Sapporo / Japan

Sapporo is the fifth largest city in Japan, and the largest city on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. It is the capital city of Hokkaido Prefecture and its Ishikari Subprefecture, and numbers among the nation's ordinance-designated city. Sapporo lies in the southwest of Hokkaido, within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, which is a tributary stream of the Ishikari. Sapporo is considered the cultural, economical, and political center of Hokkaido. As with most of Hokkaido, the Sapporo area was settled by the indigenous Ainu people, beginning over 15,000 years ago. Starting in the late 19th century, Sapporo saw increasing settlement by Japanese migrants. Sapporo hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics ever held in Asia, and the second Olympic games held in Japan after the 1964 Summer Olympics. The Sapporo Dome hosted three games during the 2002 FIFA World Cup and two games during the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The annual Sapporo Snow Festival draws more than 2 million tourists from abroad. Other notable sites include the Sapporo Beer Museum, which is the only beer museum in Japan, and the Sapporo TV Tower located in Odori Park. It is home to Hokkaido University, just north of Sapporo Station. The city is served by Okadama Airport, and New Chitose Airport in nearby Chitose.