Is this Japan’s most sustainable city? Getting your green on in Sapporo
Japan’s ‘capital in the north’ has always been a hub for rural activity on Hokkaido, but in recent years it’s upped its game to become one of the world’s leading sustainable cities, writes Lucie Grace
Almost unbelievably, soup curry tastes as good as it smells. It’s something I didn’t think possible as the enticing waft of masala stewed vegetables hit my nostrils – my mouth watering before I’d even picked up a spoon.
Coined soul food by the handful of Sapporo restaurants who’ve been serving these bowls since the 1970s, soup curry is fresh as food comes and as spicy as you request. “These vegetables are all from Hokkaido?” I ask my waiter in Soup Curry Treasure, who smiles kindly. “Yes, all of our ingredients are from Hokkaido.” A few days later I realise just how naive a question that was; Sapporo, the capital city of Japan’s north island, Hokkaido, has had a farm-to-table food ethos since inception – the city is enveloped by agriculture and mountains, with the sea within reach too.
Taking the train here from Tokyo was an excellent flex of my Japan Rail Pass – the handy ticket that makes train travel in Japan cheaper for tourists – and the route was surprisingly easy. The shinkansen bullet train whizzes through the Seikan Tunnel to Hokkaido (the 33-mile long underwater link is the second longest tunnel in the world) and on re-emerging, I see snow on the ground, yet to melt in Japan’s chillier north island. Time to get the thermals on.
Sapporo station is dotted with huge wooden sculptures by Ainu master carvers, the people indigenous to this region, and posters along the platforms advertise the arrival of the next G7 meeting to the city on 15 April. It’s a fitting destination for global ministers to discuss the environment, as I find out over the course of the next few days.
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“There’s a lot of like-minded people in Sapporo,” says Noriko Shiokawa – manager of Royal Park Canvas Sapporo Odori Park, a branch of the crisp, bijou Japanese hotel chain. “There’s a respect for the environment due to the climate here – we are in awe of nature, it makes us humble”. This particular branch is entirely eco in design, specifically intended to complement the city. With libraries of books and LPs in situ and rooftop events space complete with firepits, it’s trendy in vibe, but there’s a lot more going on beneath the cool credentials.
“It’s actually the very first building in Japan built using hybrid construction; the top three floors are made entirely from wood and 80 per cent of the lumber is sourced from Hokkaido,” Noriko explains. “This building literally stands for sustainability.” Everything inside is recycled, including the record collection and interior wood panelling, both found in each bedroom – but you can borrow records from the bar in the lobby. From the flat top floor terrace, overlooking the iconic Sapporo TV Tower, I glance south hoping to catch a view of my next destination, the city’s rooftop beehives.
Sappachi, Sapporo’s bee project, keeps an apiary of eight hives on a rooftop in Odori that support the 250,000 bees that live in the city through spring and summer. School and college students from the age of 12 upwards volunteer alongside retired members of the community, meeting weekly, supporting each other as well as nurturing the bees.
It sounds like an intergenerational project to me, I say. “Exactly that,” says Sappachi chairman Sakai Shuji, an architect when he’s not supporting the city’s ecosystem. “There’s diversity in our team, we encourage people with all manner of physical and mental health needs to work with the bees. It’s a healing experience; over time they feel good, supporting each other and helping the local environment.” The hives are covered with tarpaulin now, protecting the colonies from the snow, but Sakai-san and manager Honda Makoto have plans for the future. On top of currently keeping the city stocked with locally collected nectar, they are in talks with hotels and cafes to run bee and honey tours.
There’s a respect for the environment due to the climate here – we are in awe of nature, it makes us humble
Whether it’s beekeeping, taking young people to forest school, or learning about permaculture at neighbouring ecovillages, community development is ingrained in Sapporo’s ecologically woven DNA. With huge art parks and green spaces throughout the city and Hokkaido’s wilds just a stone’s throw away, it’s about as green and outdoorsy as cities get.
The team at vibey, wood-clad guesthouse SappoLodge are fully embracing this; owner Wataru Nara is a veteran adventure travel guide with not one but two lengthy tours of Antarctica under his belt. His guests are cordially invited to join outdoor activities year-round – Hokkaido offers so much more than skiing – and his team leads hikes, mountain biking and sea-kayaking in spring, summer and autumn. The proximity of mountains and nature to Sapporo led him to build this mountain lodge in the heart of the city eight years ago, but what he’s really building is community. “Guests from across the world come back year [after] year,” he beams, showing me photos of the weekend’s trek. Here is a man who loves his work.
And while adventure travel business is booming in Sapporo (the Adventure Travel World Summit is even rolling into town for its first Asia-based edition of its annual conference in September 2023), Wataru and his crew are giving back to the island.
“I’m born in Hokkaido, live in Hokkaido and work in Hokkaido,” he enthuses, “and I want to see smaller towns on the island prosper too.” He’s quite serious; the SappoLodge bar stocks Shakotan Blue Gin, a delectable local range that’s distilled in the depopulated neighbouring coastal town of Shakotan – which in Ainu language means summer town. SappoLodge runs sea kayaking excursions there – “the water is crystal blue” – and Wataru’s friends started a gin distillery, with shared hopes of regenerating the town.
“There’s a lot of good people in Sapporo,” Noriko told me when I first arrived. “We love nature and we respect it, we’re looking after the island for future generations.” As I board the train back to Tokyo and watch the mountains whizz by, I absolutely believe her.
Travel essentials
Getting there
British Airways and ANA fly direct from London to Tokyo; from there it’s a bullet train ride to Sapporo with a change at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto.
Staying there
Doubles at Royal Park Canvas Sapporo Odori Park from £57.
Doubles at SappoLodge from £29.
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