Botanic Garden

Botanic Garden

basic information

This botanic garden close to Sapporo's city center belongs to the Hokkaido University and primarily serves a scientific and educational purpose. It is also a pleasant place to take a break or to have a (non-alcoholic) picnic.

Established in 1886, the Botanic Garden preserves a small part of the forest which formerly covered the Ishikari Plain. In addition, there is an alpine garden, a greenhouse, a small Ainu museum and several other minor attractions.

Note that an admission fee applies, and that during the winter month, only the greenhouse remains open to the public.

Historic Village of Hokkaido

Historic Village of Hokkaido

basic information

The Historic Village of Hokkaido (kaitaku no mura) is an open air museum in the suburbs of Sapporo. It exhibits about 60 typical buildings from all over Hokkaido, dating from the Meiji and Taisho Periods (1868 to 1926), the era when Hokkaido's development was carried out on a large scale.

The open air museum is divided into a town, fishing village, farm village and mountain village section. The Historical Museum of Hokkaido (kaitaku kinenkan), which documents the history of Hokkaido's development, can be found nearby.

Nijo Market

Nijo Market

basic information

Nijo Market is a public market in central Sapporo, where locals and tourists shop for fresh local produce and seafood such as crabs, salmon eggs, sea urchin and various fresh and prepared fish.

A recommended way of visiting the market is by having a fresh seafood breakfast at one of the small restaurants found between the shops.

Among the most popular menu items for starting the day is the uni ikura donburi, sea urchin and salmon eggs on rice (see picture).

The Nijo Market is open from around 7am to around 6pm on all days of the week, with individual shops maintaining their own opening hours and closing days.

Sapporo Snow Festival

Sapporo Snow Festival

basic information

The Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo Yuki Matsuri) is held during one week every February in Hokkaido's capital Sapporo. In 2010, the Snow Festival will be held from February 5 through February 11, 2010.

The Sapporo Snow Festival was started in 1950, when high school students built a few snow statues in Odori Park. It has since developed into a large, commercialized event, featuring spectacular snow and ice sculptures and attracting more than two million visitors from Japan and across the world.

The Snow Festival is staged on three sites across Sapporo City: the Odori Site, Susukino Site and Tsudome Site.

The main site is the Odori Site in Sapporo's centrally located 1.5 kilometer long Odori Park. The festival's famous large snow sculptures, some more than 15 meters tall and 25 meters wide, are exhibited there. They are lit up daily until 22:00.

Besides about a dozen large snow sculptures, the Odori Site exhibits more than one hundred smaller snow and ice statues and hosts several concerts and events, many of which use the sculptures as their stage.

Odori Site

A great view over Odori Park can be enjoyed from the Sapporo TV Tower, which stands at the eastern end of the park and is opened from 9:00 to 22:30 during the festival (from 8:30 on the weekend). Admission to the top observatory deck costs 700 Yen per adult.

The Susukino Site, located in and named after Sapporo's largest entertainment district, exhibits about one hundred ice sculptures. Susukino is located only one subway stop south of Odori Park. The ice sculptures are lit up daily until midnight (until 22:00 on the festival's final day).

Susukino Site

The less centrally located Tsudome Site is a family oriented site with snow slides, snow rafting, snow golf and more snow sculptures. Inside the dome, there are many food stands and a stage for events. The Tsudome Site replaces the Sato Land Site, which was used in the previous three years.

Tsudome Site

Any advice or questions? Voice them in the forum!

how to get there

While the Odori and Susukino Sites are in central Sapporo, the Tsudome Site is located outside of the city center and can be accessed in a short shuttle bus ride (100 yen one way) or a 15 minute walk from Sakaemachi Station, the terminal station of the Toho Subway Line (10 minutes, 240 yen from Sapporo Station).

Shuttle buses to the Tsudome Site are also operated from some other locations, including the Odori Site (200 yen one way). Note that no parking is available near the Tsudome Site.

Odori Park

Odori Park

basic information

Odori Park is the broad median of Odori ("large street") in the center of Sapporo, separating the city into North and South. The park stretches over twelve blocks and offers pleasant green space during the warmer months, while staging the annual Sapporo Snow Festival in February.

At the eastern end of Odori Park stands the TV Tower with an observation deck that offers nice views of Odori Park and the city of Sapporo.

Any advice or questions? Voice them in the forum!

how to get there

Odori Park is five blocks or a 5-10 minute walk south of Sapporo Station. All of Sapporo's three subway lines intersect at Odori Station, which is one station south of Sapporo Station on the Nanboku and Toho Line.

Okurayama Observatory

Okurayama Observatory

basic information

The 90 meter ski jump competitions of the Winter Olympics 1972 were held in the Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium.

Nowadays, when the stadium is not being used for world cup or other ski jump events, the Okurayama Observatory at the top of the hill can be accessed via a chair lift (500 Yen, 8:30-18:00, shorter hours Nov-Mar) for spectacular views of Sapporo.

At the foot of the jump hill stands the Sapporo Winter Sports Museum (600 Yen, 9:00-18:00, shorter hours Nov-Apr) with exhibits about the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics and winter sports in general, including ski jump, bobsled, biathlon and speed skate simulators.

Susukino

Susukino

basic information

Susukino

Ramen Yokocho

Susukino is well known as Japan's largest entertainment district north of Tokyo. It is packed with stores, bars, restaurants, karaoke shops, pachinko parlors and red light establishments. Of special interest to noodle lovers is the Ramen Yokocho, a narrow lane lined with nothing but ramen shops serving the famous Sapporo ramen.

Mount Moiwa

Mount Moiwa

basic information

Mount Moiwa is one of several forested, small mountains surrounding the city of Sapporo. There is an observation platform and restaurant on its summit with spectacular day and night time views of the city.

Note that the restaurant on top of Mount Moiwa is not a place for fine dining as suggested by the restaurant's pamphlet. Rather, it is a kind of tourist cafeteria, where meals have to be ordered at vending machines.

Sapporo Beer Museum

Sapporo Beer Museum

basic information

Hokkaido is the birthplace of beer in Japan. "Sapporo Beer", one of the oldest and still most popular beer brands in Japan, has been brewed in Sapporo since 1877. It is now brewed and sold internationally.

The Sapporo Breweries, the oldest of Japan's four leading breweries, opened the Sapporo Beer Museum in 1987 in a Meiji Period red brick factory building. The museum introduces the history of beer in Japan and the process of beer making. Tasting of various types of beer is possible at a small fee.

Next to the museum stands the Sapporo Beer Garten which consists of three spacious beer halls.

how to get there

The Beer Museum can be accessed by the "Loop 88 Factory Line" bus that stops among other places at Odori Station and in front of Seibu department store near Sapporo Station. Alternatively, it is a 20-30 minute walk from Sapporo Station.

Address: North 7, East 9

Sapporo

Sapporo

basic information

Odori Park

Sapporo ("important river flowing through a plain" in Ainu language) is the capital of Hokkaido and Japan's fifth largest city. Sapporo is also one of the nation's youngest major cities. In 1857, the city's population stood at just seven people.

In the beginning of the Meiji Period, when the development of Hokkaido was started on a large scale, Sapporo was chosen as the island's administrative center and enlarged according to the advice of foreign specialists. Consequently, Sapporo was built based on a North American style rectangular street system.

Sapporo became world famous in 1972 when the Olympic Winter Games were held there. Today, the city is well known for its ramen, beer, and the annual snow festival held in February.

Shiroi Koibito Park

Shiroi Koibito Park

basic information

Shiroi Koibito Park is a kind of theme park by Ishiya, a local chocolate company. The company's flagship product are the Shiroi Koibito cookies, two thin butter cookies with white chocolate in between, a mandatory item on the souvenir shopping list of most visitors to Hokkaido.

The park consists of various Disneyland style buildings housing shops, a cafe and, most interestingly, a chocolate factory, which is open to the public. Besides some windows, from behind which visitors can observe the production process of the chocolate cookies, there are many chocolate related exhibits.

Part of the Shiroi Koibito Park is a soccer field, the practice ground for "Consadole Sapporo", the local J-League soccer team. There is also a small collection house about the team's history.

Open: Daily 9:00 to 18:00 (enter by 17:00).
Admission: 600 Yen (chocolate factory)

Sapporo

Sapporo

basic information

Odori Park

Sapporo ("important river flowing through a plain" in Ainu language) is the capital of Hokkaido and Japan's fifth largest city. Sapporo is also one of the nation's youngest major cities. In 1857, the city's population stood at just seven people.

In the beginning of the Meiji Period, when the development of Hokkaido was started on a large scale, Sapporo was chosen as the island's administrative center and enlarged according to the advice of foreign specialists. Consequently, Sapporo was built based on a North American style rectangular street system.

Sapporo became world famous in 1972 when the Olympic Winter Games were held there. Today, the city is well known for its ramen, beer, and the annual snow festival held in February.