By amarticles-linda

Sapporo is the fifth-largest city in Japan by population. It is the capital of Hokkaido Prefectu. It is one of the popular tourist attractions in Japan. Sapporo is also one of the nation’s youngest major cities.

The transportation network in the city is excellent, with two subway lines running north to south and one east to west. The city bus service is also outstanding.

It is a natural setting surrounded by mountains, providing visitors to Sapporo access to skiing, hot springs, and mountain trails. Because of its thick snows it turns the city into a winter wonderland it is favoured more as a winter sports destination than a spring or summer destination.

The largest shopping mall in Sapporo, is Tanuki Koji and has a history that goes back 123 years. There are more than 200 stores offering a goods from clothes and footwear to electrical items and furniture. In the mall you will find old and traditional merchants selling kimonos, tea or incense side-by-side with the modern stores specializing in computers and software or state-of-the-art electronics or digital cameras.

Susukino is the downtown entertainment district of Sapporo. It’s where locals and visitors go to eat, drink. It is said that there are more than 4000 establishments operating in the area. As the sun goes down, the lights turn on at restaurants, discos, saunas, bars, cafes, pool halls, peep shows, soap lands, and massage parlours.

Sapporo Snow Festival is one of Japan’s largest winter events, over 2 million people visit this annual event. There are hundreds of beautiful snow statues and ice sculptures which lined the grounds of the Self Defence Force Base in Makomanai, Odori Park and the main street in Susukino. The event is held for seven days every February. Some of the sculptures are made by the Japanese Self Defence Forces.

Sapporo Beer, is one of the oldest and still most popular beer brands in Japan, and has been brewed in Sapporo since 1877. It is now brewed and sold internationally. The Sapporo Breweries, is the oldest of Japan’s four leading breweries. It opened the Sapporo Beer Museum in 1987.

The Sapporo TV Tower, stand at 147.2 meters high and watches over the city. It houses an observation level at 90 meters that offers the best view of the city as well as the mountains and sea in the distance. There are also souvenir shops, restaurants and a game centre.