Guides don't agree on one best time. Month by month below, with the weather, what's on and what it costs to fly there from your city.
Average high and low in Sapporo, and days with rain
JanuaryChecking fares…Coldest of the year; about 28 C separates January and August averages.Sapporo snow festival
FebruaryChecking fares…Busiest month for tourism because of the Sapporo Snow Festival.Peak season, the busiest and most expensive month, so book 3 to 4 months ahead.A forum reply points to February for winter sports, the snow festival and floating ice.
MarchChecking fares…Averages around 1 C with about 5 hours of sunshine a day.Hokkaido is still snow covered in March, per a forum reply.March, April and November are the cheapest months, with short days and 1 to 7 C averages.
AprilChecking fares…Averages around 7 C; snow in the city usually gone by early April.Cherry blossom opens in Sapporo around 21 to 28 April.Cherry blossom timing shifts from year to year.
MayChecking fares…Cherry blossom Golden Week crowds fill hotels in Odori quickly.Named a good month to avoid the crowds.Averages reach about 13 C with around 7 hours of sunshine.
JuneChecking fares…Averages about 18 C; pack a warmer layer for evenings.Best season for Hokkaido sea urchin runs June to August.Yosakoi Soran Festival
JulyChecking fares…Sapporo Summer Festival turns Odori Park into a giant beer garden in July.Furano lavender is best seen July to August.Summer has low humidity and pleasant heat, though it is short.
AugustChecking fares…Hottest month, reaching about 24 C.Odori beer gardens run until mid August; Hokkai Bon Odori marks the end of the festival.Crowds stay moderate all summer, with no quiet week.
SeptemberChecking fares…Called one of the two best overall months, with cool days of 13 to 19 C.Autumn is Sapporo at its most comfortable; September averages around 19 C.
OctoberChecking fares…Autumn colour arrives in mid to late October.Named a good month to avoid the crowds.
NovemberChecking fares…Averages near 5 C; one of the cheapest months.March, April and November are the cheapest months of the year.
DecemberChecking fares…A good winter month with more affordable hotels and flights.Weather: Sapporo averages (1991 to 2020 averages), as listed in its climate table on Wikipedia.
Live fares from your airport. Watch them and we alert you when they drop.
Festivals and seasons through the year
Cancún
The Grand Canyon
Disneyland
Miami
Myrtle Beach
Prague
Bali
Maui
Montreal
Venice
Aruba
New Orleans
Nashville
Disney World
New York
Rome
San Diego
Phuket
Boston
Dubai
Seoul
Florida
Lisbon
Los Angeles
Chicago
Paris
Las Vegas
San Francisco
Edinburgh
Napa
Sydney
Hawaii
Scotland
Punta Cana
Savannah
Washington, DC
Mexico City
Zion National Park
Turks and Caicos
Puerto Vallarta
Honolulu
Banff
Yosemite
Tulum
The Bahamas
Sedona
Seattle
Santorini
Buenos Aires
London
Charleston
Rio de Janeiro
Palm Springs
Yellowstone
Amsterdam
Toronto
Key West
Orlando
Europe
Austin
Machu Picchu
Cabo San Lucas
Niagara Falls
Colorado
Oregon
Arizona
Acadia National Park
Galapagos
Lake Tahoe
Montana
Kauai
Okinawa
US Virgin Islands
Amalfi Coast
Santa Fe
Destin
Curacao
Utah
Joshua Tree
Patagonia
St. Thomas
Florida Keys
Smoky Mountains
Copenhagen
Death Valley
Mallorca
Madeira
Cape Town
Ibiza
Zanzibar
Lake Como
Madrid
New Mexico
Tennessee
Vermont
Wyoming
Bryce Canyon
Oahu
St. Martin
Hilton Head
Dolomites
Cape Cod
San Antonio
Rocky Mountain National Park
Dublin
Catalina Island
Athens
Asheville
Texas
South America
Shenandoah National Park
Phoenix
North Carolina
Medellín
Cairo
Budapest
Arches National Park
St. John
South Carolina
Reykjavik
Mykonos
Milan
Houston
Hanoi
Canary Islands
Big Island of Hawaii
Atlanta
The Caribbean
St. Barts
South Dakota
Rhode Island
New England
Nassau
Lima
Kyoto
Koh Samui
Colorado Springs
Chiang Mai
Stockholm
Porto
Montego Bay
Michigan
Melbourne
Louisiana
Kuala Lumpur
Kruger National Park
Jeju
Florence
Dallas
Zurich
Tampa
St. Kitts
Osaka
Munich
Moorea
Kailua-Kona
Everglades
Door County
Cusco
Calgary
Boracay
Bonaire
Swiss Alps
St. Croix
Seville
San Juan Islands
New Hampshire
Minnesota
Mazatlán
Manila
Kentucky
Isla Mujeres
Guam
French Riviera
Fort Lauderdale
Cinque Terre
Asia
Algarve
Virginia
Tenerife
Nairobi
Mumbai
The Hamptons
Grand Teton National Park
Finger Lakes
Charlotte
Bogotá
Auckland
Maine
Bora Bora
Olympic National Park
Redwood National Park
Sequoia National Park
Big Bend National Park
Mackinac Island
Sint Maarten
Nantucket
Outer Banks
California
Big Sur
Crater Lake
Scottsdale
Nice
Mount Rainier
Cozumel
Badlands National Park
Salt Lake City
Denali
Philadelphia
Tucson
Provence
Guadalajara
Albuquerque
Upper Peninsula
Sonoma
Memphis
Idaho
Da Nang
Cotswolds
Arkansas
St. Louis
Capri
Glacier National Park
Barcelona
Vancouver
Denver
Istanbul
Riviera Maya
Carmel-by-the-Sea
Santiago, Chile
Naples, Italy
Central America
Minneapolis
Sarasota
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Pittsburgh
Helsinki
Pensacola
Johannesburg
Brisbane
Málaga
Phu Quoc
Perth
Dubrovnik
Corpus Christi
Massachusetts
Oklahoma
Torres del Paine
Czech Republic
Ho Chi Minh City
Anchorage
Boise
Louisville
Juneau
Quito
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Canyonlands National Park
Baja California
Blue Ridge Mountains
Fort Myers
Detroit
Kansas City, Missouri
Kathmandu
Reno
Cebu
Brussels
Guangzhou
Chattanooga
Antalya
Daytona Beach
Cairns
Hilo
Alabama
Connecticut
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Capitol Reef National Park