Sapporo, Hokkaido

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Sapporo redirects here. For the beer and brewery, see Sapporo Breweries Limited.

[listen] ([Media helphelp]·[info]) is the fifth-largest city in Japan by population and the third-largest by geographic area. It is the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture.

Sapporo is primarily known outside Japan as the host city for the 1972 Winter Olympics, and for the annual Snow Festival, known as yuki matsuri, 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 Hokkaido, 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 Hokkaido.

During 1870-71, Kiyotaka Kuroda, vice-chairman of the Hokkaido Development Commission (kaitakushi) approached the American government for assistance in developing the land resulting in Horace Capron, 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 splitting the central area of the city into two halves. 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 Hokkaido continued, mainly due to migration from the main island of Honshu immediately to the south, and the prosperity of Hokkaido and particularly its capital grew to the point that the Development Commission was deemed unnecessary and was abolished in 1882.

Wards

Sapporo has 10 wards (ku):

• Atsubetsu-ku (厚別区)
• Chuo-ku (中央区)
• Higashi-ku (東区)
• Kita-ku (北区)
• Kiyota-ku (清田区)
• Minami-ku (南区)
• Nishi-ku (西区)
• Shiroishi-ku (白石区)
• Teine-ku (手稲区)
• Toyohira-ku (豊平区)

Buildings

• Sapporo TV Tower (札幌テレビ塔)

Demographics

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

Sports

• In 1972, Sapporo hosted the XI Winter Olympics. Some of structures built for Olympic events remain in use today.
• Was one of the venues to host matches of the 2002 FIFA World Cupat the Sapporo Dome
• In 2006, Sapporo will host some games of the Basketball World Championship 2006.
• In 2007, Sapporo will be the host of the FIS Nordic skiing World Championships.

Professional Sports

• J. League (J・リーグ)
• * Consadole Sapporo (コンサドーレ札幌)
• Professional Baseball (日本プロ野球)
• * Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters (北海道日本ハムファイターズ) in Pacific League
• * Sapporo Ambitious (札幌アンビシャス) in Masters League

Sports Club

• Ice Hockey
• * Sapporo Polaris

Sister cities

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

See also

• Sapporo Breweries Limited

Gallery

Image:Sapporo.jpg|Sapporo scene Image:Sapporo Snow Festival 0063.jpg|An internally illuminated ice building in the Sapporo Snow Festival. Image:Sapporo white illumination.jpg|Sapporo White Illumination

External links