top 5 sapporo will introduce you to this far away city with 2 million inhabitants. sapporo is the capital of hokkaido and is one of the few japanese places with an easily accessible grid street system. they have long difficult winters, so there are huge underground malls and all the cars have 4-wheel drive. don’t miss tasting the unbelievable sea food and the local brew!

5. sapporo art park. find your way to this park and plan to spend at least half a day there. it includes the museum of contemporary art, several workshops (glass, sculpture, painting, pottery, etc), and an open air museum.

4. sapporo beer museum. they offer free guided tours and free beer tasting. the beer garden is one of the most popular places in town. discover sapporo beer with all its flavours!

3. nijo fish market. there is a bigger fish market in town, but i liked this tiny one.

2. sapporo snow festival. it takes place every year on super central odori park. at its end, there is the sapporo clock tower, 147 m high, which was first built of wood in 1878. the 64th edition of the snow festival is taking place right now: 5th – 11th of february 2013. the population of the city almost doubles during the festival. click here for the live cam!

top 5 sapporo

1. some of the best snow in the world. plan ahead and make the best of sapporo’s powdery slopes. sapporo was the host of the 1972 winter olympics. click here for more snow info.

top 5 sapporo

extras:

* otaru, 40 minutes away by train. a cute little town on the coast.

* any of the ainu museums in the area. the ainu are the first population of honshu, they look more caucasian than asian and they have a very strong connection with nature. this is probably the most important ainu museum, 100 km from sapporo.

* any of the fabulous national parks in hokkaido. rent a car and be prepared to see nature like you have never seen it before. imagine cranes, swans and fields of colourful flowers!

take your time and enjoy top 5 sapporo, but also as much of hokkaido as you can!

photo and video credits: google search

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