Sapporo City Sightseeing Odori Park This is an oasis in the city center and extends 1.5km east-west. Decorated with fountains, sculptures and flower beds, the park serves as a site for the Snow Festival in February, the Lilac Festival in May, the Yosakoi Soran Festival in June, the Beer Garden and summer festival in summer, the White Illumination in winter and various other events. Sapporo TV Tower This prominent land mark in Odori Park provides good view of Sapporo from its 90m-high viewing platform. 1 minutes walk from Odori station. Clock Tower This is the symbol of Sapporo, was constructed in 1878 as a drill hall of Sapporo Agricultural College. 3 minutes walk from Odori Park . JR Tower Opened in March 2003, the view from JR Tower's 160m high Observatory "Tower 38" is overwhelming. Connected with JR Sapporo Station . Botanical Garden Run by Hokkaido Univ., has more than 5,000 varieties of Hokkaido's flora on 14 hectares, and provides a relaxing spot. There is a small Ainu (the indigenous population of Hokkaido) Museum with a good collection of tools, clothing, household utensils and the like. 10 minutes walk from southwest of JR Sapporo station. Susukino Area Looks rather dull by day, but comes to life at night. There are some very good restaurants, discos and shot bars in the area. Between the south 4 and south 9 blocks around Susukino station. Ramen Yokocho (Alley) An alleyway crammed with some two dozen ramen noodle shops. Sapporo is famous for Miso ramen. 1 minutes walk from Susukino station. Mt. Moiwa 531 meters above sea level. The small mountain is covered with virgin forest of a wide variety (450 species) of trees and plants. A five minutes ride on a large gondola and three minutes aerial lift will bring you a great view of Sapporo. 11 minutes by bus from Maruyama Koen station.(Tozai line) Then 4 minutes walk to the Ropeway station. Historical Village of Hokkaido This impressive museum, laid out across a spacious park, gathers together some sixty buildings constructed around Hokkaido between the mid 19th and 20th centuries. To cover the whole site will take you a good one day. 15 minutes by bus from Shin-Sapporo station. Sapporo Art Park There are a sculpture garden and some studios for craft, glass & ceramics, wood crafts etc. on a 40Ha hill. Some workshops are available. 13 minutes by bus from Makomanai station.(Nanboku line) Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium & Sapporo winter sports museum Large hill events of the Sapporo winter Olympics took place this stadium. Enjoy views of Sapporo and Ishikari Plain from 300m-high observation lounge. Try ski jump simulator or test your skills as an ice hock goalkeeper etc. in a museum beside the jump stadium. 15 minutes by bus from Maruyama Koen station.(Tozai line) Jozankei Popular hot spring resort among Sapporo citizens & tourists. Find some Kappa (water sprite) statues! They are considered guardian deities of the area. 70 minutes by bus from Sapporo station. Sapporo Kokusai Ski Resort Big Ski area in Sapporo.Enjoy powder snow of Hokkaido. There is a reasonable one day tour. (incl. return bus, one day lift ticket and rental ski or snow board equipment.) 5,400 yen for 1 person. More information (in Japanese) 90 minutes by bus from Sapporo station. Sapporo Kokusai Ski Area official website Recommended Day Trip from Sapporo ( Prices are for one way only) Otaru A granite path with gas lamps along the Otaru Canal, which runs east to west close to the harbor area - is very romantic at dusk. Famous for glassblowing, Sushi, and fresh sea food. (by train) JR rapid 33min./\620 (by bus) 60 min./\590 Lake Shikotu Japan's second deepest lake. It's a caldera lake surrounded by several volcanoes. Enjoy hot springs, boat excursions, and nature trail during summer. (by train & bus) JR rapid 30 min./\810 & Bus 40 min./\800 Lake Toya Large and attractive lake in Shikotu-Toya National Park. Enjoy hot springs with beautiful scenery of the lake. (by train & bus) JR Limited Express 2h20min./\5760 & Bus 20min./\320 (by bus) 2h40min./\2700 Furano One of Japan's most famous ski resorts with excellent facilities for powder skiing. Famous for lavender fields during summer. (by train) JR Limited Express 1h30min./\4680 & Local 1h10min./\1230 (by bus) 1h50min./\2100 Biei Town of hills Great scenery of potato, wheat and beet field look like a patchwork. (by train) JR Limited Express 1h30min./\4680 & Local 30min./530 (by bus & train) bus 2h30min./\2000 & Local train 30min./\530 Niseko One of Hokkaido's prime ski resorts during winter, and a hiking base during summer & autumn. Numerous hot springs in the area are also popular. To Kucchan station (by train) JR rapid 2h10min./\1790 (by bus) 2h30min./\1700 To Niseko station (by train) JR rapid 2h30min./\2100 (by bus) 3h10min./\2100 -- Nisko Hirafu -- This is a reasonable one day ski tour from Sapporo. 4,900 yen for 1 person. (incl. return JR train & Bus, one day lift ticket and rental ski or snow board equipment.) More information click here(pdf file) Noboribetu One of Japan's leading hot spring resorts Jigokudani(Hell Valley) from which hot water and volcanic gasses gush out, is a popular tourist destination. (by train & bus) JR Limited Express 70min./\4360 & Bus 15min./\330 (by bus) 2h40min./\1900 Hakodate Port city with something of an historical heritage, such as Goryo-Kaku fort. Don't miss the night view from summit of Mt. Hakodate, and Asa-Ichi(the mooring market) (by train) JR Limited Express 3h30min./\8590 (by bus) 4h50min./\4680 JR Train Timetable (with JR Pass) Tokyo Sapporo Tokyo Hachinohe Hachinohe Hakodate Hakodate Sapporo Shinkansen Hayate Super Express (Super) Hakucho Super Express (Super) Hokuto Dep Arr Dep Arr Dep Arr 6:56 10:04 10:16 13:12 13:25 16:58 7:56 11:00 11:10 14:19 14:26 17:49 8:28 11:31 12:16 15:16 15:24 18:59 8:52 12:04 16:43 19:43 9:56 13:00 14:15 17:31 17:55 21:28 10:56 14:04 11:56 14:55 16:13 19:23 19:44 22:56 12:56 16:04 JR Train Timetable (with JR Pass) Sapporo Tokyo Sapporo Hakodate Hakodate Hachinohe Hachinohe Tokyo Super Express (Super) Hokuto Super Express (Super) Hakucho Shinkansen Hayate Dep Arr Dep Arr Dep Arr 7:00 10:11 10:40 13:51 14:04 17:08 7:30 11:10 11:30 14:45 14:55 18:08 8:34 11:53 12:51 15:51 16:04 19:08 9:19 12:48 13:40 16:43 16:55 20:08 17:58 21:08 10:52 14:04 15:40 18:40 18:55 22:08 12:22 15:29 13:17 16:48 16:51 19:49 19:58 23:08 JR Rail Pass ( http://www.japanrailpass.net/) TOP Hospitality Facilities Price Access Reservation Travel Tips Diary F A Q Useful Links MAIL Japanese Page