Sapporo

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**Sapporo City**
**札幌市**
Sapporo City's location in Hokkaidō prefecture, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Hokkaidō
Prefecture	Hokkaidō prefecture
Physical characteristics
Area	1,121.12 km²
Population (as of December, 2005)
Total	1,882,424
Density	1668/km²
Location	43°3′56″N, 141°21′27″E
Symbols
Tree	Lilac
Flower	Lily of the valley
Bird	Common cuckoo
Symbol of Sapporo City
Sapporo City City Hall
Mayor	Fumio Ueda
Address	〒060-8611 Sapporo-shi, Chūō-ku, Kita-1,Nishi-2
Phone number	011-211-2111
Official website: Sapporo City

Coordinates: 43°3′56″N, 141°21′27″E

"Sapporo" redirects here. For the beer and brewery, see Sapporo Breweries Limited.

Sapporo (札幌市, Sapporo-shi^?) listen (help·info) is the fifth-largest city in Japan by population and the third-largest by geographic area. It is the capital of Hokkaidō Prefecture.

Sapporo is primarily known outside Japan as the host city for the 1972 Winter Olympics, and for the annual Snow Festival, known as yuki matsuri, which draws more than 2 million tourists from around the world. The city is also home to the eponymous Sapporo Breweries.

1 Early history
2 Wards
3 Buildings
4 Demographics
5 Sports
- 5.1 Professional
- 5.2 Sports clubs
6 Sister cities
7 See also
- 7.1 Gallery
8 External links

[edit] Early history

Prior to its establishment, the area occupied by Sapporo (known as the Ishikari Plain) was home to a number of indigenous Ainu settlements. In 1866 at the end of the Edo Period construction began on a canal through the area, encouraging a number of early settlers to establish Sapporo village. The settlement's name was taken from the Ainu language, and can be translated as "large river running through a plain".

In 1868 (the officially recognised year celebrated as the 'birth' of Sapporo), the new Meiji government concluded that the existing administrative center of Hokkaidō, which at the time was the port of Hakodate was in an unsuitable location for the defense and further development of the island. As a result it was determined that a new capital on the Ishikari Plain should be established. The plain itself provided an unusually large expanse of flat, well drained land which is relatively uncommon in the otherwise mountainous geography of Hokkaidō.

During 1870-71, Kiyotaka Kuroda, vice-chairman of the Hokkaidō Development Commission (kaitakushi) approached the American government for assistance in developing the land resulting in Horace Capron, Secretary of Agriculture under President Ulysses S. Grant being appointed as a special advisor to the commission. Construction began around a park, Odori Koen, which still remains as a green ribbon of recreational land splitting the central area of the city into two halves. The city closely followed the American-style grid plan with streets at right-angles to form city blocks; highly unusual in Japan even today.

The continuing expansion of the Japanese into Hokkaidō continued, mainly due to migration from the main island of Honshū immediately to the south, and the prosperity of Hokkaidō and particularly its capital grew to the point that the Development Commission was deemed unnecessary and was abolished in 1882.

[edit] Wards

Sapporo has ten wards (ku):

Atsubetsu-ku (厚別区^?)

Chūō-ku (中央区 Chūō-ku^?)

Higashi-ku (東区^?)

Kita-ku (北区^?)

Kiyota-ku (清田区^?)

Minami-ku (南区^?)

Nishi-ku (西区^?)

Shiroishi-ku (白石区^?)

Teine-ku (手稲区^?)

Toyohira-ku (豊平区^?)

[edit] Buildings

Sapporo TV Tower (札幌テレビ塔, Sapporo Terebi Tō^?)
Sapporo Clock Tower (札幌時計台, Sapporo Tokeidai^?)

[edit] Demographics

Sapporo City Hall (Aug. 1, 2005)

A view of the northeastern part of Sapporo city

The city has an estimated population of 1,882,424 as of 2005 and the density of 1668 persons per km² (644 persons per mi²). The total area is 1,121.12 km² (696.63 mi²).

[edit] Sports

The Sapporo Dome is host to the Consadole Sapporo and Hokkaidō NipponHam Fighters.
In 1972, Sapporo hosted the XI Winter Olympics. Some of structures built for Olympic events remain in use today, including the ski jumps at Miyanomori and Okurayama
In 2002, Sapporo hosted a few matches of the FIFA World Cup at the Sapporo Dome.
In 2006, Sapporo hosted some games of the FIBA World Championships.
In 2007, Sapporo hosted the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships at the Sapporo Dome, Miyanomori ski jump, Okurayama ski jump, and the Shirahatayama cross country course.

[edit] Professional

J. League (J・リーグ, Jei Riigu^?)
- Consadole Sapporo (コンサドーレ札幌, Konsadōre Sapporo^?)
Professional Baseball (日本プロ野球, Nippon Puro Yakyū^?)
- Hokkaidō NipponHam Fighters (北海道日本ハムファイターズ, Hokkaidō Nippon Hamu Faitāzu^?) in Pacific League
- Sapporo Ambitious (札幌アンビシャス, Sapporo Ambishasu^?) in Masters League