A selection of 7 sightseeing spots, easily accessible from within Sapporo City

29 November, 2022
Sapporo - a flourishing city at the center of Hokkaido. With a high concentration of sightseeing locations, one of its features is that there are many sightseeing routes all within walking distance of each other. Enjoying some skiing is good, but we also recommend doing some sightseeing in the city, which is packed with lots to see and do. So, this time we’d like to introduce you to 7 of the most famous sightseeing spots in Sapporo city.

Sapporo TV Tower, the symbol of Sapporo

Sapporo TV Tower
The Sapporo TV Tower is a famous landmark that represents Sapporo. Thanks to its illuminations at nighttime, it helps create a magical atmosphere paired together with the winter landscape.

View of the Sapporo Snow Festival from Sapporo TV Tower
From the observation deck you can look out over Odori Park at night. It’s also relatively close to the station too, so it’s becoming an increasingly popular sightseeing spot that most travelers to Sapporo visit.

The Sapporo Clock Tower’s wintery scenery
The Sapporo Clock Tower is one of the staple sightseeing spots, boasting high recognition in Sapporo. This structure, which used to be part of Hokkaido University, has a 130-year history behind it.

Inside, you’ll find a museum where you can learn about the history of the clock tower, and see the tower clock’s inner workings.

Odori Park, the center of Sapporo tourism

Odori Park
Odori Park is a vertically-long park which passes through the center of Sapporo city. Its length extends as far as 1.5 kilometers. Due to the charm of the beautiful, greenery-filled scenery, it’s known as a popular resting place for Sapporo citizens. Since it’s in the center of the city, it also features great access to other sightseeing spots.
Odori Park’s illuminations
Various events are held in Sapporo throughout the year, and Odori Park serves as the ‘main gate’ to these events.

This is where the famous snow festival, Sapporo Snow Festival, is held. There’s a beautiful fountain which is lit up at night, and helps to create an entirely atmosphere to during the day.

Mt. Moiwa, with a 360-degree panoramic view overlooking beautiful scenery

An object at Mt. Moiwa
Sapporo was chosen as one of Japan’s 3 “Best New Night Sceneries” at the 2015 Yakei Summit (a convention regarding the appreciation of nighttime scenery). At Mt. Moiwa, you can take in this beautiful city landscape all at once. This perfect view that overlooks the beautiful scenery is sure to soothe your soul! It’s a location you should definitely visit if you find yourself in Sapporo.

Night scenery as seen from Mt. Moiwa
The 360-degree panoramic view that lets you take in all of Sapporo’s cityscape is one of a kind. There are also restaurants indoors where you can enjoy your meal while looking out at the beautiful scenery.

Love locks
The Bell of Happiness, which can be found at the summit observation deck, is a popular date spot for couples. It’s said that if a couple writes each others’ names on the love locks that can be attached here, they’ll always stay together.

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo, where you can meet animals from Northern Japan

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo’s polar bear
Although it’s a little outside of the Sapporo city center, Sapporo Maruyama Zoo can be reached by taxi in as little as 10-15 minutes. There you can find polar bears, indigenous Yezo sika deer, red pandas, brown bears, and other animals that inhabit the northern area of the country.

Regardless of its position close to the city center, it’s a rather authentic zoo. Quite a bit of effort is being put into facility renovations, with new facilities opening one after the other.

The red panda at Sapporo Maruyama Zoo
Depending on the period, you may even have the chance to encounter rare animals! There are participatory events such as the “Minna no Doki-doki Taiken”, where you can watch animals eating meals and hearing ecological explanations by the keepers, so if you’re interested you should definitely come check it out!

Hokkaido Shrine: encounter the history of Sapporo

Hokkaido Shrine
Hokkaido Shrine is located within walking distance from Sapporo Maruyama Zoo. A beautiful natural landscape spreads out within the expansive grounds, and the air you come into contact with here can only be described as sacred. It has a unique, tranquil atmosphere that draws in a lot of local fans as well.

The entrance to Hokkaido Shrine
Wild Hokkaido squirrels sometimes appear, so if you’re lucky you may get to see one. There are also lots of local goods such as Japanese sake made from plum trees and yakimochi (roasted rice cakes) here too, so we recommend taking your time strolling around the grounds.

Shiroi Koibito Park: the candy amusement park

Shiroi Koibito Park
This famous sightseeing spot is a bit outside of the city center, but accessible via one subway train trip. The famous factory tour lets you see the “Shiroi Koibito” manufacturing process, the sweet treat representative of Hokkaido.

There are also a number of other hands-on events where you can try your hand at making original candies. If you like sweets, this place is like heaven on earth!

A plethora of interesting sightseeing spots in Sapporo

Sapporo Station
So there you have it!
There are plenty of other sightseeing spots in Sapporo that we didn’t get a chance to introduce here,
so you come to Sapporo, try to find them by taking a walk through town. You’re sure to make some wonderful discoveries with each stroll you take!

Pricing information and schedule may not be up to date and are subject to change without notice. Please check before your trip.

Related ski resorts

Sapporo Moiwayama Ski Area Hokkaido Prefecture

Dec. 25th to Mar. 24th
Courses10
Lifts5
Longest run distance2,620 m
Maximum gradient38 °
Courses10
Lifts5
Longest run2,620 m
Maximum38 °