SAPPORO: the big river flowing through the plain

Sapporo is the first city in Japan I lived in. I stayed there 3months. It is the capital of the island of Hokkaido and the 5th biggest city in Japan (in terms of inhabitants, it is the 3rd in terms of area). There are 1.9 million people living in this city. Unlike the rest of Japan, Sapporo (and Hokkaido) isn’t very traditional. It is explained by the fact that the island was colonised at the end of the Edo era in 1866. Before that the inhabitants were the Ainus, the indigenous people of Hokkaido. The name of the city actually comes from the ainu language. Sapporo means « big river flowing through the plain ». The river is Toyohira river.

I enjoyed a lot living in this city. It felt like living in a city similar to Cardiff where I lived for almost 5 years. It is a capital and a very big city but compared to the rest of Japan, Sapporo didn’t seem so huge, so overwhelming. There’s a subway but with 3lines only. There’s also a few parks so you can enjoy some green spaces and I won’t complain about that. I have only lived in two japanese cities mais according to what I was told, the lives of Japenese people here are more relaxed. Indeed, I didn’t feel like people were always in a rush, running everywhere. Of course I saw many wearing suits but that’s normal here in Japan. I really like the univeristy campus. There’s a park with a little brook, a main street, many trees. It is a peaceful place. At twilight, runners come to train along the university main street.

Odori park is very nice. It doesn’t look like a real park to me though. It’s more like a big avenue with squares of grass in the middle. With the Tv tower standing at its beginning, this place is iconic. Odori park is not to be missed, it is the heart of Sapporo. All the festivals that bring life to the city take place in this park. 

I’ll soon write articles about the different places you can visit in Sapporo such as Hokkaido university, Odori park, the TV tower that I have just talked about but also Susukino (the living district where you’ll find all the restaurants, pubs and clubs of the city), Nakajima park and Sapporo station.
Meanwhile you can read again the articles about Mount Moiwa or the historical village

There’s also the Clock tower and the former building of the government that you’ll walk by everytime you’ll go to the city centre or the Beer museum as well (the only one in Japan). Unfortunately I didn’t visit those places so I don’t know much more than what’s written on the internet

Regarding the weather in Sapporo and in Hokkaido, it is very very cold in Winter and hot in Summer. The good thing of spending Summer in Hokkaido is that unlike the other Japanese islands, it is hot but not humid. Apparently added to the high temperatures, the humidity is unbearrable in Summer in the rest of Japan. Thus I was lucky to have spend a great Summer (except exactly when I did my road trip…) in Hokkaido and I enjoyed it.
I went several times to the beach in Zenibako, a few kilometers north of Sapporo. First surprise: the water was warm (well lukewarm, I couldn’t cook pasta in it)! I was expecting the water to be cold since I was taking a bath in the Sea of Japan, facing Russia, so quite north. But it wasn’t!
Second surprise: Japanese people enter the sea water with their clothes on. Yes, you read well. I was THE ONLY ONE wearing a bikini on the beach. I felt a bit funny. It doesn’t matter if they wear jeans or dresses or whatever, Japanese, especially the women, take a bath with their clothes on. Even children don’t have swimsuits. You could think it’s because they don’t want to get tanned since here whiteness is a beauty criteria. But in this case, they would wear swimsuits with long sleeves and long legs but they don’t. And actually they swim with shorts and t-shirts on so it doesn’t cover their skin. It remains a mystery.

Regarding Winter time, I’ll let you know in a few months how it is. I’ll go back there in December and try to ski because it is said that Hokkaido has the best snow in the world. Gotta try it right?! 

Sapporo is very pleasant to live in. Nevertheless if you like big and lively cities, you’ll get bored quickly I think.