A few months ago, I moved to Sapporo for my new job and I generally enjoy this place. I’d like to share some thoughts and experiences about living here, and all questions are welcome.
First, no bugs. I mean, there certainly ARE bugs, but not the annoying roaches, mosquitoes, etc. I have a fear of them, so thank God.
Generally speaking, the rent is dirt-cheap. With the money I'd spend on a nice one-room in Tokyo, I now get to live in a tower-mansion. I usually sleep until 8:30 and then walk to work.
The weather is… just different from Tokyo. Nature here is great, air is fresh, but it’s almost June and I still need to wear coats every day. i feel like that instead of 4 seasons, weather here is more like winter but in 4 flavors. I highly recommend it if you couldn’t stand the steaming summer.
One thing about living in Hokkaido is here’s basically a car society; the subway is reliable but only reaches limited areas. You’d need a car for groceries and almost everything else. Also people here seem to be quite surprised (in a friendly way) when seeing a gaijin working here.
by TrinityBulwark37
24 comments
Have any favorite spots yet?
Another Sapporo resident here, I love this place. it’s so better than mainland for me. spent two years in Kyoto and hated it another two years in niigata and it was meh.then moved to Sapporo and loved it ever since.
probably gonna spend the rest of my life here in Sapporo,no regrets.
I was the music director of Sapporo City Jazz for about 10 or 12 years, and I lived in Chitose for a few years. Sapporo is really great!
> One thing about living in Hokkaido is here’s basically a car society
That is the only thing that really stopped me from moving to Hokkaido. I just don’t want to deal with a car if I don’t have to.
If there was more work there I would 100% choose Sapporo over Tokyo. Also friends mostly live in Tokyo. Moved down to Tokyo but miss it a lot.
Some people say summer here only lasts 2 weeks. But definitely prepare for the heat and humidity. It’s still coming and last year was just as bad as Tokyo days, only there are more apartments here without ACs installed. Kids were dying last year.
Other than that, I agree 💯
This year’s summer is particularly slow to start. It should be t-shirt weather by now. The last two winters were weird too, late/less snow.
I’ve been here ten years without a car. If you’re in Sapporo, it’s quite liveable. If I were away from the subway lines, it would be tougher. We rent a car a few times a year to visit scenic spots
>First, no bugs.
LoL. Make sure you never drive outside of the city then. Swarms of fucking dragon flies, grass hoppers, mosquitoes, and every other bug in the country side. Like literal clouds of them at feeding time (sun set).
Agree Hokkaido is nice, and very different from the rest of Japan. But I bet you’ll run into some mosquitoes and roaches before too long. They are everywhere and it’s not summer yet.
My son lives in Sapporo and I just love to fly up there from Yokohama and visit. I used to ski there in the winter but I love the summer much better now. Fishing for yamame, camping in Furano, eating sushi in Otaru, watching the salmon run up the river in Shakotan. The oysters in Akkeshi are world-class. The list goes on and on.
I lived near Asahikawa for many years, and hope to retire up there some day. Love Hokkaido.
How is it rn in Hokkaido? Tokyo is starting to feel pretty warm lately, even earlier than last year
I visited hokkaido in February this year. Immediately fell in love with the place. I would love to live there. To top it off, I absolutely hate warm weather. Can’t think of any better place to spend the rest of my life in.
People realizing that Tokyo is actually not that great in comparison with other prefectures is always fun
I wanna live in Sapporo so bad. Loved it up there when I vacationed. Idk what kind of jobs are available. Probably worth moving there lol
I love Hokkaido. 15 degrees on my summer morning runs? Yes please. However it was miserable for me the week of New years since I have a hard time with the cold and snow.
I lived in Akanoonsen, inside Akan National Park in Koshiro for 9 months before moving to Tokyo. Hokkaido has two seasons, cold and very cold.
The rooms were cheap but the gas expenses during winter went through the roof. It was super hard to commute plus living in remote region it got lonely and isolated sometimes.
Sometimes I really hated how cold it would get all the time, even in Summer.
The winter experience was crazy with so much snow and the lake that froze right in front of our eyes.
It was great nine months of my life but I wouldn’t do it again.
I loved Sapporo when I visited in January, and the areas I got out too as well. Extremely nice vibe, especially from the people.
My biggest issue with the city is that it’s an American-style pure grid. Walking across town took F O R E V E R because every block I had to wait the standard 6 years that Japanese traffic lights tend to take to switch to green.
So jealous. Wait for the Oktoberfest and watch golden kamuy asap😄
We gave up living in Sapporo and moved to Fukuoka. I and my wife both couldn’t stand the harsh weather, we missed good quality restaurants and we realized we prefer the sea over rivers and mountains.
Sapporo city is designed to use cars to get around as you mentioned. One of the advantages of living in Sapporo is close to nature but the car is required to access nature. Also, need a car to get good quality locally produced veggies and to go to Costco. We lived near Susukino so there were more than 20 shared cars but needed to book far beforehand in summer which was inconvenient.
Hope enjoy life in Sapporo.
LOL there will be bugs bro, they’re just not out yet. Especially kamemushi. It will get hot too, very very hot, and you may not have AC to cool down from it. Rent is definitely cheaper but utilities are more expensive (around 60 percent for electricity)
And I’d say Sapporo has 8 seasons, of which most are “false spring” or “false summer”
I think you missed the price of food though. Tokyo definitely has better highs but the average food here is cheaper and better than down there for sure. Now if only there were actual jobs with actual wages up here….
We’re having a lousy spring this year; it’s usually much warmer and calmer. Otherwise, enjoy!
Sapporo is by far the most metropolitan but not chaotic place I’ve ever lived in. I miss it
Any advice for an incoming language student to Sapporo? I live in California and I am stressing on what type of clothing I will need for my 18 months there.
You don’t need a car if you have a bicycle–other than December to early March. Even then, things are walkable or accessible by public transport.