Qibla · Hokkaido
Qibla direction in Sapporo
To face the Kaaba in Sapporo, turn to 293.4° measured clockwise from true north, which is north-west (23.4° north of west). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 9,283 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Sapporo should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 293.4°, the Qibla of Sapporo. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 293° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Sapporo
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards west and move a further 23.4° towards north: the result is the bearing of 293.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at west would leave you about 23° off.
Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Sapporo, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Sapporo to Mecca points to 255.7° (west), a full 37.6° away from the true Qibla of 293.4° (north-west). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 464 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Sapporo first heads north-west, and that is the direction to face.
How is the figure of 293.4° obtained? From the coordinates of Sapporo (43.0667° N, 141.3500° E) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.
Distance from Sapporo to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 9,283 km from Sapporo as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 9,064 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 11 h 25 min, although most pilgrims from Sapporo connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Sapporo run 6 hours ahead of Mecca all year. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Sapporo rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Sapporo
On 72 days of 2027, the sun passes exactly through the Qibla direction of Sapporo while it is well above the horizon. At that moment, facing the sun means facing Mecca. The effect is most frequent in June (30 days); for example, on 1 June 2027 it happens at 18:16 local time.
On 262 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in March (31 days), for instance on 15 February 2027 at 07:10.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | — |
| 15 January 2027 | — | — |
| 1 February 2027 | — | — |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 07:10 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 07:28 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 07:44 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 08:04 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 08:19 |
| 1 May 2027 | — | 08:37 |
| 15 May 2027 | — | 08:52 |
| 1 June 2027 | 18:16 | 09:07 |
| 15 June 2027 | 18:13 | 09:16 |
| 1 July 2027 | 18:17 | 09:18 |
| 15 July 2027 | 18:26 | 09:14 |
| 1 August 2027 | — | 08:59 |
| 15 August 2027 | — | 08:41 |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 08:15 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 07:51 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 07:23 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 06:59 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | — |
| 15 November 2027 | — | — |
| 1 December 2027 | — | — |
| 15 December 2027 | — | — |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both moments are in daylight in Sapporo: at 18:18 and 18:27 local time, face the sun and you face the Qibla exactly, anywhere in the city.
Sapporo compared with other cities
The Qibla here is practically the same as in Tokyo (293.0°), and Mecca is 192 km closer. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Ebetsu (17 km), prays towards 293.5°, a difference of 0.1°.
Across the 154 cities in Japan on this site, the Qibla ranges from 288.1° in Sasebo to 295.3° in Kushiro, a spread of 7.2°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for Japan.
Qibla in cities near Sapporo
Qibla in Sapporo: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Sapporo?
It is 293.4° from true north, which is north-west: 23.4° north of west.
How far is Sapporo from Mecca?
9,283 km in a straight line over the globe, and 9,064 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Sapporo?
On 72 days of 2027 the sun stands in the Qibla direction; the table on this page gives the exact time for the 1st and 15th of each month.
Why is the Qibla in Sapporo not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 255.7°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Sapporo at 293.4°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 293.4° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.