Sapporo is Japan’s winter wonderland and home to the annual Sapporo Snow Festival, but truthfully it’s beautiful all year round!
Sapporo is the capital city of Hokkaido, Japan’s northern island and home to the Winter Olympics of 1972. While the city is typically marketed as a winter wonderland with its gorgeous snowy aesthetic, it’s so much more than that! From distinctive seasonal beauty to year-round cuisine, there’s no reason you have to wait for winter to visit the beautiful city of Sapporo!
1. Distinguished Seasons
Sapporo is perhaps the only major city in Japan where you can expect a generous helping of snowfall every single year without fail. During this time, there is a blanket of white snow that decorates the town beautifully, from snow-covered trees to pure white roads. Unlike other parts of Japan, Sapporo’s seasons are super distinct, offering gorgeous golden leaves in autumn, thick white snow in winter, blooming cherry blossoms in the spring, and breathtaking lavender fields in the summer.
2. Natural Beauty
Following on the point above, there truly is no time of year in Sapporo where you can’t enjoy its scenic natural beauty. For instance, I had visited the Horomitoge Lavender Gardens back in May of 2023, only to find the lavenders have not yet bloomed and the sakuras were on their way out! In spite of that, it still ended up being one of the most worthwhile visits for me, seeing the last petals of the cherry blossom branches and the beautiful mountainous scenery that surrounded the urban cities below.
3. Delicious Food!
The seasons may change rapidly in Sapporo, but the awesome food is a constant! One of the local delicacies of the region is soup curry, a delicious soul-warming dish that is best enjoyed in winter, but truly is always an option for a fantastic feed. For the combini lovers, Sapporo is also home to the exclusive convenience store Seicomart, which offers an abundance of awesome items you won’t get anywhere else in Japan, many of which are made with the famous Hokkaido milk!
4. Year-Round Attractions
You may not be able to go skiing in the summer or hiking in the snowy winter, but places like Shiroi Koibito Park are open all year round! Here you can enjoy gorgeous gardens with colorful blends of flower species as well as the many chocolate cafes and souvenirs exclusive to the Shiroi Koibito brand. While it can be an absolute Christmas spectacle to visit in the winter, the summer season offers unique features such as the ice chocolate vending machine!
5. Breathtaking Scenery
Going on a scenic hike or taking the cable car to an awesome viewpoint is an activity that can be done any day of the year. In Sapporo, trips like Mt. Moiwa can leave a lasting impression for its stunning mountain ranges. The observation deck at the peak also has a cool souvenir center and cafe where you can truly kick back and enjoy the views in a panoramic manner. In addition to this particular hike, Sapporo also offers scenic areas like Maruyama Park, Asahiyama Memorial Park, and Nakajima Park.
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