Chapter 1
Hokkaido regionHokkaido
Biei, Hokkaido
A grid city at 43 degrees north, where addresses read like coordinates. February and August feel like two different cities. Six central stays, chosen for both.
Pick a stayHighlights
Four places, the Clock Tower to the Moiwa night view.
Pick a stay
Six hotels, from a luxury flag opened in 2025 to 412 rooms running since 1974.
Stay
Luxury
InterContinental Sapporo
Minami 10-jo Nishi 1, Chuo-ku — the Nakajima Park area, near Susukino
Hokkaido's first InterContinental
- Opened October 1, 2025 — 149 rooms, 13 of them suites
- A 20-metre indoor heated pool on level 9, plus a 24-hour gym
- Upper floors look over the city, Nakajima Park and the Toyohira River
Stay
Boutique luxury
Hotel Sosei Sapporo, MGallery Collection
Kita 2 Higashi 3, Chuo-ku — the Sosei East area, in Sapporo Factory's west building
118 rooms on the old brewery site
- Opened January 30, 2024 — 118 rooms in 7 types, up to the 58 m² Hamanasu Suite
- Converted from Hotel Clubby, themed on a Kaitakushi-era mansion
- The bar's fireplace is modelled on a copper brew kettle; Sapporo beer is on the list
Upper upscale · Kita 5 Nishi 2, Chuo-ku — directly connected to JR Sapporo Station
JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo
Connected straight into Sapporo Station
- Grand-opened May 31, 2003; JR lines, the subway and the airport rapid all arrive at the same station
- Moderate floors run 23–30, Executive floors 31–34; the spa sits about 100 m above ground
- Room count is given as either 330 or 342 depending on the source
Upper upscale · Kita 3 Nishi 1, Chuo-ku
ANA Crowne Plaza Sapporo
412 rooms, running since 1974
- Opened in 1974 as the Sapporo ANA Hotel — more than 50 years on the same site
- Reflagged ANA Crowne Plaza in December 2017, under IHG
- 412 rooms — the largest of the six on this page
Stay
Upscale onsen ryokan
ONSEN RYOKAN Yuen Sapporo
Kita 1 Nishi 7, Chuo-ku
Noboribetsu spring water, downtown
- Opened August 1, 2020 — 182 rooms in 10 types, roughly 20–40 m²
- The baths run on spring water carried from Karurusu Onsen in Noboribetsu
- Indoor and open-air baths and a sauna; the ground-floor restaurant cooks Hokkaido ingredients
Stay
Upscale (value)
Courtyard by Marriott Sapporo
Nakajima Park area — a 3-minute walk from Nakajima-Koen subway station
Three minutes from Nakajima-Koen Station
- Opened July 23, 2024 — 321 guest rooms and suites
- The first Courtyard in Hokkaido, eighth in Japan
- All-day dining at Substance, a spa, and a 24-hour gym
How we chose: segment, suitability for visitors from overseas, and regional spread. Nobody paid to be listed. How we choose hotels
This page was last reviewed on 31 August 2026. Rates and opening information change; please check the property's official site before booking.
A one-day route
The Clock Tower in the morning, Odori Park at midday, Mt. Moiwa after dark. The Sapporo Beer Museum sits in the opposite direction — save it for day two.
Sapporo Clock Tower
Doors open 8:45, about 10 minutes' walk south of Sapporo Station. The building is compact — a short first stop.
Odori Park
A 10-minute walk from the Clock Tower. The park runs 1.5 km, West 1-chome to West 12; lunch is easy in the underground concourse.
Mt. Moiwa Ropeway
Namboku Line to Susukino, then the streetcar to the Ropeway Iriguchi stop. Last ascent 21:30.
Getting there
From the airport
The JR Rapid Airport train runs from New Chitose to Sapporo Station in 33–37 minutes for ¥1,230 — six trains an hour between 9:00 and 16:00, no transfer.
Around the city
Three subway lines — Namboku, Tozai and Toho — meet at the Odori and Sapporo Station core, and a single streetcar loop covers the south. Suica and other IC cards work on both; the Donichika subway day pass is ¥520 on weekends and holidays.
Winter and summer
In February, Odori Park hosts the Sapporo Snow Festival — dates change each year, so check the official site. Summer is another city entirely: different temperature, different daylight.