 as the capital of the new Hokkaidō prefecture after the colonization of the island during the Meiji era, replacing Hakodate. In building it from scratch, the Japanese authorities turned to Western advisers—mostly Americans—who had great influence on urban planning, the establishment of industries, architectural style, and educational centers. It is surrounded by mountain ranges and, despite its demographic growth, it has maintained numerous green areas both in the urban center and on the outskirts; It has a total of 2,700 parks, some as important as the Botanical Garden and the Shikotsu-Tōya National Park.

It has lower temperatures than other Japanese cities due to its humid continental climate, with continuous snowfall in the winter months and mild weather during the summer. For this reason, it is a tourist destination specialized in winter sports. During the 20th century, events have arisen that have given it international fame, the most important of which is the Sapporo Snow Festival that is held every February. It has a well-developed road and rail transport network, with its own airport for regional flights (Okadama) and a nearby international airport (New Chitose Airport), which is the third largest in Japan in number of passengers.

The city has a wide cultural and educational offer. Hokkaidō University, founded in 1876 by William S. Clark as the Sapporo College of Agriculture and converted into its present institution in 1918, is one of Japan's seven national universities. It has a total of 11,600 undergraduate students and 6,300 postgraduate students.

Sapporo hosted the XI Winter Olympic Games in 1972. It was also one of the venues for the 2002 Soccer World Cup.

Toponymy

The place name "Sapporo" (札幌), also accepted in Spanish, derives from the word "Sat pore pet" (サッ・ポロ・ペッ), which in the Ainu language means "big dry river ».

The Ainu are an indigenous ethnic group that has inhabited Hokkaidō since the 13th century. Some of the first settlements were located near the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari, which was called the "great dry river" because of its flow. When the Japanese authorities colonized the entire island at the end of the 19th century, words adapted from the indigenous language were used in the new localizations.

History

Horace Capron was the foreign advisor who supervised the construction of Sapporo.

Sapporo, it was Taisho, 1918

It is one of the most recent cities in Japan, since its birth dates from the end of the XIX century. It is located on a territory originally occupied by the Ainu, an indigenous hunting people. During the Edo period, the construction of a navigation channel began, which allowed the first settlers to settle. The island of Hokkaidō was officially annexed in 1869 and that year Sapporo was founded as the future capital of the new prefecture, within the development plan promoted by Emperor Meiji to stop the expansion of the Russian empire to the east.

At that time the most populous municipality was Hakodate. However, they started from scratch with a new villa set back from the coast for security reasons. Sapporo officially became the capital in 1871.

The vice president of the development commission, Kuroda Kiyotaka, asked the US government for help in the works. The foreign adviser (oyatoi gaikokujin) who took on this task was Horace Capron, Secretary of Agriculture under President Ulysses S. Grant. The Americans designed the urban plan based on a checkerboard layout with streets in right angle, rare in the country, where Odori Park would function as a central avenue. Many of the official buildings were also made to the same pattern. The Western contribution was crucial: the adviser Edwin Dun promoted the primary industry with the creation of dairies and farms, while Professor William S. Clark, from the University of Massachusetts, founded in 1876 the Sapporo School of Agriculture to instruct to the new inhabitants.

In later years, the construction of the port town of Otaru (to the north of the capital), the first railway lines and the government buildings were completed. During the 20th century, Sapporo maintained its population growth thanks to the absorption of surrounding villages. 1907 under the control of Tohoku University and in 1918 its transformation into Hokkaidō Imperial University was authorized, the fifth nationwide to receive such a distinction. In 1922 the Japanese government approved a new municipal system by which Sapporo was officially officially a city.

During World War II, Okadama Airfield was opened as an air base for the Imperial Army. Between July 14 and 15, 1945, Sapporo was bombed by USAAF B-29 planes, although the target of the attacks were strategic ports near the area. The allied forces that occupied the country took over the reconstruction efforts, and in 1952 they ceded control to the new Japanese government. At that time, the first edition of the Sapporo Snow Festival (1950) was held and the Chitose air base, open since 1926 on the outskirts, was authorized to be used as a civil airport.

The most important event it has hosted is the 1972 Winter Olympics. Sapporo was already chosen as the venue for the 1940 edition in 1937, but had to give it up due to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Twenty-five years later, the International Olympic Committee awarded him the organization of the XI Olympiad. This allowed new reforms such as the inauguration of the Metro system in 1971.

On April 1, 1972, Sapporo became a designated city by government decree.

At the end of the XX century, it assumed the role of tourist destination and cultural events, with the organization of the Pacific Music Festival for classical music, Sapporo City Jazz and the Yosakoi Sōran Festival for traditional folklore. It was a sub-site of the 2002 Soccer World Cup thanks to the construction of the Sapporo Dome, inaugurated a year earlier. And in 2008, on the occasion of the 34th G8 Summit held in southern Hokkaidō, it hosted the demonstrations of anti-globalization movements. In 2016, the high-speed train line Hokkaido Shinkansen was inaugurated, linking the island with Aomori.

Geography

Moerenuma Park Mountain.

It is located in the southwestern part of the Ishikari plain in the subprefecture of the same name and is crossed by the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. To the west and south it is surrounded by mountain ranges, lakes and natural parks. The closest mountains to the urban center are Teine (1,023 meters) and Moiwa (536 m.), although in the so-called "Nakayama pass", to the west of the municipal limit, are Mount Yoichi (1,488 m.) and the Muine (1,464 m.) among other levels above a thousand meters.

It has forests and more than 2,700 parks, many of them designed as green belts. The most important in urban core is Odori (大通公園, Ōdōri Kōen), with an area of 78,901 m² (1.5 km), which serves as a large avenue. To the northeast is Moerenuma, a large garden designed by the architect Isamu Noguchi, whose total area is 188.8 hectares on land reclaimed from the sea. On the other hand, the Shikotsu-Tōya National Park is also part of the municipality.

Sapporo has no sea exit. It limits to the north with Otaru (the nearest port) and Ishikari; to the south with Eniwa, Date and Chitose (where the airport is), to the southeast with Kitahiroshima and to the east with Ebetsu. The road distance from Asahikawa (the second most populous town) is 137 kilometers, while Hakodate is 311 kilometers away.

Like the rest of the country, Sapporo is prone to earthquakes because the island has high seismic activity. In the Shikotsu-Tōya park you can find the Usu stratovolcano and the Shōwashinzan, a lava dome.

• Flower of the city: Convallaria majalis (May city)
• Town tree: Syringa vulgaris (common street)
• City bird: Cuculus canorus (common fish)

Climate

Located in northwestern Hokkaidō, it has a humid continental climate. The average temperature is 9 °C.

The greatest characteristic of this climate is seasonal variation. Winters are very cold, with persistent snow cover and strong winds, while summers are hot but to a lesser extent than in the rest of Japan. The annual volume of snowfall is 596 cm from November to March, making the makes it one of the few metropolises with such a high average.

Heavy snowfall and an abundance of mountains make Sapporo one of the most popular areas for winter sports. The main ski resorts (Teine, Niseko, Furano and Rusutsu) operate between December and April.

Average climate parameters of Sapporo, Japan (1991-2020)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	11.2	10.8	18.3	28.0	34.2	33.7	36.0	36.2	32.7	27.3	22.4	14.8	36.2
Average temperature (°C)	−0.4	0.4	4.5	11.7	17.9	21.8	25.4	26.4	22.8	16.4	8.7	2.0	13.1
Average temperature (°C)	-3.2	−2.7	1.1	7.3	13.0	17.0	21.1	22.3	18.6	12.1	5.2	−0.9	9.2
Temp. medium (°C)	−6.4	−6.2	−2.4	3.4	9.0	13.4	17.9	19.1	14.8	8.0	1.6	−4.0	5.7
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-27.0	-28.5	-22.6	-14.6	-4.2	0.0	5.2	5.3	-0.9	-4.4	-15.5	-24.7	-28.5
Total precipitation (mm)	108.4	91.9	77.6	54.6	55.5	60.4	90.7	126.8	142.2	109.9	113.8	114.5	1146.3
Nevadas (cm)	137	116	74	6	0	0	0	0	0	1	30	113	477
Days of rain (≥ 1 mm)	18.3	16.0	13.9	9.6	8.5	7.5	7.7	9.5	10.2	11.6	14.6	16.0	143.4
Days of snowfall (≥ 1 mm)	21.7	18.4	15.8	2.5	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	5.2	18.2	82
Hours of sun	90.4	103.5	144.7	175.8	200.4	180.0	168.0	168.1	159.3	145.9	99.1	82.7	1717.9
Relative humidity (%)	69	68	65	61	65	72	75	75	71	67	67	68	68.6
Source: JMA

Demographics

Sapporo has experienced tremendous population growth since it was designated the capital. According to the 2014 census it has a total of 1,934,917 inhabitants. This figure represents 35% of the total population of Hokkaidō, and makes it the fifth largest population in Japan, behind Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya.

Plans to colonize the island during the Meiji era led to the arrival of many Japanese, attracted by new job opportunities. This increase has been maintained with the absorption of smaller neighboring towns and towns, which has allowed it to also increase its total extension. The first time the million inhabitants were exceeded was in 1970.

According to city council data taken from the 2012 register, the number of inhabitants of working age (15 to 64 years) is 1,270,234 people, 66.2% of the total. There are some 225,343 children under 14 years of age (11.7%) and some 424,087 people (22.1%) of the third age. In recent years there has been a decrease in the birth rate, with the consequent increase in the average age. The life expectancy of men is 79 years, while women exceed 86 years.

Sapporo demographic evolution since 1886

Source: City Council of Sapporo

Urbanism

Districts and neighborhoods

Sapporo has been a designated city by government decree since 1972. Under this status, it is delegated many of the functions normally performed by prefectural governments in areas such as public education, social welfare, health, business licensing, and urban planning. The local government is generally delegated minor administrative functions in each area, while the prefectural retains authority over major decisions.

Designated cities are divided into wards (区 ku), each of which has a ward office that performs administrative functions for local government. Sapporo currently has ten neighborhoods or districts.

Sapporo neighborhoods.

1. Chūō. It's the administrative center. It has the most important buildings in the city, including the first government delegation, the Hokkaidō shrine, the Clock Tower, the Sapporo station, some University faculties, the Odori Park and the Suukino shopping area.
2. Kita. Residential and commercial area.
3. Higashi (lift). Located in the northeast, there is Okadama Airport and facilities such as Moerenuma Park, the theme park Sapporo SatolandThe Museum of Beer and the Community Dome.
4. Shiroishi. Residential and industrial district.
5. Atsubetsu. East District, independent of Shiroishi since 1989.
6. Toyohira. Urban area where the Nishioka Park (the largest in urban areas) and the Domo de Sapporo are located. It owes its name to the Toyohira River.
7. Kiyota (pilgrims). Although in its origins it was an agricultural area, today most of its land is for residential use. It was independent of Toyohira in 1997.
8. Minami. It is the largest district, approximately 60% of the municipal land. This is a natural reserve that includes the Makomanai Park (from the Olympic village of the 1972 Winter Olympic Games), the Shikotsu-Tōya National Park (where Mount Yotei is), large lakes and thermal water complexes.
9. Nishi (tracking). Residential district with green areas and natural landscapes.
10. Teine (bombing). Area that owes its name to Mount Teine. It hosts the ski trail Sapporo Teine.

Urban structure

Urban planning is heavily influenced by planning introduced in the 19th century. American advisers to the Japanese government recommended a checkerboard layout, which organized the layout of the streets at right angles, creating rectangular blocks. This is in contrast to most Japanese cities.

The layout is uniform throughout the municipality, since it started from scratch for its construction, and it has been maintained even when Sapporo absorbed other smaller towns.

Economy

Urban panorama of Sapporo.

Sapporo's economy is dominated by commerce and leisure tourism. The services sector represented 76.5% of employment in 2010, followed by the industrial sector (13.8%) and unclassified sectors (9.3%). Although agriculture was essential for the development of the area, today in day the primary sector has a testimonial weight of 0.4% of the workload. Sapporo contributes approximately 30% of Hokkaidō's gross domestic product.

Unlike other Japanese cities with a high concentration of buildings, Sapporo has managed to integrate parks, trees and large green areas into the urban landscape. This circumstance, added to its cold climate, has allowed it to exploit a tourism based on winter sports, snow and respect for the environment that is especially appreciated among national visitors. Odori Park, in the heart of the city, is the scene of events such as the Sapporo Snow Festival and concentrates the majority of urban buildings.

At the same time, the local government has promoted measures so that national companies want to settle. The Japan Foreign Trade Organization (JETRO) lists biotechnology, information technology, and information and communication technologies as the most important developing sectors. Some Sapporo-based companies include Bank of Hokkaidō, Crypton Future Media, the electric company HEPCO, the transport subsidiary JR Hokkaidō, the confectionery Ishiya and the low-cost airline Air Do. Sapporo Brewery is originally from the capital, but is headquartered in Tokyo.

Tourism

Sapporo is one of Japan's top tourist destinations, often associated with winter sports and nature. One of its biggest attractions is the climate: snow covers the city on an average of 132 days a year, there is less humidity and cooler summer temperatures than in the rest of the state.

In 2012, more than 12 million tourists arrived, mostly from Japan, China, the United States and other East Asian countries. The most visited places were Moerenuma Park (700,000 people a year), Mount Moiwa (660,000 people) and the Sapporo Satoland natural amusement park (650,000), not counting the influx to other parts of the island.

Parks

Odori Park during the Sapporo Snow Festival.

Botanic Garden of Hokkaidō University.

In 2012, Sapporo had a total of 2,822 parks (5,557.3 hectares) and 225,741 planted trees. Of this number, 2,707 were municipal parks (2,384.5 hectares).

The most important is Odori Park (大通公園, Ōdōri Kōen), with an area of 78,901 m² (1.5 km) in the center that spans the Chuo neighborhood from west to east. It was designed in 1871 as a large firewall between the administrative area to the north and the residential and commercial neighborhoods to the south, which would serve as a large avenue. Starting in 1876, it was expanded with 6,600 m² flower gardens, and in 1909 the Japanese landscape artist Yasuhei Nagaoka integrated the street into the urban landscape. Since the creation of the Snow Festival in 1950, it has become the hub of major events. It currently has thirteen blocks (chōme) separated by pedestrian crossings.

Nearby is Nakajima, a 21-hectare urban park around Shobu Pond. It has more than 5,000 trees, including red spruce, gingko, yew, black locust and elm. In addition, it has a rich cultural offer because it houses on the ground the historic Hōheikan hotel, the Sapporo astronomical observatory, the Nakajima sports center, a literature museum and the Sapporo Concert Hall. It can be accessed by metro and tram.

The Hokkaidō University Botanical Garden is a botanical garden of about 13.3 hectares that can be accessed by paying admission. It is the second oldest in Japan, behind the Koishikawa in Tokyo. It is located in the orohemiboreal and low oroboreal bioclimatic vegetation zone, has about 5000 species of plants from all over the world and has been used as a practice field for pharmaceutical education and research activities. Its alpinum of 3,290.00 m², the greenhouses and the lilac trees stand out especially. Inside there are also the Museum of Natural History and the Ethnological Museum of the Ainu people, a 10-minute walk from Sapporo station.

In the Higashi neighborhood, to the northeast, is located Moerenuma Park, the most visited park in the city. It measures more than 188 hectares and was designed on an area reclaimed from the sea that in the 1980s was used as a landfill. The architect commissioned for the transformation was Isamu Noguchi, who conceived the gardens as a sculpture in itself. He designed the master plan in 1988, but he was unable to see his work completed because he died of a heart attack the following year. The city council took over the works, carried out a partial opening in 1997 and finished it on July 1, 2005. Its greatest symbol is a large glass pyramid nicknamed "Hidamari" (solar point), in which there is a restaurant and a museum dedicated to Noguchi. There are also 3,000 cherry trees, sports facilities and artificial mountains. Very close to Moerenuma is the Sapporo Satoland theme park, whose objective is to bring agriculture and livestock closer to its visitors.

To the southwest are Mount Moiwa (reachable by cable car), Asahiyama Memorial Park, and the Okurayama Observatory, located on the ski jumping slope of the 1972 Olympic Games. On Mount Teine (手稲山, Teineyama) is the ski resort Sapporo Teine. And far from the urban core, in the Shikotsu-Tōya National Park, the highest mountains and volcanoes meet on an area of 993.02 km².

Historic buildings

Building of the first government delegation in Sapporo, built in 1888.

Sapporo Clock Tower.

The vicinity of Odori Park concentrates most of the first buildings that were built. As with urban planning, many of them were built following American patterns, unlike other Japanese cities. Hokkaidō's first government building was erected in 1888 to house the Settlement Commission, later transformed into a branch office. Neo-Baroque in style, it is crowned by an octagonal dome and its three floors are covered with a red brick façade. In the surroundings there is a flower garden that makes it more identifiable. It is no longer used for administrative work but is still open as a municipal archive and tourist office. It is listed as an Asset of Cultural Interest.

The other American designed building that has stood since its founding is the Sapporo Clock Tower. It was built in 1878 to house the military training hall of the College of Agriculture (ancestor of Hokkaidō University). The clock, from the company E. Howard & Co., was made in Boston and installed in 1881, never failing to keep time under any circumstances. It is currently the local history museum, among other functions. In addition to being an Asset of Cultural Interest since 1970, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment named it one of the "100 Soundscapes" of the country. It can be found a few meters from the central train station.

Historic Town, on the eastern outskirts of the city, is an open-air museum featuring sixty buildings from the Meiji and Taisho periods. Next door is the Hokkaidō Museum of History.

The Hōheikan, a cultural heritage site, was the first wooden hotel. It was built between 1879 and 1880 to accommodate foreign engineers and advisers that the Colonization Commission had invited. Emperor Meiji was its first guest in August 1881. When the Commission was suspended in 1882, its management was turned over to the town of Sapporo. Following Meiji's example, Emperor Taishō stayed there in 1911 while Emperor Shōwa (Hirohito) did so in 1922. The original building was moved from Odori to Nakajima Park in 1956. Prince Naruhito visited the latest renovation of this facility in 1986.

Inside Odori is the Sapporo Television Tower, designed in 1957 by the architect Tachū Naitō, author of the famous Tokyo Tower. Its opening gave television and frequency modulated radio coverage to the entire city. In 1961, four digital clocks donated by Matsushita Electrics (now Panasonic) were added. The tower measures 147.2 meters and has a viewpoint 90.38 meters high, which allows a privileged view of the skyline. Although at the time it was the tallest building, the construction of large skyscrapers has stripped it of that condition.

The largest building in all of Hokkaidō is Sapporo JR Tower in the Chuo neighborhood, which at 173 meters high and 38 floors houses shops, offices, an observatory and even a helipad.

In Maruyama Park, you can access the Hokkaidō Shrine (北海道神宮, Hokkaidō Jinja), a 180,000 m² Shinto shrine. It was built by order of Emperor Meiji to house the deities of Ōkunitama, Ōkuninushi, and Sukunahikona, and opened to the public on September 14, 1871. The facility was destroyed by fire in 1974, but was fully restored four years later. It is a place especially visited during the Japanese New Year and Hanami celebrations in spring.

Shops

Susukino neon lights.

The commercial district is Susukino (すすきの), in the Chuo neighborhood, it is the most popular among tourists for its characteristic neon lights, hotels, bars, and discos, which also make it the main nightlife center. It originated in 1871 as the main red light district for brothels for settlers, and later converted into a trading post. During World War II most of the stores closed, but afterward it regained its vitality as an area for adult entertainment. Today it concentrates an offer for all audiences, with a total of 4,500 stores. Some of its best-known sites are the "Alleys of Ramen," with restaurants specializing in this dish, and the Tanuki Koji covered market.

Like other Japanese cities, Sapporo has large open-air markets, in this case specialized in fish and seafood, which have become a tourist attraction in themselves. One of the most emblematic is the Nijō market, with more than 50 commercial stalls that are open every day. In addition to buying, they can be tasted in nearby food houses. The other is Jōgai Ichiba, located opposite the local wholesale market. Its specialty is fresh seafood, especially Monbetsu crab and squid.

As for shopping malls, there are multiple options. One of them is Sapporo Factory, which houses more than 160 outlets in the building that was the first brewery in all of Japan. Originally erected in 1880, redevelopment for commercial use was allowed and work was completed in 1993. The Sapporo JR Tower skyscraper also has space for a Daimaru department store, while Sapporo Esta is a complex of eleven plants next to the Sapporo railway station, right in the center.

Education

At the end of 2010, the city had 149 kindergartens, 206 elementary schools, 107 middle schools, 55 community colleges, 7 colleges, 14 special education centers, and 15 universities.

Hokkaidō University is the most prestigious educational institution. It is considered one of the seven national universities of Japan. Its origin is the Sapporo School of Agriculture founded in 1876 by the American professor William S. Clark, who was only there for a year but laid the foundations of the institution. In 1907 the faculty passed under the control of Tohoku University, until which in 1918 was designated the "Imperial University". The Sapporo campus measures more than 180 hectares, of which only 12% are occupied by buildings; the rest are outdoor parks and forests. In total, it has about 11,600 undergraduate students and another 6,300 who are studying for postgraduate courses.

The most prominent member of the Hokkaidō University honor roll is Professor Akira Suzuki, the 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

As for the rest of the higher education centers, the most noteworthy are the Hokkaidō University of Education, which specializes in teaching; Sapporo Municipal University, specializing in design and nursing degrees, and Sapporo Medical University, specializing in medicine and health sciences.

Arts and culture

Events

Ice sculpture of the local urban panorama, at the Sapporo Snow Festival.

The biggest event of the year is the “Sapporo Snow Festival” (Sapporo yuki matsuri, 札幌雪祭り), which is held in early February. It takes place in Odori Park and covers other areas such as the central Susukino street (where the international contest is held) and the Community Dome. Its main attraction is the construction of large snow and ice sculptures, some of which cover current affairs. It is estimated that every year it is visited by more than two million people. In connection with this event, other activities are organized to increase the number of tourists.

During the Christmas holidays, the city council organizes the “Sapporo White Illumination”, a Christmas lighting event with various motifs that covers the whole center. From November 26 to Christmas Eve, a Christmas market is also set up in sector 2 of Odori Park, inspired by the Christkindlmarkt in Munich.

In May the “Lilac Festival” is celebrated, coinciding with the flowering of the lilacs (city tree) between May and June. This plant was introduced by the American professor Sarah Clara Smith in 1889, although the event dates back to 1959. It is celebrated both in Odori Park, with more than 400 lilies planted, and in Kawashimo Park. Some of the activities that take place on those dates are guided tours, wine tastings and tea ceremonies.

Every June, the "Yosakoi Soran Festival" is organized to honor Japanese folklore in general and the Yosakoi in particular. The first edition took place in 1992 and was inspired by the original event in Kōchi (Shikoku Region). The dance style is very energetic, combining steps from traditional music with contemporary styles, and choreographies are usually performed. Soon after comes the "Summer Festival", coinciding with the start of the season.

Sapporo is also popular for its beer festivals, many inspired by the Oktoberfest in the sister city of Munich. The most popular is the “Sapporo Autumn Fest”, with activities in almost all sectors of Odori Park from September 12 to September 28.

Music

The largest venue is the Sapporo Concert Hall, nicknamed "Kitara", which is inside Nakajima Park. It was inaugurated in 1997 and is specialized in recitals of traditional, classical and instrumental music. It is also the home of the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra. In its main room, with capacity for 2,000 spectators, you can find a huge organ made by the French company of Daniel Kern. Behind it is the Sapporo Cultural and Educational Center, opened in 1977 and with 1,100 seats.

The last concert of diva Maria Callas was held at the Nitori Cultural Center on November 11, 1974.

Since 1990, the «Pacific Music Festival» has been organized, a music festival devised by Leonard Bernstein and Michael Tilson Thomas whose objective is to promote young classical music artists from all over the world. On the other hand, the concerts with the largest capacity (by J-Pop artists or from the international scene) take place at the Sapporo Dome and the Hokkaidō Sports Center.

The other major event is the Sapporo City Jazz, traditionally held between the second week of July and the first week of August. During this time, outdoor performances by Japanese and foreign jazz artists are organized.

Museums

Sapporo has the following museums:

Sapporo Art Museum.

• The Miyanomori Art Museum is the largest contemporary art gallery. Its collection is specialized from the 1950s to the 1970s. In it you can find the largest collection of Christo and Jeanne-Claude in Asia, more than 3000 photographs of Daidō Moriyama and works of authors such as Lucio Fontana, Frank Stella, Jasper Johns, Yoshige Saito and Lee Ufan. It also houses the most important exhibitions.
• The Hokkaidō Museum of Modern Art is the first contemporary art gallery established on the island. His collection of 4,800 works focuses on sculptures and paintings by national authors, Ukiyo-e engravings and some foreign works. In this sense, an exhibition of artists from the Paris School is included as Jules Pascin. It also has a collection of glass covering from modernism to the present time. The building was opened in 1977 and is in the district of Chūō.
• The Sapporo Art Park, located in the Minami district, is a museum of sculptures inside a park. It not only collects works of art, but in the surrounding areas activities such as pottery and glass manufacturing courses are organized.
• The Sapporo Winter Sports Museum specializes in winter sports and collects material from the 1972 Sapporo Olympic Games. It is near the ski jumping track of Okurayama and was founded in 2000. Many documents related to international events are collected in their exhibition area. It has rooms with jump simulators, sleighs, biathlon and artistic skating.
• The Historical Village of Hokkaidō is an outdoor museum that collects sixty buildings from the Meiji and Taisho periods. It is on the outskirts, next to the Museum of Local History.
• The Hokkaidō Literature Museum collects works, original texts and more than 220,000 articles related to writers who have resided on the island, such as Takuboku Ishikawa, Takeo Arishima, Takiji Kobayashi and Ayako Miura.
• The Sapporo Beer Museum, owned by Sapporo Brewery, makes a tour of the origins of beer in Japan and its process of elaboration. The entrance is free.

Gastronomy

Ramen plate in Sapporo

The traditional gastronomy of Sapporo is included within the Japanese cuisine. It is credited as the birthplace of miso ramen (味噌ラーメン), a variety of ramen made with miso paste and chicken soup that spread throughout Japan in the 1950s. specialty restaurants are in the "Callejón del Ramen" (Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho), located in the Susukino district, where the first ramen business opened in 1951. However, it is estimated that there are more than 1,000 ramen restaurants worldwide. municipality, including even a theme park (Sapporo Ramen Kyowakoku) on the tenth floor of the Sapporo Esta shopping mall.

Another of its culinary specialties is curry soup (Sūpu karē, スープカレー). This is a watery, broth-like curry sauce served with chunks of vegetables and chicken thighs.

Jingisukan (ジンギスカン) is a Japanese barbecue (Yakiniku) based on lamb meat, prepared on a concave metal surface on which the grill goes. Its name is a reference to the conqueror Genghis Khan because in pre-war Japan lamb was believed to be very popular with Mongol soldiers. Although its origin is disputed, it is one of the most consumed dishes in the entire prefecture.

Lastly, the town is famous for serving quality fresh fish. Especially noteworthy are crab, salmon and sea urchin.

The Sapporo Brewery company originated in this city, one of the three largest brewing companies in Japan along with Asahi and Kirin. It was founded in 1876 during the Meiji era, which is why it is considered the oldest beer in the country. The main factory has remained in the capital of Hokkaidō, although the headquarters are in Tokyo. Next door is the Sapporo Beer Museum, an American-inspired 19th century building, and the Sapporo Biergarten.

The Ishiya Chocolate Factory makes the sweet Shiroi Koibito, which consists of two thin shortbread cookies with white chocolate inside.

Sports

Interior of the Dome of Sapporo.

Top-level sporting events take place in Sapporo. Due to its geographical situation and its mountainous climate, it is one of the main points in Japan to practice winter sports.

The city hosted the XI Winter Olympic Games in 1972, for which multiple facilities were built that are still open today. Some of them are located in Makomanai Park, located in the Minami neighborhood. The Makomanai Stadium, with a capacity for 17,000 spectators, is an open-air venue that is used for speed skating and snowboarding competitions in winter, while in summer it is converted into a multi-purpose arena. The Ice Palace is also there, with 10,000 seats. The Miyanomori and Mount Okura ski jumps (which also have a museum of the event) are located in the Chūō neighborhood. The rest of the events took place at the Sapporo Teine, one of the most active in the country. In 2007 it was home to the Nordic World Ski Championships.

Niseko Ski Resort, Hokkaidō's most visited ski resort, is a two-hour bus ride from downtown.

The main stadium is the Sapporo Dome (Sapporo Dome, nicknamed "Hiroba"), a multi-purpose arena built for the 2002 Soccer World Cup. It was carried out by the architect Hiroshi Hara. Opened on June 2, 2001, it has 41,000 seats and hosts matches of the professional baseball (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters) and soccer (Consadole Sapporo) teams. It is covered and the biggest feature is that the natural grass pitch it can slide out of the enclosure on an air cushion, while allowing other uses such as concerts or exhibitions. At the top there is a panoramic observatory.

The Dome has hosted matches of the 2006 Basketball World Championship and will also be used in the 2019 Rugby World Cup and as a soccer sub-venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Other fields are the Hokkaidō Sports Center, used by the basketball team (Levanga Hokkaido); the Maruyama Baseball Stadium, which has held school tournaments since its opening in 1934; the curling stadium (opened in 2012) and the Community Dome (Tsudome).

Since 1958, the Sapporo Half Marathon has been held, a course of 21.0975 kilometers every July. The Hokkaidō Marathon has also taken place there every August since 1987.

Professional teams

Predecessor: Grenoble

Olympic City 1972

Successor: Innsbruck

Transportation

Sapporo is Hokkaido's main transportation hub. Although it is landlocked, it is very close to the ports of Otaru to the north and Tomakomai to the south.

Subway

Sapporo Metro Map.

The Sapporo Municipal Subway network, operated by the local Transportation Consortium, is 48 kilometers long and comprises three lines. All of them run entirely through the municipality. There are 49 stations in total, of which only two have connections: Sapporo station (green and blue line) and Ōdōri station (all lines), in the Chūō district. Each station is identified with name and number. Signage is in Japanese (visual and audible) and English (visual only).

• Namboku Line (green): 14.3 kilometers. Open in 1971.
• Tōzai line (orange): 20.1 kilometers. Open in 1976.
• Tōhō Line (blue): 13.6 kilometers. Open in 1988.

It was inaugurated for the 1972 Winter Olympics. The lines use a tire meter system in which the carriage rides on a central rail, each one the width of a tire.

Railway

Sapporo station.

JR Hokkaidō, a subsidiary of the Japan Railways group, operates three regional rail lines that pass through the city. The central station for limited express trains is Sapporo Station.

• Hakodate Line: 423 kilometers. Connect Hakodate with Asahikawa.
• Chitose Line: 56 kilometers. Connect Sapporo (Shiroishi station) with Tomakomai.
• Sasshō Line: Connect Sapporo (Sōen Station) with Shintotsukawa.

In 1988, the Seikan Tunnel, considered the longest railway tunnel in the world, was built, connecting Hokkaidō with the island of Honshū. The high-speed Shinkansen line (Hokkaidō Shinkansen) is scheduled to open in April 2016, connecting the prefectural capital with Aomori. Its opening would allow transhipment journeys from Sapporo to Tokyo in less than four hours, compared to the ten required today.

Urban transportation

Electric tram in full snow.

The Transport Consortium operates an electric tram, known as Sapporo shiden, which has operated exclusively in the southwest since its inauguration in 1909. The entire network measures 8.41 kilometers and comprises a line in the shape of "C", with a total of 23 stations. It is connected to the subway network through the Susukino station.

For short-range trips, the municipality has a public bus system.

Air transportation

Air transportation is covered by New Chitose Airport, which operates internationally, and Okadama Airport, for regional flights on the island.

New Chitose Airport is located south of the capital, between the towns of Chitose and Tomakomai. It is the third airfield in number of passengers in Japan, behind Narita and Haneda, and the main one on the island in cargo volume. It is made up of a single semicircular terminal building that houses the national and international terminals. It was inaugurated in 1991 and replaced the previous airport, which today is for the exclusive use of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. In this sense, commercial flight schedules are restricted so as not to interfere with the operations of the adjacent base. It is connected by railway (Chitose line), bus and taxis.

As for Okadama Airport, it operates only regional charter and turboprop flights. It was built between 1942 and 1944 as an airfield for the Imperial Army, and was later used by the United States Air Force from 1945 to 1952. It is currently only occupied by the local airline Hokkaido Air System (a subsidiary of Japan Airlines) as a base of operations.

Twinned cities

Sapporo is twinned with the following cities, in order of the year of collaboration:

• Portland, United States (1959)
• Munich, Germany (1972)
• Shenyang, China (1980)
• Novosibirsk, Russia (1990)
• Daejeon, South Korea (2010)