is a commercial building complex neighboring to the Sapporo JR Tower

Sapporo JR Tower

Sapporo JR Tower is a skyscraper, shopping mall and office complex in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The Tower is located above JR Sapporo Station South entrance, and the height of the tower is 173 m with 38 stories...

, located in Chūō-ku, Sapporo

Chūō-ku, Sapporo

is one of the ten wards in Sapporo city, Japan. Chūō-ku means "central ward" in Japanese. As its name suggests, city administration and entertainment facilities are centred in this ward.- History :...

, Hokkaidō

Hokkaido

, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

.

Overview

The name "Esta" is derived from the word "Estación", which means "station" and "season" in Spanish

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

. The building was opened as a supermarket, Sapporo Sogo

Sogo

Sogo Co., Ltd. is a department store chain that operates an extensive network of branches in Japan. It once owned stores in locations as diverse as Beijing in China, Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, Taipei in Taiwan, Jakarta, Medan, Bandung & Surabaya in Indonesia, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, Singapore,...

, in 1978. Sogo closed in 2000, and the building was unused except for the first and 10th floors.

Bic Camera, a Japanese chain of stores selling consumer electronics

Consumer electronics

Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...

, opened a Sapporo branch store from the first to 6th floor in 2001, and some other companies such as Uniqlo

UNIQLO

is a Japanese casual wear designer, manufacturer and retailer.The company was originally a division of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd.. On November 1, 2005, it was restructured as a separate wholly owned subsidiary called Uniqlo Co., Ltd. , which is listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock...

 also opened branches in the building. In 2004, the , a food amusement park based on the theme of rāmen

Ramen

is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of Chinese-style wheat noodles served in a meat- or fish-based broth, often flavored with soy sauce or miso, and uses toppings such as , , kamaboko, green onions, and occasionally corn...

, opened on the 10th floor of the building.

Sapporo Esta is connected to Sapporo Station

Sapporo Station

is a train station located in Kita-ku and Chūō-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It is served by Hakodate Main Line and other lines of Hokkaido Railway Company , and is also connected to the Sapporo Subway. The JR Hokkaido part is in Kita-ku while the Sapporo Subway part is in Chūō-ku.Sapporo Station...

 and Sapporo subway train station by an underground passage, and is adjacent to the Sapporo JR Tower

Sapporo JR Tower

Sapporo JR Tower is a skyscraper, shopping mall and office complex in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. The Tower is located above JR Sapporo Station South entrance, and the height of the tower is 173 m with 38 stories...

, a bus terminal station for a number of routes, and the JR Tower hotel.