Comparing Sapporo to Japan’s other big cities is like playing “One of These Things is Not Like the Others.”
Sapporo is Japan’s fifth-largest city, yet it scarcely resembles the top four—Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka and Nagoya—in history, lifestyle and business culture. It’s the capital of Hokkaidō, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands, where the geography and climate are more akin to the Rockies than the crowded, boxy, futuristic metropolises of Honshū, Japan’s main island.
    Perhaps Hokkaidō was chosen for the G8 summit in July (in the nearby lakeside hot spring village of Tōyako)—because it’s one of the few places in Japan where the summer humidity is scarce. In Sapporo, locals celebrate by turning Odori Park, which bisects the city, into a beer garden for weeks during the summer nights in the fresh, temperate air. Hokkaidō’s winters are legendarily cold, but Dosanko, as Hokkaidō residents are called, know that the Siberian fronts also bring snow for skiing, which brings tourism revenue, and,  in due course, provides water for the crops for which Hokkaidō is also known. (Beer and ramen are just two of the famous food products from here.)
    Even Hokkaidō’s history is arguably more Rocky Mountain-esque than it is Japanese. While daimyo and samurai fought for control of feudal territories on Japan’s other islands, beginning around the eighth century, Hokkaidō sat pretty much ignored, except by local natives—the Ainu. Then, in the 1860s, the Tokyo-based administration of Emperor Meiji realized what resources could be had on this northern island, and Hokkaidō’s development began.
    Growth has been rapid ever since. Architects and city planners from North America and Europe designed its grid of wide streets, and most of the buildings that line them have a distinctly non-Japanese feel. The city’s population had grown to over one million by the time Sapporo boldly stepped onto the world stage with the 1972 Winter Olympics. Now, the population is an estimated 1.9 million, including a large contingent of opportunity seekers from the other big centers. Yet Hokkaidō still feels uninhabited, relative to the rest of Japan, lending Sapporo a laid-back, close-to-the-country feel absent from any of the other big five.
    You won’t find the same business culture here either. While the economic scenes in the top four are dominated by giant household name conglomerates, in industries such as electronics, automotive, pharmaceuticals, shipping, banking and finance, some 90 percent of Sapporo’s income comes from small- to medium-sized companies, and chief industries are wholesale, retail and hospitality.
    Hospitality is so important, in fact, that the city receives over seven times its population in visitors each year. Many visitors come for big festivals, such as the world-famous Sapporo Snow Festival, which began in 1950 and now fills Odori Park with snow and ice sculptures for a week each February. The festival alone accounts for some two million visitors annually. Other visitors arrive just to leave again; Sapporo is the hub of rail and air traffic to Hokkaidō’s other charms—towering peaks, coastal plains, rustic farms and soaring cranes of the avian variety, and sometimes the construction variety as well.
    The main gateway for overseas travelers is New Chitose Airport (CTS), located about 26 miles southeast of the city center, and reachable by train in approximately 35 minutes. Most overseas travelers connect for flights to Sapporo at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (NRT) or Osaka Kansai (KIX), and other major Japanese cities also have direct flights. From abroad, direct flights are available from Beijing, Dalian, Hong Kong and Shanghai in China; Seoul and Pusan in South Korea; Taipei in Taiwan; and Guam. Once in town, most every place of interest in the city center is reachable via public transportation—in this respect, Sapporo is very much like the other big Japanese cities—and taxis are plentiful, should you need one.  
    A convenient base is the JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo—adjacent to the main railway station, it’s the tallest building on Hokkaidō. Rooms start on the 23rd floor and go up to the 34th, so each has a view. The hotel’s 22nd floor is occupied by a natural, mineral-fed hot spring spa, with Japanese-style baths and international spa treatments. Restaurants include French and Japanese. The top floor is a many-windowed banquet space, and meeting rooms accommodate up to 200.
    A few blocks away, Sapporo Grand Hotel has a 75-year history of hosting well-to-do visitors, though some rooms have worn the years better than others. Go for the rooms on the Comfort Floor, which boast minimalist design and upscale amenities including lavender bath salts, Ella Baché and Penhaligon’s bath products, and special men’s shaving and hair-care products. Grand in Grand rooms take luxury several steps further, with breakfast and snacks in the Club Lounge, morning paper, pressing service, and complimentary video on demand.
    Hotel Monterey Edelhof Sapporo takes its design cues from Austria, including banquet rooms that look positively Viennese. Its 181 guest rooms start at about 235 square feet, and include European touches like bidets and hand-held showers. The hotel’s Karlovy Vary Spa melds both Japanese and European influences, from the spa menu down to the drinks on offer, which include both Sapporo Beer and Cassis cocktails. Facilities also include a stage for Noh—stylized costume dramas performed by masked actors—said to be the world’s oldest continuously-performed art at six centuries and counting.  
    Across town, the six-year-old Sapporo Convention Center has some 20 meeting and event spaces. The largest auditorium seats up to 2,500, and there’s an outdoor event space for when the weather is too good to waste on an indoor meeting.
    Your Japanese clients will probably suggest someplace for dinner—be sure to let them know ahead of time if you have any dietary restrictions. To take them out, Suginome, located in the Susukino Nightlife District, in a house built of local stone, is choice, and private rooms can be decorated with Ainu artifacts. The emphasis here is on fresh local seafood, or for landlubbers, yakimochi are delectable potato dumplings with sesame sauce. The city’s sushi bar of record is Sushi Zen—with multiple locations, you’ll likely be close to one.
    One must-try local dish is jingiskan; the word is a variation of “Genghis Khan,” and it’s come to mean Mongolian-style barbecue. Many Japanese visitors come to Sapporo just to eat it. The main ingredient is locally-raised lamb, which patrons cook themselves, together with vegetables, on a grill at their table. If the weather cooperates, it’s best enjoyed alfresco—but don’t wear your power suit if you plan for indoor jingiskan.
Sapporo’s Nijo Fish Market is where food and commerce come together. It feels like a smaller, more controlled version of Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji Market, where patrons watch brisk commerce being performed, and tuck into local delicacies like uni (sea urchin) or oyako-donburi (chicken and egg over rice).
    Another must-try is Hokkaidō-style ramen. It starts with thick miso broth, further fortified with local ingredients like butter and corn. A good place to sample this dish is on Ramen Yokocho (literally translated as Ramen side street), in the Susukino Nightlife District. There are over a dozen ramen shops here—most have under a dozen counter seats, which all seem to be busy all the time—and lingering after the meal is considered bad manners. It can be a bit touristy, but sometimes the crowd gets it right. Most shops have pictures of their wares, but if you get stuck, just say “Miso ramen o kudasai” (“Miso ramen, please”).  
    Even if you’ve never heard of Sapporo the city, you’ve likely heard of Sapporo the beer. In 1876, it was established as Japan’s first brewery, and the building is still open to the public as a beer museum. Take the one-hour audio tour in English, and do your own tasting afterwards. And after that, you’ll probably agree that Sapporo is not like the rest of Japan.  

For more information:
www.japantravelinfo.com
www.welcome.city.sapporo.jp/english
www.conventionsapporo.jp