The original clock
Chiming since 1881.
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An American-style wooden building in central Sapporo and the city's best-known symbol. It was built in 1878 as the drill and ceremony hall of Sapporo Agricultural College, now Hokkaido University, and is all that remains of it: the oldest building standing in the city and the oldest clock tower in Japan. The clock, made by E. Howard & Co. of Boston, was installed in July 1881 and still keeps time and chimes every hour. Sapporo was laid out in the 1870s with American government assistance, which is why the building looks as if it came from rural North America. It became an Important Cultural Property in 1970 and was certified as Mechanical Engineering Heritage of Japan in 2009. Inside is a small museum on the college and the founding of Sapporo, and upstairs the large wooden hall where ceremonies were held. Tickets have been 350 yen for adults since 2025 and free for schoolchildren, and it opens 8:45-17:10, per visitor guides. It is about a 10-minute walk from Sapporo Station and looks small among the modern towers around it.
Chiming since 1881.
Upstairs.
In central Sapporo.
Kita 1 Nishi 2, Chūō ward, Sapporo
About half an hour for the small museum and the old wooden hall; tickets are 350 yen, per visitor guides.
