Sapporo札幌市

Sapporo-shi. The name ends in 市 (shi), the word for city.

Sapporo (札幌市, Sapporo-shi) is a city and a designated city with 10 wards in Hokkaidō Prefecture. Population 1,973,395 (2020 census), area 1,121.26 km². Borders 11 places.

The capital of Hokkaidō and a designated city with ten wards. The centre is a grid, so addresses use north/south and east/west block counts instead of the usual chōme numbering.

Sapporo addresses look unusual because the city uses a grid: 北3条西4丁目 reads kita 3-jō nishi 4-chōme, meaning north 3rd street, west 4th block. The legal structure is the same as any other designated city.

Open Sapporo on the map

Facts

Japanese name

札幌市

Reading

Sapporo-shi

Kind

City (市), designated city (政令指定都市): a local government

Prefecture

Hokkaidō 北海道

Region

Hokkaidō 北海道

Population

1,973,395 (2020 census)

Change since 2015

+1.1% from 1,952,356

Area

1,121.26 km²

Density

1,760 people per km²

Households

969,161

Under 15

10.9%

65 and over

27.8%

Foreign residents

13,872 (0.7%)

Code

01100 (団体コード, the municipality code)

Website

www.city.sapporo.jp

Wikipedia

English / 日本語

The 10 wards of Sapporo行政区

Sapporo is a designated city, so it is divided into wards. Each ward has an office for counter services, and none has a mayor or an assembly. Voters in every ward elect the same city mayor.

Neighbouring municipalities

11 places share a land border with Sapporo, counted through its wards. Borders across water are not counted.

• Otaru City小樽市
• Ebetsu City江別市
• Chitose City千歳市
• Eniwa City恵庭市
• Date City伊達市
• Kitahiroshima City北広島市
• Ishikari City石狩市
• Tobetsu Town当別町
• Kimobetsu Town喜茂別町
• Kyogoku Town京極町
• Akaigawa Village赤井川村

Questions about Sapporo

Is Sapporo a city or a prefecture?

Sapporo (札幌市) is a city (市, shi) in Hokkaidō Prefecture. It is a municipality, the lower of Japan's two tiers of local government, and elects its own mayor and assembly. It is a designated city, divided into 10 wards. The wards are offices of the city, not governments.

Where is Sapporo?

Sapporo is in Hokkaidō Prefecture (北海道), in the Hokkaidō region of Japan. The prefecture is a government; the region is a customary grouping of prefectures and elects nothing.

What is the population of Sapporo?

1,973,395 at the 2020 census, up 1.1% from 1,952,356 in 2015. The area is 1,121.26 km², which is 1,760 people per km². 969,161 households. 27.8% of residents are 65 or older and 10.9% are under 15.

Which municipalities border Sapporo?

11: Otaru City (小樽市), Ebetsu City (江別市), Chitose City (千歳市), Eniwa City (恵庭市), Date City (伊達市), Kitahiroshima City (北広島市), Ishikari City (石狩市), Tobetsu Town (当別町), Kimobetsu Town (喜茂別町), Kyogoku Town (京極町), and Akaigawa Village (赤井川村). These are the municipalities that share a land border with Sapporo in the boundary data. Borders across water are not counted.

How is Sapporo written in Japanese?

札幌市, read Sapporo-shi. The last character, 市 (shi), is the word for city, and the name is often used without it in English.

How does an address in Sapporo begin?

北海道札幌市… (Hokkaidō, Sapporo-shi, …). The prefecture name is written first, then the city name. Then the name of one of the 10 wards. After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.