- Information
- Traveler Advice
- Forums
48HourVisit.com
Planning a short visit? Check out 48HourVisit.com, your online guide for short stays and weekend getaways. Ad
The Glossary
A relatively new player in Japan's tourism competition, Sapporo is short on the hundred-years-old architecture and significance that the rest of the country's settlements possess. But what this new and polished metropolis lacks in age-old regalia, it more than makes up with its several tourist fascinations like amusement centers, museums, and the well-loved Yuki Matsuri ("Snow Festival"). Today, it is Hokkaido's prefectural capital and one of the island's premier tourist hubs. Shiny and modern as it may look on the outside, Sapporo's core is as warm and nurturing as a rustic hearth: owing to its indigenous Ainu heritage.
Like a patch of Victorian Age England, the Clock Tower may seem out of place in the city's glass and concrete exterior. Surprisingly, this undeniably Western structure is Sapporo's official landmark and perhaps one of the oldest buildings in the city, dating back to 1878. A must-visit for sweet-tooths, the Ishiya Chocolate Factory is a cross between a theme park and a confectionery powerhouse, selling Hokkaido's indigenous brand of white chocolate, Shiroi Koibito ("White Lover"). Booze-lovers, on the other hand, can go to the Sapporo Beer Museum, birthplace of the Sapporo Breweries, which is not only one of the country's oldest, but also responsible for introducing the robust beverage to the Japanese.
Those who want more diversions can take a side-trip to Hokudai Shokubutsuen, a botanical garden that has a small Ainu museum at the main gate. More indigenous artifacts can be seen at the Ainu Association of Hokkaido.
A fine way to close one's trip to Sapporo is by experiencing the annual Snow Festival which takes place at the Odori Park. Dozens of colossal themed snow sculptures are displayed in the streets for visitors to take pictures of, and while they are beautiful at day, the best time to view these frigid figures is at night. After dark, many-colored lights are beamed at the sculptures, giving life to the stark-white forms.
Sapporo Landmarks:
User blogs:
Travel and Inspire
“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” - Jack Kerouac ... Read full Blog post
Cheaper galactic spaceliner unveiled
News from http://news.ph.msn.com/top-stories/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3737940 Richard Branson unveiled Monday a commercial spaceliner offering tourists a cheaper chance to experience the thrill of weightlessness and view the splendor of the Earth from space. The British billionaire hopes to offer tickets aboard his spacecraft at a cost of 200,000 dollars each, giving adventurous ... Read full Blog post
Volunteering for typhoon Ketsana victims
“There’s nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer,” says a general in the movie Pearl Harbor. True enough, typhoon Ondoy (internationally nicknamed Ketsana) may have proven its might by destroying hundreds of lives and hundreds more in houses and properties, yet this monster-of-a-calamity did not win in devastating the faith and Good Samaritan-spirit of thousands of men and ... Read full Blog post
A trip to Siargao
Seeing people that are “living their dream” is always inspirational, it looks so rewarding and peaceful, breaking from the chains of conformism, doing what you always dreamt to do since you were a kid, it doesn’t have to make you huge loads of money or bring you world fame just a feeling of self fulfillment, last time I checked, you can’t put a price tag on that one. In Siargao ... Read full Blog post
In our Magazine
When Mother Nature wields terror
Some places are made dangerous by the conflicts brought about by humans. But in these towns and cities—most of them heavily populated—it is Mother Nature which is always on the verge of wrath, wrecking havoc of unimaginable proportions.
Slaughter of dolphins comes to cinemas
Ric O’Barry once captured and trained dolphins in amusement parks and made the character Flipper world famous. Now, he is the animals’ unlikely champion, exposing the savage ways they are hunted in a small town in Japan. This time, he wants the dolphins swim free.
The new Bollywood fever
As one of the major film production centers in the world, Bollywood churns out about 1,0000 movies, most of which cater to India’s masses. They precariously enact their lives through the characters, escaping to a world where everything in the end gets resolved in song and dance.
