The Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo Yuki Matsuri) is held during one week every February in Hokkaido's capital Sapporo. It is one of Japan's most popular winter events. The Sapporo Snow Festival was started in 1950, when high school students built a few snow statues in Odori Park. It has since developed into a large, commercialized event, featuring spectacular snow and ice sculptures and attracting more than two million visitors from Japan and across the world.

Moerenuma Park (モエレ沼公園, Moerenuma Kōen) is a large park in the outskirts of Sapporo. Surrounded by a marsh, the park has a circumference of about four kilometers. The grounds are covered in attractive green space and there are massive, dramatic features that make the park a very unique public space.

The Historic Village of Hokkaido (開拓の村, Kaitaku no Mura) is an open air museum in the suburbs of Sapporo. It exhibits about 60 typical buildings from all over Hokkaido, dating from the Meiji and Taisho Periods (1868 to 1926), the era when Hokkaido's development was carried out on a large scale. There are four different sections: a town, fishing village, farm village and a mountain village.

Shiroi Koibito Park is a theme park by Ishiya, a local chocolate company. The company's flagship product is the Shiroi Koibito cookie, which consists of two thin butter cookies and a layer of white chocolate in between. It is one of the most famous souvenirs from Hokkaido. The park consists of a free area with a shop, cafe and restaurant and a paid area with various chocolate related exhibits and, most interestingly, a few large windows through which visitors can observe the cookie production process in the factory. It is also possible to create your own cookies in hands-on workshops. Another part of the Shiroi Koibito Park is a soccer field that serves as the practice ground for Consadole Sapporo, the local J-League soccer team.

Mount Moiwa (藻岩山, Moiwa-yama) is one of several small, forested mountains southwest of central Sapporo. The mountain is a popular sightseeing spot that is known for the spectacular view out over the city from an observation deck at its summit. The view is especially beautiful after sunset.

Hokkaido is the birthplace of beer in Japan. Sapporo Beer, one of the oldest and most popular beer brands in the country, has been brewed in Sapporo since 1877. The Sapporo Beer Museum (サッポロビール博物館, Sapporo Beer Hakubutsukan) was opened in 1987 in a former brewery from the Meiji Period. The museum introduces the history of beer in Japan and the process of beer making. After the exhibitions, beer tastings are available at a small fee. Alternatively, paid tours are held in Japanese that include a tasting session at the end.

Sapporo Teine (サッポロテイネ) is the largest of several medium sized ski resorts on the outskirts of Sapporo. Just 40 minutes outside of the city center, the resort features a variety of ski trails from wide, gently sloping hills to long and fast advanced courses which include two runs used for some ski events during the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics. The Olympic Torch still stands above the resort as a monument overlooking Sapporo and the Sea of Japan below.

Curb Market (札幌場外市場, Sapporo Jōgai Ichiba) consists of nearly 80 stores and restaurants lined up along several blocks just outside of Sapporo's Central Wholesale Market. One of the city's largest public markets, the Curb Market specializes in Hokkaido seafood such as crab, sea urchin, salmon roe, squid and scallops, and local produce such as corn, melons and potatoes when in season. The market's shops cater to both locals and tourists alike, and have a good selection at reasonable prices. Like other seafood markets around Japan, an excellent way to experience the market's offerings is to have a meal of fresh local seafood served over rice (domburi) at one of the local restaurants.

Susukino is Japan's largest entertainment district north of Tokyo. It is packed with stores, bars, restaurants, karaoke shops, pachinko parlors and red light establishments. Of special interest to noodle lovers is the Ramen Yokocho, a narrow lane lined with shops serving Sapporo's famous ramen.

Sapporo Factory is a large shopping and entertainment complex that was opened in 1993 in central Sapporo. There are about 160 establishments that include clothing stores, souvenir shops, restaurants, cafes and a multi-screen movie theater. The shops are concentrated around a five story atrium that provides visitors a refreshing and spacious atmosphere. Sapporo Factory was constructed on the former site of Japan's first beer brewery, and the complex includes a red brick Akarenga building that is reminiscent of Hokkaido's early development in the late 1800s. A small, functioning brewery can be observed within the building, and the beer itself can be enjoyed afterwards at the Akarenga's beer hall or at a tasting bar.

This botanical garden close to Sapporo's city center belongs to Hokkaido University and primarily serves a scientific and educational purpose. The garden with its walking trails and lawns, however, is also a pleasant place to take a break or to have a (non-alcoholic) picnic. Established in 1886, the Botanic Garden preserves a small part of the forest which formerly covered the Ishikari Plain. In addition, there is an alpine garden, a greenhouse and a small Ainu museum. During the winter, only the greenhouse is open to the public.

Odori Park (大通公園, Ōdōri Kōen) is the broad median of Odori ("large street") in the center of Sapporo, separating the city into north and south. The park stretches about a kilometer and a half over twelve city blocks and offers pleasant green space during the warmer months. In early February, the park serves as the main site of the Sapporo Snow Festival.

The 90 meter ski jump competitions of the Winter Olympics 1972 were held in the Okurayama Ski Jump Stadium (大倉山ジャンプ競技場, Ōkurayama Janppu Kyōgijō). Nowadays, when the stadium is not being used for world cup or other ski jump events, the Okurayama Observatory at the top of the hill can be accessed via a chair lift for spectacular views of Sapporo.

Nijo Market (二条市場, Nijō Ichiba) is a public market in central Sapporo that occupies about one city block. Both locals and tourists visit the market to shop for fresh local produce and seafood such as crabs, salmon eggs, sea urchin and various fresh and prepared fish.

Sapporo Station is the city's main railway station located right downtown. Multiple shopping centers surround the station complex, particularly on its south side. Sapporo Station dates back to the early development of Hokkaido in the late 1800s, but its current building was opened in 2003. A replica of the original station building can be found at the Historic Village of Hokkaido.

The Clock Tower (時計台, Tokeidai) is a symbol of Sapporo. The building was constructed during the early period of Sapporo's development in 1878 as a drill hall of the Sapporo Agricultural College. In 1881 a clock purchased from Boston was installed. Today, the Clock Tower serves as a museum with displays about the building's history and Sapporo on the first floor. On the second floor are displays about the clock and a spacious ceremony hall that calls to mind the simple buildings of the colonial American Midwest.