Sapporo Chikagai POLE TOWN

A long, straight corridor runs underground, connecting the Odori and Susukino subway stations. Floor-to-ceiling glass storefronts line both sides of the path, separated by white stone pillars. This is Pole Town, a subterranean artery built to keep people moving when the deep winter snows bury the streets of Sapporo. In nineteen seventy-one, planners dug this tunnel to link the city's growing transit network. Thousands of commuters walk these tiles daily, sheltered from the weather while passing beneath the city's busiest blocks.