What to do in Ishikari

Though the Sapporo Dome is best known as the home ground of the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters and the soccer team Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, it is a tourist destination in its own right. Perfect for sports fans of all kinds and featuring the world’s first “hovering” soccer field, it is full of activities even on days when concerts or sports games are not taking place. Take a tour of the stadium, jog through the nearby grounds or go up to the observation deck and look out onto the rolling nearby hills.

On an action-packed visit to Sapporo, Odori Park is both a destination and a space for relaxation. Stretched out over 1 mile (1.5 kilometers) or 12 city blocks down the center of the city, the park separates the northern administrative districts from the southern, residential and commercial districts. Stop here for a picnic lunch amid its 92 types of trees while visiting the city or come for one of the many festivals that set up on the plazas any time of the year. The famous Sapporo Snow Festival is one popular example.

Go on a self-guided tour of Hokkaido University and glimpse the daily activities of the city’s higher education students. Hokkaido University is famous for its leafy gardens and buildings that showcase varying architectural styles. Visit the campus museum to see collections that honor everything from a university founder, to Nobel laureates and natural science exhibits.

The Sapporo Beer Museum presents an overview of the history of beer in Japan, with a focus on the famous Sapporo brand. In addition to ranking among Japan’s four major breweries, Sapporo beer is produced, brewed and distributed in dozens of countries around the world. Don’t miss the tastings offered at the end of the brewery tour, as well as the Beer Garden restaurant in the attached 19th-century red-brick building.

Hokkaido Shrine, located just outside Sapporo’s downtown, is by far the most visited shrine on the whole island. Built in 1869 during the Meiji Restoration, when the emperor declared the colonization initiative on Hokkaido, it was designed to offer succor and support to the men who came here to claim land from the Ainu people. Its three gods represent the divine spirits of the land, colonization and administration and were in charge of spurring the colonists on. The shrine was a place to meet and relax. Emperor Meiji was enshrined here in the 1960s.

The Sapporo Clock Tower (Tokeidai) dates back almost as far as the city itself. The wooden building was constructed as a college less than 10 years after Sapporo was established as Hokkaido’s capital in 1869. Although this building looks dwarfed compared to the skyscrapers that surround it today, its historical significance and charm continues to make it one of Sapporo’s most-visited attractions.