Sapporo

Sapporo is a city in Japan found on the Hokkaido Prefecture. As reported in the December 2005 census there is approximately 1,882,424 residents in the large 1,121km area. Sapporo is an extremely popular city of Japan ranking as the third largest city in the entire country.

The industries of Sapporo include many with commercial business ranking among the most thriving; with several nationally and globally recognized companies calling the booming city home. In addition to high profile companies, Sapporo is also one of the most visited tourist attractions in Japan. Several special events keep millions of tourists coming in all year round.

The perfect climate has allowed Sapporo to be one of the greatest sports cities in Japan, especially during the winter sports events. Many winter festivals, sports championships, and special occasions are held in and around the city.

History of Sapporo

In 1869, Sapporo was founded and planning, management and city development began. While this was its original beginning, it wasn’t until 1922 that Sapporo established a solid government making this the year of official founding.

By 1970 Sapporo was populated by over one million people making it the largest city of Japan at that time. This popularity made Sapporo the choice destination for the 1972 Winter Olympics which was held at the cities center.

In 1984 there were well over 1.5 million people, again topping the charts for populated cities in Japan.

Points of Interest

• Annual Snow Festival The Sapporo Snow Festival is a popular event held for an entire week during the month of February. Decorated with many exquisite snow statues, and attended by some of the most famous people in the world; this annual snow festival is among the most popular events held throughout all of Japan.

• Clock Tower The Clock Tower of Sapporo is recognized as the oldest building in the city being built in 1878, shortly after the city was initially founded. Today, the Clock Tower can be toured to see many tremendously precious historical artifacts displaying a great amount of the cities history.

External Links

• Official Site (Japanese)
• Official Site (English)