With tree-lined boulevards and a western style grid plan, it resembles a European or North American city in the center of Japan. Sapporo is the fourth largest city in the country by population and it's the capital of Hokkaido, the island located to the north of Japan. First achieved worldwide fame for having hosted the 1972 Olympic Winter Games, Sapporo is each February swamped with around 2 million tourists attracted by the Sapporo Snow Festival, known as the Luki Matsuri.