Sapporo, Hokkaido
Sapporo's Grid, Then Its Lights
One day down the Sapporo grid, then above it — a wooden hall from the settlement years the minute its doors open at 8:45, a lane given over to ramen kitchens, a firebreak that became a park twelve blocks long, and a mountain at the end of it, where what matters is being at the foot of the ropeway an hour or so before the sun goes.
4 stops · one day
The route
- 01
Bjørn Christian Tørrissen / CC BY-SA 4.0Hokkaido · Sapporo · From Sapporo Station · ~10 min
Sapporo Clock Tower
A pioneer-era drill hall still running its Howard clock, ten minutes from the station.
What to look for
- The terrace across the street — a raised viewing deck on the building opposite, the angle the museum itself recommends
- The bell corner — recordings of this clock and of tower and church bells from twelve places abroad, on headphones
- The chronology room — a large model of the hall and a timeline of the pioneer college and its teachers
- Next stop · 0.9 km in a straight line
- 02
アルトクール / CC BY-SA 4.0Sapporo · Susukino · From Sapporo Station · ~10 min
Sapporo Miso Ramen
Seventeen ramen kitchens in one lane — the city's signature bowl, all in one place.
What to look for
- North entrance of the lane — the opening closest to Susukino Station
- The lane itself — seventeen ramen kitchens facing each other across a narrow passage
- South entrance, N Grande building — the Minami 5-jo Nishi 3-chome side, on the building's ground floor
- Next stop · 0.7 km in a straight line
- 03
Nkns / CC BY-SA 3.0Sapporo · Odori · From Sapporo Station · ~5 min
Odori Park
A firebreak that became a park, and the front room of the snow festival.
What to look for
- Sapporo TV Tower — the red lattice tower that closes the eastern end of the strip
- The fountains — water set along the middle blocks, running in the green season
- The flower beds — long seasonal beds tended block by block, a tradition on this ground since the colonisation office
- Next stop · 4.8 km in a straight line
- 04
掬茶 / CC BY-SA 4.0South Sapporo · Moiwa · From Odori Station · ~1 hr
Mount Moiwa
Ride up before sunset and watch the city switch from view to lights.
What to look for
- Base station — the ropeway terminal on the lower slope, where the combined ticket for both stages is issued
- Ropeway cabins — glass-sided cars climbing the wooded face, with the city widening out behind you as you rise
- Midway station — the changeover point partway up, where the ropeway ends and the small cable car begins