Hotels in Sapporo, Japan

A little about Sapporo...

Sapporo is the fifth-largest city in Japan by population and the third-largest by geographic area. It is the capital of Hokkaidō Prefecture, located in Ishikari Subprefecture, and an ordinance-designated city of Japan.

Sapporo is best known outside Japan for hosting the 1972 Winter Olympics, and the annual Yuki Matsuri in the city, internationally referred to as the Sapporo Snow Festival, which draws more than 2 million tourists from around the world. The city is also home to the eponymous Sapporo Breweries.

Sapporo is one of the popular tourist attractions in Japan, and as of 2006, the annual number of tourists had reached 14,104,000, which was an increase of 5.9% over the previous year (13,323,000 in 2005). 2006 was also the first year for Sapporo when the number of tourists exceeded 14 million, in its history of tourism.

Cuisine: Sapporo is known as the birthplace of Miso Ramen, a rāmen noodle using miso, and Sapporo Ramen is also widely known. The Kouraku Ramen Meitengai, an alley lined with many ramen restaurants, was established in 1951 in Susukino district, and after its demolition due to plans for the Sapporo Olympics, the Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho was established in the same place. It currently attracts many tourists throughout the year. From the year 1966, a food company named Sanyo Foods began to sell instant ramens under the brand name "Sapporo Ichiban". In 2001, Sapporo Ramen was listed as one of the Hokkaido Heritage along with other ramens in Hokkaido such as Asahikawa Ramen and Hakodate Ramen. On October 1, 2004, The Sapporo Ramen Republic, a theme park focused on rāmens, was opened at the 10th floor of the Sapporo ESTA, a commercial complex located in front of the Sapporo Station.

Soup Curry, a liquid curry with vegetables and rice, is also one of the specialties in Sapporo, and currently plenty of soup curry restaurants are located in the cities and towns in Hokkaido. Sapporo Sweets, a confectionery using many ingredients from Hokkaido, is also popular, and the Sapporo Sweets Competition is held annually.

A lamb barbecue style dish named Ghengis Khan is a popular local speciality.

Sapporo is also famed for fresh seafood, salmon, sea urchin and crab in particular. It is also noted for Haskup, a local variety of blueberry.

Entertainment and performing arts:
The Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara is the main musical venue in Sapporo, located in Nakajima Park in Chuo-ku. It is home to the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra, a local professional orchestra organized in 1961, and their regular concerts are held in this hall. The open-air stage in Sapporo Artpark is another one of the music venues in Sapporo. The Pacific Music Festival (PMF), an event started with the idea of Leonard Bernstein in 1990, is held in both places. The Sapporo Artpark, located in Minami-ku, also contains public arts, an art museum, and the old house of Takeo Arishima. Other art museums in Sapporo include The Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, the Sapporo Museum of Sculpture, and the Migishi Kotaro Museum of Art, Hokkaido. The Hokkaido Museum of Literature, located in Nakajima Park, has hosted many exhibitions, seminars, and other educational activities. The Sapporo Convention Center is located in Shiroishi-ku, and a number of forums and events are held in the building. The Sapporo Salmon Museum is located in Minami-ku, and displays mainly materials related to the ecology of salmon. The Sunpiazza Aquarium is located close to the Sapporo Science Center in Atsubetsu-ku.

Points of Interest:
A lot of historical buildings, as well as shopping malls and parks, are located in Sapporo, and are drawing attract of many tourists in every year. Historic landmarks include the Former Hokkaidō government office building, the Sapporo Clock Tower, the Hokkaido Shrine (Hokkaidō Jingū), and the Sapporo TV Tower. The Sapporo Factory was a former brewery of the Sapporo Beer, and is currently a huge shopping mall with many restaurants, offices, and the multiplex movie theatres. Another former brewery of the Sapporo Beer is the Sapporo Beer Museum, which is currently a part of the Sapporo Garden Park, and houses the Sapporo Beer Gardens. The Sapporo City Archive Museum, The Edwin Dun Memorial Hall, and some old buildings in the Hokkaido University are also historically important in Sapporo, and each was listed in the Registered Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan.

The Sapporo JR Tower, a complex building houses the Tower 38 and department store, is located adjacent to the Sapporo Station. Being close to the main station of Sapporo, the Sapporo JR Tower has been visited by many tourists, and the number of visitors of the Tower 38, the tower with a observation deck, recorded 311,815 in 2006. The Sapporo TV Tower, located the eastern end of the Odori Park, is one of more modern architectures, and has also an observation deck viewing the entire Odori Park and Sapporo City. Susukino is a district having the main nightlife scene in Sapporo, and Sapporo Ramen Yokocho, Norubesa (a building with a huge Ferris wheel) are located in this district as well as many restaurans, nightclubs, bars, and adult entertainments. The districts also has the Tanuki Koji Shopping Arcade, the oldest shopping mall in the City. In Minami-ku, the district of Jōzankei is a site that many hotels with hot spring, and many visitors also has visited.

Sapporo also offers many parks and gardens. The Odori Park houses buildings such as the Sapporo TV Tower, and hosts many events including Yosakoi Soran Festival, Sapporo Lilac Festival, Sapporo White Illumination, and the Sapporo Snow Festival. In the Nakajima Park, there are some landmarks including Hōheikan, an old hotel building moved from the Odori Park, and the Sapporo Concert Hall Kitara. The Maruyama Park is located next to the Hokkaido Shrine, and houses the Maruyama Zoo. The Mœrenuma Park is located in Higashi-ku, and houses many open-air art compositions including the Glass Pyramid, planned by Isamu Noguchi. One of the gardens in Sapporo, the Chizaki Rose Garden provides various kinds of roses, and the Hokkaido University Botanical Gardens has also many types of plants and historically important buildings. The Hitsujigaoka observation hill has a farm with sheeps, and is attracting visitors with a statue of William S. Clark.

Events:
In February, the Sapporo Snow Festival is annually held. The main site is the Odori Park, and other sites include Susukino (known as the Susukino Snow Festival) , and the Sapporo Satoland. Once Makomanai area in Minami-ku was one of the festival sites, but it was abolished and moved to the Satoland site in 2006. Many of the snow and ice statues in the sites are built by the armies of Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. In 2006, the number of visitors in the Sapporo Snow Festival marked 1,985,000 in total.

Every June, the Yosakoi Soran Festival is held. The sites of the festival are centered in the Odori Park and the street leading to Susukino, but other festival sites also exist. In the festival, many dance teams dance to their music which are composed based on a Japanese traditional song, Sōran Bushi. Members of the teams wear special costumes, and compete their dancing skills on the roads or stages constructed on the festival sites. In 2006, 350 teams were organized with around 45,000 dancers, and over 1,860,000 people visited at the festival sites.

During the summer, the Sapporo Summer Festival takes place in the heart of the city, and people enjoy drinking beers in the beer gardens constructed in the Odori Park and on the streets of Susukino district. This festival consists of a number of fairs such as Tanuki Festival and Susukino Festival as well as the Odori Park site.

Sapporo has two airports:
Okadama Airport (Domestic)
New Chitose Airport (International) (Located in the city of Chitose)

Public
Hokkaido University
Hokkaido University of Education
See Japanese national university
Sapporo Medical University
Sapporo City University

Private:
Sapporo University
Hokusei Gakuen University
Hokkai School of Commerce
Hokkai Gakuen University
Fuji Women's University
Sapporo international University
Tenshi College
Health Science University of Hokkaido
Sapporo Otani College
Hokkaido Tokai University
Hokkaido Musashi Women's Junior College
Hokkaido Bunkyo University
Kœn Gakuen Women's Junior College
Hokkaido Institute of Technology