InterContinental Sapporo kicks off Hokkaido capital’s MICE push

Sapporo –

When I arrive in Sapporo one mid-November evening, I’m greeted by the telltale smell of fallen nuts from the city’s ginkgo trees. Then in the full glory of kōyō (autumn foliage), these golden-leafed sentinels blanket the Hokkaido capital in an effluviant odor so unmistakable that it manages to waft through the subway tunnels I speed through on the way to the city’s southerly Nakajima Park.

Here stands the newest addition to the city’s skyline: the InterContinental Sapporo. Open from Oct. 1 and operated by Britain-based IHG Hotels & Resorts, the property represents the first luxury international brand to set up shop in the Hokkaido capital — and in several years’ time, the first to massively expand the Nakajima Park area’s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) tourism capabilities.

Just across the street from the InterContinental Sapporo sit several domestic hotels, including the 61-year-old Sapporo Park Hotel, which is scheduled to close for good in February 2027 ahead of a complete teardown. In its place, the city plans on building a new 26,000-square-meter convention center with an estimated completion date of 2033.