Tourist office Sapporo
Sapporo has 4 official tourist information points, listed by the Sapporo Tourist Association on Welcome to Sapporo, the city's official tourism website. The main tourist information centre is the Hokkaido-Sapporo Tourist Information Center at JR Sapporo Station: Hokkaido and Sapporo City set it up and the association runs it all year, with staff who speak Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. The other 3 are the seasonal Odori Park Tourist Information, the Odori Park Information & Official Shop and the Jozankei Tourist Information Center in the hot spring area of Jozankei.
Sapporo City also runs a call centre that answers questions in the same four languages.
Find the nearest tourist office
Hokkaido-Sapporo Tourist Information Center at JR Sapporo Station
Location: JR Sapporo Station, West Concourse North Exit, Kita 6-jo Nishi 4-chome, Kita-ku
Opening hours: 08:30 to 20:00, open all year; ticket and goods sales end at 19:45
Pamphlets for all 179 Hokkaido municipalities, same-day hotel availability, a currency exchange machine and a JR desk for overseas visitors.
Odori Park Tourist Information
Location: Odori Park, Odori Nishi 3-chome, Chuo-ku
Opening hours: Late April to late October, 09:30 to 17:30, open every day in that season
Tourism volunteers, Japanese only; closes at times in bad weather and, as a rule, on Hokkaido Marathon day.
Odori Park Information & Official Shop
Location: Odori Park, Odori Nishi 7-chome, Chuo-ku
Opening hours: 10:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 16:00, closed 29 December to 3 January
Staff give information on Odori Park, with phone interpreting in English, Chinese and Korean, and the shop sells park goods.
Jozankei Tourist Information Center
Location: Jozankei Onsen Higashi 3-chome, Minami-ku
Opening hours: 09:00 to 17:00, open every day except 29 December to 3 January
Advice on hotels and day-use hot springs; houses a free annex of the Jozankei Folk Museum.
Get to know Sapporo in detail
Get to know Sapporo in detail
The Sapporo guide on Tourist Office sets out what to do in Sapporo on a single page, starting with a day on foot from the Former Hokkaido Government Office and the Sapporo Clock Tower along Odori Park to Tanukikoji and Susukino, finishing with the night view from Mount Moiwa.
It then moves on to the Sapporo Beer Museum, Hokkaido Shrine, the Historical Village of Hokkaido and Moerenuma Park, picks out places that cost nothing to visit, explains what makes a city laid out on a grid worth the trip in winter and summer alike, and answers practical questions on how many days to allow, the best season and the journey from New Chitose Airport.
Public holidays in Sapporo to plan around
On public holidays, museums, attractions and shops in Sapporo may close or switch to holiday hours, and Sapporo City Hall keeps its general offices closed. Japan's Act on National Holidays sets one calendar for the whole country, and the Cabinet Office lists 18 dates off for 2026: 16 national holidays plus 2 further public holidays created by the Act's own rules, one because Constitution Memorial Day falls on a Sunday and one because a weekday sits between two national holidays.
National holidays in Japan 2026
- 1 January New Year's Day
- 12 January Coming-of-Age Day
- 11 February National Foundation Commemoration Day
- 23 February Emperor's Birthday
- 20 March Vernal Equinox Day
- 29 April Showa Day
- 3 May Constitution Memorial Day
- 4 May Greenery Day
- 5 May Children's Day
- 6 May Public holiday in lieu of Constitution Memorial Day, which falls on a Sunday
- 20 July Marine Day
- 11 August Mountain Day
- 21 September Respect for the Aged Day
- 22 September Public holiday, as it falls between two national holidays
- 23 September Autumnal Equinox Day
- 12 October Sports Day
- 3 November Culture Day
- 23 November Labor Thanksgiving Day
Local holidays in Sapporo 2026
Sapporo adds no local holidays to the national calendar. Public holidays in Japan are the days defined by the Act on National Holidays, and Sapporo City names no day of its own: its general office hours exclude Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays and 29 December to 3 January.
The Hokkaido-Sapporo Tourist Information Center at JR Sapporo Station is open all year, so it keeps its usual hours on public holidays, while the Odori Park Information & Official Shop and the Jozankei Tourist Information Center close from 29 December to 3 January.
Japan's national holidays on the Cabinet Office site, in Japanese >