City Asia
Sapporo
Sapporo is a big city in the north of Japan. Its streets are laid out in neat straight lines, and its winters are cold.
Sapporo is the main city of Hokkaido, Japan's northern island, and the fifth-biggest city in Japan: 1,964,034 people lived there at the 2025 census (preliminary count). It is one of Japan's newest big cities, planned from 1868 on a grid, and it hosted the Winter Olympics in 1972.
Sapporo, capital of Hokkaido (1,964,034 people, 2025 census, preliminary), was planned from 1868 with American engineers on a grid like Midwest US cities. Settlers came from all over Japan from 1875; it passed one million people in 1970, and its name comes from the language of the Ainu, Hokkaido's Indigenous people.
Photo: Hideki Uchida (セラ), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Sapporo
Sapporo is a big city in Japan. It is on Hokkaido, an island in the far north of the country.
Almost two million people live there.
Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido, the northern island and prefecture of Japan. At the 2025 census (preliminary results), 1,964,034 people lived there, making it Japan's fifth-biggest city.
Sapporo sits on the Ishikari Plain and has spread out across it. Universalis calls it the least densely populated of Japan's big cities: about 1,740 people per square kilometer, while Tokyo has about 6,000.
Statistics Bureau of Japan (via City Population): Sapporo City had 1,757,025 people in 1995, 1,880,863 in 2005, 1,952,356 in 2015, 1,973,395 at the 2020 census and 1,964,034 at the 2025 census (preliminary, 1 October 2025), fifth after Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya.
Universalis (Rémi Scoccimarro): capital of Hokkaido and the regional metropolis of Japan's largest region; long the only city of over a million north of Tokyo; built out across its plain, it is the least densely populated metropolis in Japan.
- Country
- Japan (capital of Hokkaido)
- People in Sapporo (census, 1 October 2025, preliminary)
- 1,964,034
- Rank in Japan
- fifth city
- People per square kilometer
- about 1,740 (Tokyo about 6,000)
Toward the station from the TV Tower
Look down at all the tall buildings! Cars park in neat rows, and roads run straight.
Far away, a mountain rises on the left.
This photo was taken on 12 June 2012 from the observation deck of the Sapporo TV Tower, looking toward Sapporo Station. Office towers and other tall buildings of many colors stand in blocks, with a big parking lot and wide straight roads below. The city stretches flat into the distance, with mountains on the left.
The TV Tower is 147.2 meters tall and opened in 1957, Wikidata says. Nearby is the Sapporo Clock Tower, from 1878, Wikidata says.
Commons: 'From the Sapporo TV Tower observation deck toward Sapporo Station' (Japanese title), taken 12 June 2012 by Hideki Uchida (Panoramio), CC BY-SA 3.0, license confirmed by the Panoramio upload bot on 15 January 2017; its camera location matches Wikidata's point for the TV Tower.
Wikidata: Sapporo TV Tower (opened 1957-08-24, 147.2 m); Sapporo Station 0.95 km NNW of the tower; Sapporo Clock Tower (1878-10-16) 0.28 km NW; Odori Park (1869) beside it to the west.
- Photo
- from the Sapporo TV Tower's observation deck toward Sapporo Station, 12 June 2012
- Sapporo TV Tower
- 147.2 m; opened 24 August 1957 (Wikidata)
- Sapporo Clock Tower
- 1878 (Wikidata)
A new city for a northern island
Sapporo is quite a young city. It was planned more than 150 years ago.
People came from all over Japan to live there.
Sapporo is one of Japan's newest big cities, Universalis says. Its name comes from the language of the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Hokkaido. In 1868 Japan decided to build a new capital for the island here, on the Ishikari Plain.
American engineers, including Horace Capron, helped plan it on a grid of straight streets like cities in the American Midwest. The first settlers arrived in 1875 from all over Japan, and a railway linked the city to its port, Otaru, in 1880. Sapporo passed one million people in 1970.
Universalis: Hokkaido was only settled in earnest from the 1870s, so Sapporo, like Yokohama, was never a castle town in the Edo period (1603–1868). Its origins date from 1866, with a canal meant to link the Sea of Japan coast with the Pacific; the city's construction was decided in 1868 under the Hokkaido Development Commission, to give the island a new capital in place of Hakodate. The grid, partly due to Horace Capron, still shapes the north and east of the city.
Settlers came from all over Japan from 1875; the railway to the port of Otaru opened in 1880; the prefecture was set up in 1886 with Sapporo as its center; a university grew from the agricultural school in 1907; the city passed one million in 1970.
- City planned
- construction decided in 1868
- First settlers
- 1875, from all over Japan
- One million people
- 1970
Trains and a far-off airport
Trains have run to Sapporo since 1880. New Chitose Airport is far from the city center.
Sapporo Station opened on 28 November 1880, Wikidata says, the same year Universalis gives for the railway to the port of Otaru. The station stands about 1 kilometer north-northwest of the TV Tower.
New Chitose Airport opened in 1988 and lies about 42 kilometers southeast of the TV Tower. Universalis says the same grid plan organizes almost all of Hokkaido's plains, fitting farms and towns together.
Universalis: the railway linking Sapporo to its port, Otaru, opened in 1880; the grid plan organizes almost all of Hokkaido's plains, fitting farm and town together.
Wikidata: Sapporo Station (opened 1880-11-28) 0.95 km NNW of the TV Tower; New Chitose Airport (opened 1988-07-20) 41.94 km SE; Hokkaido University 1.97 km NW.
- Sapporo Station
- opened 28 November 1880 (Wikidata)
- Railway to Otaru
- 1880
- New Chitose Airport
- opened 1988; about 42 km southeast of the TV Tower
Cold winters, warm summers
Sapporo is cold in winter. In January, even the daytime is around freezing.
Summers are warm, and August is the warmest month.
The World Meteorological Organization's averages for Sapporo (1991–2020) show cold winters: in January the average high is just below freezing, at −0.4 °C, and lows average about −6 °C. August is the warmest month, with average highs of about 26 °C.
About 1,146 millimeters of precipitation fall in a year, on about 143 days. In winter, December and January each have about 16 to 18 such days.
WMO World Weather Information Service, Sapporo (1991–2020): average highs from −0.4 °C in January to 26.4 °C in August; average lows from −6.4 °C in January to 19.1 °C in August. Precipitation sums to 1,146.3 mm, with September (142.2 mm) the wettest month and April (54.6 mm) the driest; days with at least 1 mm total 143.4, from 18.3 in January to 7.5 in June.
- January, average high (WMO, 1991–2020)
- −0.4 °C
- August, average high (same table)
- 26.4 °C
- Days with at least 1 mm of precipitation
- about 143 a year
A university, offices and parks
Sapporo has a big university and a park in the middle of town, Odori Park. In 1972, the Winter Olympics came to Sapporo!
Sapporo's university began in 1907 from an agricultural school, and it kept a leading role in farm research, Universalis says. In the 1980s, offices and business overtook factories. Old factory sites were turned into shops, museums, cafés and restaurants in the 1990s.
The Winter Olympics of 1972 were held in Sapporo, starting on 3 February 1972, Wikidata says. Odori Park, dating from 1869, lies about 800 meters west of the TV Tower.
Universalis: the university was created in 1907 from the agricultural school as a branch of Tohoku University in Sendai, became an imperial university in 1918, and kept a pioneering role in agronomic research applied on the island's farms; in the postwar boom (1955–1973) branch offices of most large Japanese groups opened south of the station; in the 1980s business functions overtook a declining industry; former industrial sites were converted in the 1990s to shops and leisure (museums, cafés, restaurants).
Wikidata: Odori Park (1869) about 0.8 km W of the TV Tower; the 1972 Winter Olympics began on 1972-02-03.
- University
- from the agricultural school, 1907
- Odori Park
- 1869 (Wikidata)
- Winter Olympics
- began 3 February 1972 (Wikidata)
Sapporo on the map
Find Japan on the globe. Sapporo is on Hokkaido, Japan's northern island.
Sapporo lies at about 43.1° north, on the Ishikari Plain of Hokkaido, Japan's northern island. Measured from the TV Tower, the Clock Tower is about 280 meters northwest, Odori Park about 800 meters west, Sapporo Station about 1 kilometer north-northwest and Hokkaido University about 2 kilometers northwest.
New Chitose Airport is about 42 kilometers southeast.
Sapporo lies at about 43.08° N and 141.34° E (Natural Earth point). From the Sapporo TV Tower (Wikidata points): Sapporo Clock Tower 0.28 km NW, Odori Park 0.83 km W, Sapporo Station 0.95 km NNW, Hokkaido University 1.97 km NW, New Chitose Airport 41.94 km SE.
Universalis: the city sits on the Ishikari Plain; Otaru is its port.
- Latitude
- about 43.1° north
- Longitude
- about 141.3° east
- Setting
- on the Ishikari Plain, Hokkaido
Amazing facts
-
Sapporo's name comes from the Ainu language!
The name Sapporo comes from the language of the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Hokkaido, Universalis says.
Universalis: the toponym is of Ainu origin, the Indigenous people of Hokkaido.
-
Sapporo's streets are laid out like a giant checkerboard.
Sapporo was planned with American engineers on a grid of straight streets, like cities in the American Midwest.
Universalis: the grid, partly due to Horace Capron, models Sapporo on the orthogonal plan of Midwest US cities and still shows in the north and east.
-
The Winter Olympics came to Sapporo in 1972!
The 1972 Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo, beginning on 3 February 1972, Wikidata says.
Wikidata: the 11th Winter Olympics, in Sapporo, began on 1972-02-03.
-
In January, Sapporo is around freezing even in the daytime.
January's average high in Sapporo is −0.4 °C, just below freezing, in the WMO's 1991–2020 averages.
WMO (1991–2020): January high −0.4 °C, low −6.4 °C; 18.3 days with at least 1 mm of precipitation.
Words to know
- prefecture
- one of the 47 main regions of Japan, each with its own government
- grid
- a pattern of straight streets that cross at right angles
- Ainu
- the Indigenous people of Hokkaido and nearby lands
- settler
- a person who moves to a new place to live and farm
- precipitation
- water that falls from clouds as rain or snow
- observation deck
- a high platform where visitors look out over a view
Discovery challenge
-
Sapporo is a city in which country?
Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido, an island of which country?
Sapporo is the fifth-largest city of which country at the 2025 census?
- China
- Japan
- Korea
Show the answer
Japan
Japan!
Japan.
Japan.
-
Which big sports event came to Sapporo in 1972?
Which event did Sapporo host in 1972?
Which games began in Sapporo on 3 February 1972?
- The Winter Olympics
- The football World Cup
- The Tour de France
Show the answer
The Winter Olympics
The Winter Olympics!
The Winter Olympics.
The 1972 Winter Olympics.
-
What shape do Sapporo's streets make?
Sapporo's streets were planned in what pattern, like Midwest US cities?
Horace Capron is partly credited with which kind of street plan in Sapporo?
- A grid of straight streets
- A spiral
- A star
Show the answer
A grid of straight streets
A grid, like a checkerboard!
A grid of straight streets.
A grid (orthogonal plan).
-
Sapporo's name comes from the language of which people?
The name Sapporo comes from the language of which Indigenous people?
Universalis says the toponym Sapporo is of which origin?
- The Ainu
- The Maori
- The Inuit
Show the answer
The Ainu
The Ainu!
The Ainu.
Ainu.
-
Is January warm or freezing in Sapporo?
What is Sapporo's average high in January?
In the WMO's 1991–2020 table, Sapporo's January average high is what?
- About −0.4 °C, just below freezing
- About 20 °C
- About 35 °C
Show the answer
About −0.4 °C, just below freezing
Freezing! About −0.4 °C.
About −0.4 °C.
−0.4 °C.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Sapporo on Hokkaido, Japan's northern island.
- Explain what a planned grid city is and how it helps people find their way.
- Recognize the Ainu as the Indigenous people of Hokkaido.
- Read a climate table and compare a cold winter month with a warm summer month.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Sapporo was planned on a grid. Would a grid make your town easier or harder to explore?
- Settlers came to Sapporo from all over Japan. What might people bring with them to a new city?
- January in Sapporo stays below freezing. How do people get ready for long, cold winters?
Try at home or in class
- Grid map: draw a city grid on squared paper, number the streets and give a friend directions.
- Freezing test: put a cup of water and a cup of salty water in the freezer and see which freezes first.
- Temperature line: plot Sapporo's monthly average highs and find the coldest and warmest months.
Key vocabulary: prefecture, grid, Ainu, settler, precipitation, observation deck
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Japan: Prefectures and Major Cities , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Statistics Bureau of Japan
- Sapporo , Encyclopaedia Universalis (Rémi Scoccimarro)
- Sapporo: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service (Japan)
- File: From the Sapporo TV Tower observation deck toward Sapporo Station (Hideki Uchida, 12 June 2012) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.