Day 5 - Sapporo, Hokkaido
Sapporo (札幌市 Sapporo-shi) is the fourth-largest city in Japan by population, and the largest city on the island of Hokkaido. It is the capital ofHokkaidō Prefecture, located in Ishikari Subprefecture, and an ordinance-designated city of Japan.
Sapporo is known outside Japan for hosting 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 famous white chocolate biscuits called shiroi koibito (白い恋人, "lovers in white"), exclusively sold in Hokkaido.
...First morning in Sapporo...
The Sapporo TV Tower (さっぽろテレビ塔 Sapporo Terebi-tō), built in 1957, is a 147.2 metre high TV Tower with an observation deck at a height of 90.38 metres. Located on the ground of Odori Park, in the northern city of Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, the tower is open to tourists. Tourists can view Sapporo and Odori Park.
Asahi Breweries, Ltd. (アサヒビール株式会社 Asahi Bīru Kabushiki Gaisha) TYO:2502 is a leading brewery and soft drink company based in Tokyo, Japan. The company has a 40% share of the Japanese beer market.
Asahi was founded in Osaka in 1889. The company's primary beer, from 1957 through the late 1980s, was Asahi Gold(overtaking Asahi Draft, its original formula, which remains in production). In 1987 it introduced Asahi Super Dry, which initiated the Japanese craze for dry beer; this led in turn to Asahi's dramatic turnaround in business performance, and its surpassing of former second ranker Sapporo Brewery in sales and profits.
The Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium (大倉山ジャンプ競技場 Ōkurayama Janpu Kyōgijō), also known as the Ōkurayama-Schanze (大倉山シャンツェ Ōkurayama Shantse) is a ski jumping venue located in the Miyanomori area in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. Owned mostly by Sapporo City, the ski jump is placed on the eastern slope of the Mt. Okura. The stadium has hosted a number of winter sports events including 1972 Winter Olympics and FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2007. The area of stadium consists of the Winter Sports Museum, the Ōkurayama Crystal House, and the Mt. Okura Observation Platform, as well as the ski jump.
The Sapporo Factory (サッポロファクトリー Sapporo Fakutorī) is a complex that includes a shopping mall, office, multiplex movie theaters, and museum, located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The building was formerly a brewery that belonged to the Kaitakushi, the old government of Hokkaidō prefecture, and later owned by the Sapporo Beer Company, the predecessor of the Sapporo Brewery. Currently, the Sapporo Factory is run by the Yebisu Garden Place, a subsidiary of Sapporo Holdings Ltd., and a real estate company. The original brewery building was built in 1876, and after the brewery ceased to function in beer production, the operations were moved to a new location in Eniwa, in 1993.
The Sapporo Factory consists of 7 sections: 1 Jō-kan (1st block building), 2 Jō-kan (2nd block building), 3 Jō-kan (3rd block building), the Atrium, Renga-kan (red brick building), Frontier-kan (Frontier building), and Nishi-kan (West building). The buildings of the 2 Jō-kan, 3 Jō-kan and Atrium are combined, and connect to other buildings with access roads. The 2 Jō-kan has 4 stories, and the Frontier-kan has 9 stories, 5 of them are used as the parking lot.
Otaru (小樽市 Otaru-shi) is a city and port in Shiribeshi, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces the Ishikari Bay, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular tourist destination. Because it is a 25-minute drive from Sapporo, it has recently grown as a bedroom community.
The city was an Ainu habitation, and the name "Otaru" is recognised as being of Ainu origin, possibly meaning "River running through the sandy beach". The very small remaining part of the Temiya Cave contains carvings from the Zoku-Jōmon period of Ainu history, around A.D. 400. Otaru was recognised as a village by the bakufu in 1865, and in 1880 the first railway line in Hokkaido was opened with daily service between Otaru and Sapporo.
A canal adorned with Victorian-style street lamps runs through Otaru. A famous attraction on the west side of the city is Nishin Goten (herring mansion). This large wooden building, built in 1897, was once the house of Hunkumatsu Tanakaa, a magnate of the herring fishing industry. It was originally built in nearby Tomari village and moved from there in 1958.
Sapporo Station (札幌駅 Sapporo-eki) is a train station located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is served by Hakodate Main Line and other lines of Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido), and is also connected to the Sapporo Subway.
Sapporo Station is the starting point and terminus for the limited expresses of JR Hokkaido. It also has the tallest building (JR Tower) in Hokkaido. Sapporo station is developing into a commercial center as large as Ōdōri Park and Susukino.
Sapporo Station was opened in 1880 as a Horonai Railway's terminus. A new station building was built in 1881 and it was enlarged as Sapporo developed.
In 1908, the station building was rebuilt because of a fire in 1907. The restored building can be found in the Historical Village of Hokkaidō in Nopporo Forest Park.
Sapporo Station is the starting point and terminus for the limited expresses of JR Hokkaido. It also has the tallest building (JR Tower) in Hokkaido. Sapporo station is developing into a commercial center as large as Ōdōri Park and Susukino.
Sapporo Station was opened in 1880 as a Horonai Railway's terminus. A new station building was built in 1881 and it was enlarged as Sapporo developed.
In 1908, the station building was rebuilt because of a fire in 1907. The restored building can be found in the Historical Village of Hokkaidō in Nopporo Forest Park.
The third reconstruction was finished in 1951 and the Sapporo Subway was opened in 1971. An underground shopping center was started in 1972 and a commercial building was opened on the east side of the station in 1978. The current building was built in 2003. Sapporo Station is now the center of transportation in Hokkaido.
...dinner at Viking Park...
...The Former Hokkaidō Government Office (北海道庁旧本庁舎 Hokkaidōchō kyūhonchōsha) is an American-neo-baroque structure constructed in 1888 as a base of the Hokkaidō administration. The nickname is Akarenga or "Red Brick." It is the symbol of Hokkaidō and was designated a Japanese Important Cultural Property in 1969. Behind the current Hokkaidō Government building, the building is located in North 3 West 6, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan.
Currently, the facilities inside the building include a conference room, a museum shop, a tourist information office, and a few historical exhibition rooms and libraries. Visitors can enter the building for free. Flower gardens and a pond are located in front of the building, which occasionally are designated as some event venues.
...Nijyo Market...
The Hokkaidō Shrine (北海道神宮 Hokkaidō Jingū) is a Shinto shrine located in Sapporo, Japan. Sited in Maruyama Park, Chūō-ku, Sapporo, the Hokkaido Shrine enshrines four kami including the soul of the Emperor Meiji. A number of contributors of the Exploration in Hokkaidō such as Mamiya Rinzō are also enshrined.
In 1869, by an order of the Emperor Meiji, a ceremony to enshrine three kami (Shinto deities); Ōkunitama, Ōkuninushi, and Sukunahikona, was held inTokyo. They were enshrined as the three deities of the Hokkaido reclamation (開拓三神 Kaitaku Sanjin), and they were later moved to Sapporo by officers in the Kaitakushi, the previous government of Hokkaidō prefecture.
An interim building of the shrine for three kami was constructed in 1870 in Sapporo, although its location was different from the current point where the Hokkaidō Shrine stands. In 1871, the shrine was erected to the current place and named as the "Sapporo Shrine" (Sapporo Jinja), and on September 14 an inaugural ceremony was held.
From 1889 through 1946, Sapporo-jinja was officially designated one of the Kanpei-taisha (官幣大社), meaning that it stood in the first rank of government supported shrines.
The soul of the Emperor Meiji was newly enshrined to the shrine in 1964, and the building was officially renamed to the current "Hokkaido Shrine". The building was destroyed by the fire in 1974, and later restored in 1978.
I'm sure to go for the second time...is a marvelous place. ~Nov 2010~
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