On June 10th, 2009 in his seventh year of living in Sapporo, Richard Hopkins created the bilingual magazine, “Sapporo Source”.
In Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya there are international magazines published by foreigners, but in Sapporo, with its population of 1.9 million, there is no such magazine. Finding a business opportunity in this opening, Hopkins gained himself residency at ICC.
His target market became English speakers, people traveling through Sapporo, and Japanese. “Modern day life in Japan is full of English. I want to publish articles that appeal to Japanese readers interested in International culture,” says Hopkins.
Born in a rural town in England, Hopkins majored in computer systems. As digital media became mainstream, he appeared in London and worked for advertising giant M&C Saatchi. He took on a project that received the prestigious Gold Lion Award at Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival while working there.
He visited Sapporo as a tourist and was taken by the beauty of nature there. He met his future wife Masako and has lived there to this day.
Featured on the first issue of his magazine was an article about the subway IC card “SAPICA”. “Helpful information from the city or public organizations should be available in other languages. I’d like my magazine to become a place for information transmission as well,” says Hopkins.
The magazine is just getting off its feet and he’s looking for sponsors and staff. To contact please email: editor@sapporosource.com
“Sapporo Source” is all color and size A4. Issue 2 is on racks for free at Sapporo tourist information centers, hotels, and bookstores.
Article by Yuko Sato
Translation by David Neptune
