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Sapporo
City in Hokkaido, Japan

Sapporo

Sapporo is a designated city in Hokkaido, Japan.

Plan a trip to Sapporo→From Hakodate

Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture and Ishikari Subprefecture. As of August 1, 2026, the city has a population of 1,962,596, making it the largest city in Hokkaido and the largest north of Tokyo. It is the fifth-most populous city in Japan and is Hokkaido's cultural, economic, and political center.

Get in

Getting to Sapporo

Sapporo is Hokkaido's main transport hub. Sapporo (SPK IATA for all airports) is served by two airports. Most international and inter-island flights to go the larger but further away New Chitose Airport, while most intra-island flights go to the smaller but closer Okadama Airport.

  1. 01
    New Chitose Airport
  2. 02
    Okadama Airport
  3. 03
    Sapporo

    Buses operate from Noboribetsu (1 hr 30 min), Noboribetsu-onsen (1 hr 50 min, ¥2,500 in 2025), and Muroran (2 hr 40 min, ¥2,500).

Do

Things to do

Sapporo Snow Festival (雪祭り Yuki Matsuri). First week of Feb. This is Sapporo's largest event. The festival is best known for the ice sculpture competition attracting artists from around the world, competing to create the largest and most elaborate artworks from ice and snow. The festival is focused on Odori Koen, in the centre of Sapporo.

  1. 01
    Hoheikyo Onsen

    Probably the most beautiful outdoor hotspring that is easily accessible from Sapporo.

Eat

Where to eat

Sapporo is famous for hairy crab (毛蟹 kegani), an expensive treat available at any seafood restaurant, and miso ramen (味噌ラーメン), a local variation of the ubiquitous noodle dish with miso paste added to the stock, and one of Japan's top three ramen. The ramen in particular will warm you up nicely on a chilly winter day. Sapporo soup curry (just what it sounds like) is also increasingly famous.

How locals move

Getting around Sapporo the local way

  • Get inAlthough Sapporo is inland, there are two major ferry ports nearby: Otaru and Tomakomai.
  • Get inBoth have scheduled car and passenger ferry service to points outside Hokkaido.
  • Get inSee Hokkaido for routes and ports near Sapporo or the section in the main Japan article for general Japanese ferry information.

From Wikivoyage: Sapporo, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: 663highland (CC BY 2.5), Wikimedia Commons.