Fukuoka is the biggest city on the most southern island of Japan. Let’s take a look at the metropolis which is all the way up in the north, the biggest city in Hokkaido: Sapporo (札幌)

Sapporo is the fourth largest city in Japan by population, and the largest city on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Located in Ishikari Subprefecture, it is the capital of Hokkaido Prefecture, and an ordinance-designated city of Japan.

Sapporo is known outside Japan for having hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, the first ever held in Asia, and for the city’s annual Yuki Matsuri, internationally referred to as the Sapporo Snow Festival, which draws more than 2 million tourists from around the world. The city is also home to Sapporo Brewery and the white chocolate biscuits called shiroi koibito.

Sapporo is a city located in the southwest part of Ishikari Plain. Roadways in the urban district are laid to make grid plan road. The western and southern part of Sapporo are occupied by a number of mountains including Mount Teine, Maruyama, and Mount Moiwa, as well as a lot of rivers including the Ishikari River, Toyohira River, and Sōsei River.

Sapporo has many parks, including Odori Park, which is located in the heart of the city and hosts a number of annual events and festivals throughout the year. Moerenuma Park is also one of the largest parks in Sapporo, and was constructed under the plan of Isamu Noguchi, a Japanese-American artist and landscape architect.
Sapporo has a humid continental climate, with a wide range of temperature between the summer and winter. Summers are generally warm but not humid, and winters are cold and very snowy. In spite of its latitude, Sapporo is one of the few metropolises in the world with such heavy snowfall, enabling it to hold events and festivals with snow statues and objects.

Sapporo has various historical buildings, as well as shopping malls and parks. Historic landmarks include the former Hokkaidō government office building, the Sapporo Clock Tower, the Hokkaidō Shrine, and the Sapporo TV Tower. The Sapporo Factory was a former brewery of the Sapporo Brewery and is currently a huge shopping mall with many restaurants, offices, and multiplex movie theatres. 

Sapporo is famous for its miso ramen, you should dig in of you happen to be in the area!