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A view of the northeastern part of Sapporo city

Sapporo (札幌市, Sapporo-shi) listen^ⓘ is the fifth-largest city in Japan by population and the third-largest by geographic area. It is the capital of Hokkaidō Prefecture and an ordinance-designated city of Japan.

Sapporo is best known outside Japan for hosting the 1972 Winter Olympics, and the annual yuki matsuri in the city, internationally referred to as the Sapporo Snow Festival, which draws more than 2 million tourists from around the world. The city is also home to the eponymous Sapporo Breweries.

Early history

Prior to its establishment, the area occupied by Sapporo (known as the Ishikari Plain) was home to a number of indigenous Ainu settlements. In 1866 at the end of the Edo Period construction began on a canal through the area, encouraging a number of early settlers to establish Sapporo village. The settlement's name was taken from the Ainu language, and can be translated as "large river running through a plain".

In 1868 (the officially recognised year celebrated as the 'birth' of Sapporo), the new Meiji government concluded that the existing administrative center of Hokkaidō, which at the time was the port of Hakodate, was in an unsuitable location for the defense and further development of the island. As a result it was determined that a new capital on the Ishikari Plain should be established. The plain itself provided an unusually large expanse of flat, well drained land which is relatively uncommon in the otherwise mountainous geography of Hokkaidō.

During 1870-71, Kiyotaka Kuroda, vice-chairman of the Hokkaidō Development Commission (kaitakushi) approached the American government for assistance in developing the land resulting in Horace Capron (O-yatoi gaikokujin), Secretary of Agriculture under President Ulysses S. Grant being appointed as a special advisor to the commission. Construction began around a park, Odori Koen, which still remains as a green ribbon of recreational land bisecting the central area of the city. The city closely followed the American-style grid plan with streets at right-angles to form city blocks, highly unusual in Japan even today.

The continuing expansion of the Japanese into Hokkaidō continued, mainly due to migration from the main island of Honshū immediately to the south, and the prosperity of Hokkaidō and particularly its capital grew to the point that the Development Commission was deemed unnecessary and was abolished in 1882.

Edwin Dun (O-yatoi gaikokujin) came to Sapporo to make farms of sheep and cattle in 1876. He also demonstrated pig farming and the making of butter, cheese, ham and sausage. He married a Japanese woman. He once went back to the States in 1883 but returned to Japan as a secretary of government.

William Smith Clark (O-yatoi gaikokujin) who was the president of the Massachusetts Agricultural College (now The University of Massachusetts Amherst) came to be the founding vice-president of Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University) for only eight months from 1876 to 1877. He taught academic subjects in science and lectured on the Bible as an "ethics" course, introducing Christian principles to the first entering class of the College.

Wards

Sapporo has ten wards (区, ku):

Atsubetsu-ku (厚別区, Atsubetsu-ku)(purple)

Chūō-ku (中央区, Chūō-ku)(blue)

Higashi-ku (東区, Higashi-ku)(skyblue)

Kita-ku (北区, Kita-ku)(orangered)

Kiyota-ku (清田区, Kiyota-ku)(green)

Minami-ku (南区, Minami-ku)(red)

Nishi-ku (西区, Nishi-ku)(orange)

Shiroishi-ku (白石区, Shiroishi-ku)(brown)

Teine-ku (手稲区, Teine-ku)(forestgreen)

Toyohira-ku (豊平区, Toyohira-ku)(pink)

Color shows the location of each ku in the map above.

Demographics

The city has an estimated population of 1,882,424 as of 2005 and the density of 1668 persons per km² (4318 persons per mi²). The total area is 1,121.12 km² (432.87 mi²).

Transportation

Sapporo has one streetcar line, three JR Hokkaidō lines, three subway lines and bus lines of JR-bus, Chuo-bus and other. Trains of Sapporo Subway have rubber wheels instead of iron wheels. They seem like monorails on the ground.

JR Hokkaidō Stations in Sapporo
- HAKODATE LINE:(Zenibako) - Hoshimi - Hoshioki - Inaho - Teine - Inazui Kōen -Hassamu - Hassamu Chūō - Kotoni - Sōen - Sapporo - Naebo - Shiroishi - Heiwa - Atsubetsu - Shinrin kōen - (ōasa)
- CHITOSE LINE:Heiwa - Shin Sapporo -Kami Nopporo - (Kita Hirosima)
- GAKUEN TOSHI LINE:Sōen - Hachiken - Shinkawa - Shinkotoni - Taihei - Yurigahara - Shinoro - Takuhoku - Ainosato Kyōikudai - Ainosato Kōen - (Ishikari Futomi)

Sapporo Municipal Subway (札幌市営地下鉄, Sapporo Shiei Chikatetsu): Map
Sapporo Street Car (札幌市電, Sapporo Shiden)

Buildings

Sapporo TV Tower (札幌テレビ塔, Sapporo Terebi Tō)(147.2m)
Sapporo Clock Tower (札幌時計台, Sapporo Tokeidai)
Sapporo JR Tower (札幌 JR タワー, Sapporo jei āru Tawā)(173m)
Sapporo Dome (札幌ドーム, Sapporo Dōmu)(Toyohira-ku)
Sapporo Atsubetsu Park Studium (札幌厚別公園競技場, Sapporo Atsubetsu Kōen Kyōgi Jō)

Universities

Public

Hokkaido University (北海道大学, Hokkaidō Daigaku)
Hokkaido University of Education (北海道教育大学札幌校, Hokkaidō Kyōiku Daigaku Sapporo)

Please refer to Japanese national university

Sapporo Medical University (札幌医科大学, Sapporo Ika Daigaku)
Sapporo City University (札幌市立大学(Sapporo Municipal University), Sapporo Shiritu Daigaku)

Private

Hokkaido Institute of Technology (北海道工業大学, Hokkaidō Institute of Technology)
Sapporo University (札幌大学, Sapporo Daigaku)
Sapporo Gakuin University (札幌学院大学, Sapporo Gakuin Daigaku)
Hokkai-Gakuen University (北海学園大学, Hokkai Gakuen Daigaku)
Hokusei Gakuen University (北星学園大学, Hokusei Gakuen Daigaku)
Fuji Women's Universiy (藤女子大学, Fuji Jyoshi Daigaku)
Sapporo international University (札幌国際大学, Sapporo Kokusai Daigaku)
Tenshi College (天使大学, Tenshi Daigaku)
Health Science University of Hokkaido (北海道医療大学あいの里, Hokkaidō Iryō Daigaku Ainosato br.)
Sapporo Otani College (札幌大谷大学, Sapporo ōtani Daigaku)
Tokai University (東海大学札幌, Tōkai Daigaku Sapporo br.)
Hokkaido Musashi Women's Junior College (北海道武蔵女子短期大学, Hokkaidō Musashi Jyoshi Tanki Daigaku)
Hokkaido Bunkyo University (北海道文教大学短期大学部, Hokkaidō Bunkyō Daigaku Tanki Daigakubu)
Koen Gakuen Women's Junior College (光塩学園女子短期大学, Kōen Gakuen Jyoshi Tanki Daigaku)

Sports

The Sapporo Dome is host to the Consadole Sapporo and Hokkaidō Nippon Ham Fighters.
Sapporo was selected to be the host of the Vth Winter Olympics scheduled February 3-12, 1940, but Japan had to give the Games back to the IOC, after the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937.
In 1972, Sapporo hosted the XIth Winter Olympics. Some structures built for Olympic events remain in use today, including the ski jumps at Miyanomori and Okurayama
In 2002, Sapporo hosted three group matches of the FIFA World Cup at the Sapporo Dome.
In 2006, Sapporo hosted some games of the FIBA World Championships.
In 2007, Sapporo hosted the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships at the Sapporo Dome, Miyanomori ski jump, Okurayama ski jump, and the Shirahatayama cross country course.

Professional

Club	Sport	League	Venue	Established
Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters	Baseball	Pacific League	Sapporo Dome	2004
Consadole Sapporo	Football	J. League (J2, 2nd league)	Sapporo Atsubetu Park Studium, Sapporo Dome, Muroran Irie Studium, Nishi-ga-Oka Studium	1996
Sapporo Ambitious	baseball	Professional baseball Masters League	Sapporo Dome	2001

J. League (J・リーグ, Jei Riigu) , J1(1998,2001-2002). J2(-2007).
- Consadole Sapporo (コンサドーレ札幌, Konsadōre Sapporo)
Professional Baseball (日本プロ野球, Nippon Puro Yakyū)
- Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters (北海道日本ハムファイターズ, Hokkaidō Nippon Hamu Faitāzu) in Pacific League, The champion team of professional baseball leagues of Japan in 2006.
- Sapporo Ambitious (札幌アンビシャス, Sapporo Ambishasu) in Masters League

Sports clubs

Ice Hockey
- Sapporo Polaris
Rugby football
- Hokkaido Barbarians

Annual events

Snow Festival: The first or second week of Feburuary.
Sapporo Marathon: The first or second weekends of July and October.
Oodori Koen Beer Garden: July 20 - August 10
Fireworks: the last two Fridays nights of July, starting at 7:30pm.
Susukino Summer Festival: The first weekend of August.

Foods

Barbecued Lam or Maton (Dschinghis Khan)
Tiny bamboo shoot (Hime-take or He-may-tah-kay)
Sea foods
- Giant Crabs (Kani or Ka-nee)
- Sea urchin (Uni or Woo-nee)
- Salmon eggs (Ikura or E-koo-lah)
- Scallops (Hotate or Hot-at-tail)

Sister cities

Sapporo has relationships with several cities worldwide.[1][2]

Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1959
Munich, Germany, since 1972
Shenyang, China, since 1980
Novosibirsk, Russia, since 1990

The Sapporo Sister Cities Association

The Sapporo Sister Cities Association was founded in April 1986 to foster friendly relations between Sapporo and its sister cities by promoting a wide range of exchange activities. Specifically, the association organizes various exchanges related to education, science, the arts, economics, technology and sports.

The Sapporo Sister Cities Association Office is in Sapporo International Communication Plaza Foundation [3].

The Sapporo Sister Cities Association

External links

@@ Line 167: / Line 167: @@
 == Foods ==
-*Barbecued Lam or Maton (called [[w:ja:ジンギスカン (料理)|Dschinghis Khan]])
+*Barbecued Lam or Maton ([[w:ja:ジンギスカン (料理)|Dschinghis Khan]])
 *Tiny bamboo shoot ([[w:ja:姫竹|Hime-take or He-may-tah-kay]])
 *Sea foods