Things to do
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Former Hokkaidō Government Office
The red brick former seat of the island's government, two blocks west of the Clock Tower, reopened in July 2025 after more than five years of restoration. Rooms upstairs cover Ainu culture and Hokkaido history, and the octagonal tower on the roof now has a balcony over the city, open in timed sessions that are booked ahead online. The garden and pond in front are free to walk through.
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Hill of the Buddha
A seated stone Buddha inside a hill designed by Tadao Ando, planted with lavender so that only the head shows above the slope. The way in is a long concrete tunnel, and the hill turns purple in July. It stands in Makomanai Takino Cemetery, about an hour south of the centre by subway and bus. Buses back run about once an hour, so check the return time on arrival.
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Moerenuma Park
A park on the northeastern edge of the city shaped by the sculptor Isamu Noguchi into grassy cones, a glass pyramid, a shallow beach and a fountain. Its tallest hill, Mount Moere, can be climbed in a few minutes for a view over the plain. The grounds are large, so hire a bicycle at the entrance, and in winter the slopes are used for sledding.
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Odori Park
A strip of lawns, fountains and flower beds a kilometre and a half long that splits the centre in two, with the TV Tower at its eastern end. In February it holds the Snow Festival's sculptures, and from July into August a long beer garden. Addresses across the city count blocks north or south of it.
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Ōkurayama Ski Jump Stadium
A chairlift runs up beside the ski jump to a lounge at the top, where the inrun drops away towards the city and the plain beyond. The jump hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics and still holds competitions, so check the event calendar before going to watch one. The Sapporo Olympic Museum sits at the base.
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Sapporo Beer Museum
Sapporo's brewing history is laid out in a red brick hall a short bus or taxi ride east of the TV Tower. The exhibits are self-guided, and the visit ends in a tasting hall where samples are ticketed. Allow about an hour, and come hungry: the beer garden next door grills lamb at the table.
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Sapporo Clock Tower
A small white wooden hall with a clock on top that still strikes the hour. It sits among office blocks, so it looks smaller than in photographs. The best view is from the raised platform across the street, and a short look inside is ticketed.
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Sapporo TV Tower
A red lattice tower at the eastern end of Odori Park, with an observation deck 90 metres up. The deck looks west down the whole length of the park, best during the Snow Festival or after dark. It stays open into the evening, and the visit takes under an hour.
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Tanukikoji Shopping Street
A covered shopping arcade that runs seven blocks east to west between Odori Park and Susukino, with drugstores, souvenir shops, game arcades and cafés under one roof. In winter it is the easiest way to cross the centre out of the snow.
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Ganso Ramen Yokocho
A narrow alley in Susukino lined with more than a dozen small ramen counters, most of them serving the miso ramen Sapporo is known for. Each counter seats a handful at a time, so the famous ones have a queue at the door in the evening. Many stay open until well after midnight, and most take orders by ticket machine.
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Historical Village of Hokkaido
An open-air museum on the eastern edge of the city, where more than fifty wooden buildings from the settlement years stand rebuilt as a town street, a fishing village, a farm village and a mountain village. A horse-drawn tram runs down the main street in summer and a horse sleigh in winter. Allow two to three hours. The Hokkaido Museum is a short walk away.
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Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill
A sloping pasture on the southeastern edge of the city, with the statue of William Clark pointing out over Sapporo and the Ishikari Plain. Sheep graze it in summer and lavender flowers in July. It is open all year and is a short bus ride from Fukuzumi station on the Toho line.
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Hokkaidō Shrine
The island's main shrine stands among tall trees on the edge of Maruyama Park, a fifteen-minute walk from Maruyama-Koen station on the Tozai line. Cherry trees around it flower in early May. A smaller shrine in the same grounds, the Kaitaku Shrine, honours the surveyors and settlers who opened Hokkaido.
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Hokkaido University
A campus of lawns, elms and old wooden halls that starts five minutes' walk north of Sapporo Station and is open to walk through. Its ginkgo avenue, about 380 metres of tall trees, turns gold in late October and early November and is crowded at weekends in that fortnight. The bust of William Clark stands on the lawn a few minutes inside the main gate.
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Jōzankei Onsen
A hot-spring town in the gorge of the Toyohira River, inside the city limits but about an hour southwest of the centre by bus. Most riverside hotels sell day entry to their baths, and free footbaths sit beside the bridges. The gorge turns red and gold in October, the busiest month. The Kappa Liner bus from central Sapporo needs a reservation, so book it a day ahead.
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Maruyama Park
A large wooded park beside Maruyama-Kōen station on the Tozai line, holding the Hokkaidō Shrine, the city zoo and more than 1,500 cherry trees. In early May the lawns fill with families grilling lamb under the blossom. A trail behind the shrine climbs the small forested hill of Maruyama in under an hour.
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Mount Moiwa
A 531-metre hill southwest of the centre, reached by a ropeway and then a short mini cable car to the summit deck. The night view over the city's grid of lights is the reason to go. Ride up before sunset, because evening queues at the base can run for hours on busy days. Take the streetcar to Ropeway-Iriguchi, then the free shuttle bus or a ten-minute walk to the base.
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Nijō Market
A covered seafood market just past the eastern end of Tanukikoji, selling crab, sea urchin, salmon roe and scallops from open counters. Small restaurants inside serve the same catch in a bowl over rice for breakfast. Come before about half past nine: the market runs on the morning trade and quietens after that.
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Shiroi Koibito Park
The factory behind Shiroi Koibito, the white chocolate biscuit sold in souvenir shops across Hokkaido. A gallery looks down on the production line, and a workshop lets visitors bake and decorate their own biscuits. It sits beside Miyanosawa station on the Tozai line, about twenty minutes from Odori, and workshop places sell out on busy days, so book them ahead.
