New symbol zone, “sitatte sapporo” is a new shopping facility near Sapporo station. It is connected with Chikaho, underground walkway. This facility has several restaurants, cafes, and shops. It opened on 4th march. By the way, the name of this facility is written with small letters, somehow. I visited this facility few days after the grand open. Actually, this facility is not so large. Its interior is made of wood and visitors can sit down at the wooden stairway at the centr

Refre Sapporo is a complex facility which includes Sapporo International House. This building is 5-story and has some offices about the city of Sapporo. Sapporo International House has a gymnasium, summing pool, large hall and running course. These rooms are mainly used for interacting between foreigners and citizens. The foreigners are mainly peoples concerned with JICA which has an office next to this facility. I visited this facility a few days ago. It was so large and com

Sapporo ii-one stadium is an all-weather indoor sports facility. It was established by local companies in 2011. Basically, it is used for futsal, but it also can be used for other purposes including practices of Yosakoi dance. There used to be a local TV program which broadcasted futsal games played in this facility. I didn’t watch it because it was broadcasted at midnight. The viewers must be futsal freaks. This facility is located near a subway station and by “Shiroishi Ko

If you come to Sapporo from a warm country, winter sports may be a good experience. One of them is skating. I went to Tsukisamu Gymnasium to skate a few weeks ago. Tsukisamu Gymnasium was built in 1971 at the old bicycle racetrack site and used for ice hockey games of Sapporo Olympics. Rugby, the Japanese art of archery, and tennis games are held at the athletic field next to the gymnasium. Hokkaido bank curling stadium is also next to this gymnasium. Although it was built mo

Sapporo Marui Mitsukoshi is a company which has department stores in Sapporo. One of its department stores is Marui-Imai and it was known “Marui-san”. Although Marui-Imai has been loved by local people, it has bankrupted 3 times. In 2009, Marui-Imai was acquired by Mitsukoshi-Isetan holdings, a major department store group. Marui-Imai had been a major department store in Hokkaido since the pioneer days. Although it started as a small shop, it had developed due to its diligent

If you start studying in Japan, you may open your bank account firstly. In Sapporo, you can also do shopping at a bank. BISSE is a shopping mall located right by Odori Park. This shopping mall is in a building which was built as a headquarters of a local bank. There are about 30 shops and restaurants in this mall. The basement floor of this mall is connected with Chikaho, an underground walkway between Sapporo station and Odori station. Although there are many fashionable sho

It may be a good idea for international students to enjoy listening to music of concerts from time to time during studying in Japan because it is not necessary to understand the Japanese language perfectly for listening music. Kitara is a concert hall located in Nakajima Park. This hall is a home of Sapporo Symphony Orchestra. Mainly classic concerts are held in this place. Many concerts have been held at this hall. Soon after Kitara was established, I visited there to see ka

It is important for not only domestic students but also international students to secure places to study by oneself. Chieria can be one of them. Chieria is a complex public facility and it is also called Sapporo Lifelong Learning Research and Development Center. This large facility is located near Miyanosawa station of subway Tozai line. It is possible to go into the facility from its ticket gates through buildings directly. Chieria has four facilities, "Lifelong Learning Cen

There are some city libraries in Sapporo. Sapporo Chuo Library may be the biggest one of all. This library is located near Mt. Moiwa. It operates from 9:15 to 20:00 on weekdays and from 9:15 to 17:00 on weekends and national holidays. Up to 10 books can be borrowed for 14 days with the library card at one time. There is no fee to borrow books. Not only reading, some students are studying in this library. In addition, Magazines and newspapers can be read and some of them are i

BIC CAMERA is a mass retailer of home electronics. This retailer sells not only cameras but also home electronics, personal computer, toys, games, sports goods, travel goods, medicine and so on. For now, it has 35 stores all over this country. In Sapporo, its store is in Sapporo ESTA which is located next to the bus terminal of Sapporo Station. As it has good access to transportation, I often go to this store. Last time, I went there to buy a whiskey. It sounds strange that h