Sapporo

Skiing, hot springs and cuisine you’ll find nowhere else

Sapporo, the capital of Japan’s northernmost main island, is a place that Japanese people visit from far and wide – mainly for its famous cuisine. Soup curry and butter corn ramen are on the menu, along with jingisukan “Genghis Khan” barbecue. This unique grilling method on a convex metal skillet makes use of mutton and lamb raised on Hokkaido but is rare elsewhere in Japan. When the snows begin to fall, find a snug wood-lined tavern to bubble up Ishikari nabe hot pot, filled with vegetables, tofu and superbly fresh Hokkaido salmon.

During the warmer months, picnic in Odori park, a green oasis running 1.5 kilometres through the heart of the city, where festivals take place and German-style beer gardens pop up in summer. Sculptures in the park represent Sapporo’s thriving art scene, which is also on display at Moerenuma Park, a place the artist Isamu Noguchi envisaged as being one huge sculpture. Odori Park is a site for the annual Sapporo Snow Festival, featuring snow sculptures that are almost impossibly intricate.

Spend your days in Sapporo browsing the 19th-century Tanukikoji shopping street or the Historic Village of Hokkaido open-air museum. Welcome nightfall with glittering views from Mt. Moiwa Summit Observation Deck, accessible by cable car. Back down on the ground, experience the buzz of the Susukino entertainment district, known as much for noodle shops along Ramen Yokocho as for its edgy red-light district.

There is an abundance of skiing options nearby, from Rusutsu Resort and Niseko Grand Hirafu Ski Resort with more than 50 courses between them, to Sapporo Teine offering kids’ parks and sledding. Allow nature and thermal waters to sooth you in the city’s many hot springs, including at Jozankei Onsen, which also offers horse riding and dog sledding within city suburbs.