The island was originally known as Ezo and was inhabited by just its own indigenous people, the Ainu, before the Japanese from the south started to move up there in the 19th century.
Since then, Sapporo has grown from a small agricultural outpost to a pivotal city in northern Japan and the fifth largest in the country.
With its lush mountains and cool climate, it typifies the life outdoors and has also proved to be the perfect venue for major sporting events such as the Winter Olympics in 1972.
Unsurprisingly, snow sports are pretty big in Sapporo and across Hokkaido, where a fair proportion of Japan's winter athletes are produced.