MANILA, Philippines — The multitudes who saw Kita Kita, still the highest-grossing indie film so far, remember Sapporo as the word emblazoned on the beer can a lovelorn Tonyo (Empoy Marquez’s character) sought solace from. This is the Sapporo City of Kita Kita fans’ dreams. The miracle of Kita Kita has rubbed off on Sapporo as well. Thanks to the tourist surge due to Kita Kita, Philippine Airlines launched a direct flight from Manila to Hokkaido (Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido Island). A grateful Sapporo city government launched the “Sapporo Kita Kita, Sapporo City Promotion.” The campaign toasts everything Sapporo — its popular Snow Festival featuring enormous ice sculptures, the flower viewing season where one can gaze at the Sakura, the Maruyama Zoo, where polar bears swim in an underwater tunnel.

Source: Philippine Star December 20, 2018 15:56 UTC