Sapporo Life and Visitor Travel Tips

(Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Sapporo is a huge and modern city, with a population of almost two million people and many large parks. The biggest city in Japan's Hokkaido region, Sapporo is a laid back city, where life is led at a relaxed pace and most of the locals are usually extremely friendly and welcome visitors with open arms.

During the past century, the face of Sapporo has changed beyond recognition and has become known for its local beer, ramen noodles and agricultural products. Sapporo became the capital of Hokkaido in the late 1860s and over the years has hosted many prominent events, including the 1972 Winter Olympics. For those with web-withdrawal symptoms, the city of Sapporo is well supported by Internet cafes, which can be found inside the Paseo shopping plaza at the JR Station, amongst other locations. Here are a number of useful travel tips about life in Sapporo.

Useful Contact Details

A number of excellent tourist offices can be found around the city of Sapporo, offering a range of English-language brochures, maps and some have English-speaking staff. In particular, the Sapporo Tourist Information Centre stands out and is located within the Stellar Place building, with staff on-hand to help find accommodation if required. The main outlets are listed below, together with other useful contact details and addresses.

Sapporo International Information Centre
Address: Western Concourse, JR Reservation Centre, JR Station, Sapporo, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 011 213 5062
Open hours: summer, daily - 09:00 to 17:00

Sapporo International Plaza
Address: 1st Floor, MN Building, N1W3 Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 011 211 3678
Open hours: daily - 09:00 to 17:30

Sapporo Tourist Information Centre
Address: 1st Floor, Stellar Place, N5W3 Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 011 209 5020
Open hours: summer, daily - 09:00 to 20:00

Sapporo Chuo Post Office
Address: east of JR Station, N6E1-2-1 Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 011 748 2313

Odori Post Office
Address: 2-9 Odori-nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 011 211 4280

Sapporo City Hospital
Address: N11W13 1-1 Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Japan, JP
Tel: +81 011 726 2211

Language and Dialect

Visitors to Sapporo will find that with just a little effort, it is possible to learn a range of local phrases and communicate with the locals in their native tongue. Most Japanese people only understand extremely basic English at the very most, and so a phrasebook can prove invaluable and prevent awkward situations. Useful Japanese phrases to use in Sapporo are as follows:

Hello / Good afternoon - konnichiwa
I'll take this one - kore wo itadakimasu
Yes - hai
No - iie
OK - daijobu
I need a doctor - isha ga hitsuyo desu

Visa Information and Passports

For holiday makers staying in Sapporo for less than six months, there is no need to organise a travellers visa, as you will find that this is an automatic process when you arrive in Japan. However, this is not the case for those intending to work in Sapporo and if in any doubt, you should always check with your local Japanese embassy. There is always a strong demand for work visas in Japan and these are not always easy to obtain.