Sapporo Clock Tower
Wooden building from the 1870s, first used as a drill hall by the agricultural college, now a small museum. Its clock has chimed for well over a century among the modern offices around it.
Hokkaido (Sapporo)
Flower fields in summer, seafood, snow and ski resorts, and the Sapporo Snow Festival put Japan's northern island on the map.
Attractive locations
Sapporo TV Tower
Red steel tower at the east end of Odori Park, with an observation deck looking down the length of the park. It is lit up at night and is a handy landmark for finding the way.
Moerenuma Park
Large park designed by the sculptor Isamu Noguchi, combining landscaped hills, fountains, play areas and a glass pyramid building. People cycle and picnic here in summer and ski or sledge in winter.
Odori Park
Long green strip through central Sapporo, with fountains, flower beds and sculptures. It hosts the snow festival in February and a beer festival in summer.
Otaru Canal
Old canal in the nearby port town of Otaru, lined with stone warehouses, glass lamps, cafes and shops. It is especially pretty in the evening and during the winter lantern festival.
Mount Moiwa
Hill above Sapporo reached by ropeway and a small cable car, with a viewing deck known for its night views over the city.
Lake Toya
Round crater lake in a national park south-west of Sapporo, with hot spring resorts, an island in the middle and the volcano Mount Usu close by.
Airports
Sapporo Okadama Airport OKD
It is about 7 km in a straight line from Hokkaido (Sapporo).
New Chitose Airport CTS
It is about 42 km in a straight line from Hokkaido (Sapporo).
Asahikawa Airport AKJ
It is about 111 km in a straight line from Hokkaido (Sapporo).
Scams and safe taxis
Weather by month
Each month shows its average temperature in °C and its mm of rain per month.
- Jan-6.9 °C103 mm
- Feb-6.7 °C83 mm
- Mar-2.9 °C72 mm
- Apr3.5 °C62 mm
- May10.0 °C74 mm
- Jun14.9 °C83 mm
- Jul18.8 °C121 mm
- Aug20.0 °C160 mm
- Sep16.0 °C137 mm
- Oct9.2 °C118 mm
- Nov2.1 °C129 mm
- Dec-4.6 °C130 mm
Driest months: Mar, Apr, May. Wettest months: Aug, Sep, Dec.
Costs
Prices here are about 65% of US prices (World Bank, 2025). This compares a country's overall prices, not the cost of a trip.
Festivals and events
festival
Sapporo Snow Festival
Prices go up and hotels fill up around one of the biggest events the country sees every year, so planning ahead matters.
festival
Sapporo Snow Festival
Prices go up and hotels fill up around one of the biggest events the country sees every year, so planning ahead matters.
Who can help
Emergency
Police 110. Fire and ambulance 119.
local government
Japan Visitor Hotline (Japan National Tourism Organization)
Helps with: Hotline run by Japan's national tourism organization. It gives support in emergencies such as accidents, illness and natural disasters, plus general tourist information, in English, Chinese and Korean, 24 hours a day.
Who qualifies: Visitors to Japan, calling from inside Japan or from overseas.
Phone: +81-50-3816-2787
local government
Police emergency number 110
Helps with: Japan's police emergency number, for reporting a crime or an accident. For less urgent matters, visitors can also go to a neighbourhood police box (koban).
Who qualifies: Anyone in Japan who needs the police urgently.
Phone: 110
local government
Ambulance and fire emergency number 119 (Fire and Disaster Management Agency)
Helps with: Call 119 for an ambulance or a fire. First say whether it is a fire or a medical emergency, then give your location; a nearby building or intersection helps if you lack the address.
Who qualifies: Anyone in Japan; the ambulance service is available to everyone.
Phone: 119
ngo
Japanese Red Cross Society
Helps with: Japan's national Red Cross society. In disasters it sends medical relief teams, sets up aid stations, gives psychological care in evacuation centres and hands out relief supplies such as blankets.
Who qualifies: People in Japan affected by disasters, through its relief work.
un agency
International Organization for Migration (IOM) Japan
Helps with: The UN migration agency. In Japan it supports migrants through work against human trafficking and help with voluntary return home and reintegration.
Who qualifies: Migrants in Japan, including people affected by human trafficking. It is not a help service for ordinary tourists.
Phone: 03 (3595) 2487
embassy
Foreign embassies and consulates in Japan (JNTO list)
Helps with: For a lost passport, an emergency or a natural disaster, contact your own country's embassy. This Japan National Tourism Organization page gives addresses and phones, but only for some countries.
Who qualifies: Citizens of each listed country, through their own embassy or consulate.