The annual Sapporo Snow Festival draws more than 2 million tourists from abroad. Sapporo is ranked first in the attractiveness ranking of cities in Japan. Additionally, Sapporo has hosted the Asian Winter Games three times, in 1986, 1990, and 2017 and the 1991 Winter Universiade. The Sapporo Dome hosted three games during the 2002 FIFA World Cup and two games during the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Sapporo is currently bidding for the 2030 Winter Olympics. Sapporo hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, the first Winter Olympics ever held in Asia, and the second Olympic games held in Japan after the 1964 Summer Olympics. Starting in the late 19th century, Sapporo saw increasing settlement by Yamato migrants. It is considered the cultural, economic, and political center of Hokkaido.Īs with most of Hokkaido, the Sapporo area was settled by the indigenous Ainu people, beginning over 15,000 years ago. Sapporo lies in the southwest of Hokkaido, within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, which is a tributary stream of the Ishikari.
It is the capital city of Hokkaido Prefecture and Ishikari Subprefecture.
It ranks as the fifth most populous city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. Sapporo ( 札幌市, Sapporo-shi, IPA: ) ( Ainu: サッ・ポロ・ペッ, romanized: Satporopet, lit.'Dry, Great River') is a city in Japan.
