Sapporo
Sapporo is one of Japan’s youngest cities. The population has grown from 7 people in 1857 to almost 2 million today. As it’s a new city, Sapporo doesn’t have the traditional Japanese architecture or the “Japanese-ness” that you would find in a city such as Kyoto. For travellers, one of the benefits of it being a new city is that it’s based on easily navigated grid streets.
Sapporo was put on the map in 1972 when it hosted the Olympic winter games, the first to be held outside Western Europe or the USA. The city is well known as a starting point for Hokkaido ski trips, the beers, and the annual snow festival held in February.
Sapporo can make a great stop-over before or after travelling to other cities or resorts within Hokkaido. Alternatively Sapporo can be used as a base from which to explore resorts close by.
Some examples of mountains nearby and the approximate travel times from Sapporo by bus are:
• Sapporo Teine – 45 minutes
• Kiroro – 1.5 hours
• Kokusai – 1.5 hours
•
Tomamu – 80 minutes
• Mount Racey – 1.5 hours