Sapporo Japan

Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, is one of Japan’s youngest cities. The population has grown from only 7 people in 1857 to now being the 5th largest Japanese city with a population of almost 2 million. As Sapporo is a new city it doesn’t have the traditional Japanese architecture found in many other Japanese cities, however one of the benefits of Sapporo being a new city is that the roads are based on a grid, so it’s really easy for visitors to navigate.

Sapporo was put on the map in 1972 when it hosted the Winter Olympics, the first games to be held outside Western Europe or the USA. During winter Sapporo is now most well known for the Sapporo Snow Festival which attracts more than 2 million visitors each February from around the world. There aren’t many cities in the world that can hold such an amazing snow festival, but Sapporo is a very cold and snowy city with an average annual snowfall of 6.3 metres.

Sapporo Ski Resorts

If it snows that much in downtown Sapporo, you can start to imagine how much it snows up in the nearby mountains!

For many visitors on a Hokkaido skiing holiday, Sapporo is just a gateway or a stopover, but Sapporo in its own right is a worthwhile base for a ski or snowboard holiday. From Sapporo it’s possible to take day trips to various nearby ski resorts.

Main Ski Resorts in Sapporo - Stats
Ski Area	1° Aspect	Top (m)	Base (m)	Vertical (m)	Runs	Lifts	Max Pitch °	Location *
Sapporo Kokusai	E	1,100	630	470	7	4	30	49km W
Sapporo Teine	N to NE	1,023	340	683	15	10	38	20km NW
Fu's	NNE	540	260	260	9	3	38	18km SW
Sapporo Moiwayama	SE	448	173	275	10	5	38	9km SW
Sapporo Bankei	N	483	200	283	17	6	33	9km SW

* distance relative to Sapporo train station

Sapporo Teine is only 20km northwest of downtown Sapporo, a 45 minute drive. Sapporo Teine is made up of two interconnected ski areas; Teine Olympia and Teine Highland. Teine Olympia is perfect for beginners and kids, whilst Teine Highland has some awesome steep tree skiing.

Sapporo Kokusai is 46km west of Sapporo, a one hour drive. This ski resort boasts a massive 18 metres of powder per season, and whilst the small in-bounds area gets a bit crowded, there are plenty of freshies to be found in the lift accessed backcountry areas.

And if you’re overly keen for a ski in Sapporo you can head to the little Sapporo Moiwayama Ski Area (skiers only). The top elevation is only 448 metres and the aspect isn’t ideal when the sun comes out, so it doesn’t usually have the famous Hokkaido powder. Pros are the steep pitch of a couple of the runs and the phenomenal night skiing views of Sapporo.

Fu’s Snow Area is a similar elevation yet it has a better aspect. This is mostly an on-piste ski resort for the locals, but it would be fun on a powder day and there is a small sidecountry area with tight trees where competition for freshies is likely to be low.

See the Sapporo travel page for information on how to get to the Sapporo ski resorts.

Other Ski Resorts Near Sapporo

Snow Cruise Onze is 24km NW of Sapporo and whilst it’s officially in Otaru, some also consider it a Sapporo ski resort. It’s not particularly remarkable for powder hounds and has a top elevation of 308 metres.

Kiroro is a destination ski resort but because it’s only 43km west of Sapporo (70 minute drive), the ski resort is also good for a day trip from Sapporo. Kiroro is a modern resort and it scores full marks from us as a ski resort for powderhounds.

Asari ski resort is near Otaru and is good for a day trip to ride the deserted off-piste and backcountry areas. Asari is at low elevation so it’s good for really windy days when the other ski resorts are a bit nasty.

Tomamu is another modern OTT Japanese ski resort that has good piste runs and some great off-piste riding. Tomamu is only an 80 minute train ride from Sapporo. 

Ski Sapporo

Sapporo is a great base for a ski holiday. The nearby ski resorts receive abundant snowfall and you can revel in all that this big city has to offer: miso ramen; interesting Sapporo shopping; the Sapporo snow festival; various other Sapporo attractions; a really vibrant nightlife that goes for 24 hours; and lots of Sapporo beer.