Sapporo – Beer, Ramen and Snow
Sapporo is the capital of Japan’s northern Hokkaido province and the 5th most populous city in the country. It’s known for the beer that shares the same name, being the birthplace of miso ramen, its European-style architecture, and for the large amount of snow it receives every winter. For this reason, Sapporo is best visited in the middle of winter when you can experience the city blanketed in a thick layer of snow. When I visited in February, the snow was piled two or three metres high by the roadside, with piles of snow even exceeding this. Walking the streets felt like walking through the trenches of the ice planet Hoth. Sapporo, along with the nearby city Otaru, also had some of the best sushi I’ve ever eaten, and Sapporo’s milk products are famous throughout east Asia, making the city a great destination for food lovers!
Things to do in Sapporo
- Sapporo TV Tower
- Sapporo Clock Tower
- The Red Brick Building: Former Hokkaido Government Office
- JR Tower Observatory T38
- Sapporo Beer Museum
- Hokkaido Jingu
- Nikka Whisky Sign
- Tanukikoji Shopping Street
- Pokemon Centre
- Ramen Alley
- Shikotsu-Toya National Park Day Trip
- Otaru
Sapporo TV Tower
Near the centre of Sapporo you can find the iconic TV Tower. This tower is over 147m tall and has an observation deck around the 90-metre mark. A ticket is required to access the observation deck, but access to the 3rd floor is free and still offers pretty good views over the surrounding parts of Sapporo.
If heights aren’t your thing then you can still enjoy Sapporo TV Tower as you stroll through Odori Park or take the nearby streets, with the tower’s large digital clocks always reminding you of the time.
Sapporo Clock Tower
The Sapporo Clock Tower is a Western-style building and the oldest clock tower in Japan. Inside is a museum about the clock and the Sapporo Agricultural College, which later became Hokkaido University. Information is also included about Dr William S. Clark, who taught in Sapporo for eight months. You’ll hear his famous words, “Boys, be ambitious” while visiting the Clock Tower.
When I visited, there were old volunteers offering free tours of the museum. Unlike the boring tours you often see where you follow someone with a flag, these gentlemen offered short and interesting tales about the history of the Clock Tower, the Agricultural College, or the city itself, making it a worthwhile stop for anyone interested in history.
The Red Brick Building: Former Hokkaido Government Office
The Hokkaido Government Office was built in 1888 to serve as the main building for the prefectural government, and now serves as a sort of museum about Hokkaido’s history, culture and tourism. Inside you’ll find information about the building and Hokkaido prefecture, including the prefecture’s wildlife and all the products produced there. Some of these products can also be found in the gift shop.
JR Tower Observatory T38
The Sapporo JR Tower is 173m tall and was the tallest building in Sapporo until 2023 when it was overtaken by ONE Sapporo Station Tower. The observation deck can be accessed from the mall located above Sapporo Station and provides a great view from 160m up. You can get a 360 degree view of Sapporo, from the station below all the way to the mountains and sea in the distance.
For the men there is also a urinal with quite the view…
Sapporo Beer Museum
The Sapporo Beer Museum is the only beer museum in Japan and is inside the red-brick building that originally served as a factory. The museum is quite small and doesn’t detail much in English, but it is free to enter. Inside you can learn the history of Sapporo beer and see lots of old bottle and advertisement designs.
After walking through the museum you’ll come to the bar where you can try the different types of Sapporo beer. I also recommend trying the Ribbon Napolin soft drink which, for any Scottish people reading this, is very similar in taste to Irn Bru and even has the same orange colour.
Hokkaido Jingu
Hokkaido Jingu, or Hokkaido Shrine, is a Shinto shrine in Maruyama Park. After walking through the park you’ll reach a large torii gate.
Beyond this there are some smaller shrines before reaching the main hall of Hokkaido Jingu.
Unfortunately the main hall was closed when I visited, so I could only peer through the gate for a glimpse of the building. Hopefully you’ll have more luck if you decide to visit.
Nikka Whisky Sign
At the Susukino intersection you’ll see the massive neon Nikka Whisky Sign. The sign was installed in 1969 and has become almost a symbol for the city of Sapporo, with people crowding on the pavement opposite trying to get a photo. Of course you can also find bottles of Nikka Whisky for sale across Sapporo.
Tanukikoji Shopping Street
Tanukikoji is a roughly 1km long covered shopping street that runs east to west across the centre of Sapporo. Here you can find a variety of shops including Don Quijote and souvenir shops, as well as restaurants and larger malls nearby. It’s quite lively at night and a good place to do some shopping while in Sapporo.
Pokemon Centre
The Sapporo Pokemon Centre is tucked away in a corner of the Daimaru Sapporo shopping mall next to Sapporo Station. If you’re a fan of Pokemon it is perhaps worth visiting, but of all the Pokemon Centres I’ve visited in Japan this was definitely the smallest and least impressive. For that reason it lacks the long queues of the other Pokemon Centres which is a plus.
Ramen Alley
Not far from Susukino and the Nikka Whisky Sign is Sapporo’s Ramen Alley. This narrow alley features more than a dozen ramen restaurants with crowds regularly spilling out onto the streets. This is a great spot to visit to try some miso ramen that originated in Sapporo. If miso isn’t for you then there are lots of other broths and flavours to choose from.
Shikotsu-Toya National Park Day Trip
Shikotsu-Toya National Park is to the west of Sapporo and is named after Lake Shikotsu and Lake Toya. As well as covering the lakes and surrounding volcanic areas, the national park also includes Mount Yotei. It’s possible to rent a car and visit these areas yourself, but if you’re travelling in winter that means navigating the icy mountain passes, hence why it’s maybe better to book a day trip.
The trip I went on included stopping in the mountain pass where the snow was piled higher than the bus to see Mount Yotei. Unfortunately it was hidden behind clouds that day. We also went to the Lake Toya viewpoint and then down to the lakeside, visited the Showa-Shinzan Bear Ranch, went to the Noboribetsu Jigokudani Hell Valley, and finally stopped off to see the Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival. It’s a good way to see more of Hokkaido from your base in Sapporo.
Lake Toya
Lake Toya is a volcanic caldera lake surrounded by mountains, with Nakajima Island at its centre. The Toya National Park Silo Observation Deck is a great place to stop for an amazing view out across the lake.
There’s also a little gift shop here where you can pick up some Hokkaido dairy products.
Down by the lakeside is the little onsen town called Toyako. From here you can walk around the lake or take a ferry to the island in the middle. It’s also a good place to get some lunch!
Showa-Shinzan Bear Ranch
The next stop on this day trip was to the Showa-Shinzan Bear Ranch. Honestly I would have rather skipped this stop as seeing the Hokkaido brown bears in their cramped concrete enclosures while tourists threw biscuits at them felt quite cruel.
If you’re travelling by yourself or don’t want to see the bears, then the area nearby also has some shops and a cable car up Mount Showa-Shinzan.
Noboribetsu Jigokudani Hell Valley
In the onsen town of Noboribetsu lies Jigokudani, known as Hell Valley. You can walk the boardwalks around the hot spring, where boiling hot water bubbles to the surface around the bleached-white rocks, and the stench of sulphur from the volcanic activity fills the air. It’s a strange contrast seeing it covered with a blanket of snow.
If you walk just a short distance down the road from the observation area you can find two oni statues, one red and one blue. Oni are a type of demon in Japanese folklore.
Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival
If I were to recommend an ice festival where you could freeze your balls off, I’d have to recommend Harbin’s International Ice and Snow festival, the largest in the world. If a trip to China isn’t possible, then the Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival makes for an okay substitute.
There aren’t any ice sculptures, more just large columns of ice with some indoor displays where the ice is lit up.
The large ice wall is quite impressive, and you can purchase marshmallows to roast over the open fire.
Otaru
Otaru is a small city on the northern coast of Hokkaido which can be reached by train in under an hour from Sapporo, making it perfect for a day trip out of the larger city. Otaru is famous for its canal, its glass art, and its musical boxes. It also has incredible sushi!
Otaru Canal
A small stretch of the Otaru Canal was restored in the 1980s, and the old warehouses were transformed into museum, shops, restaurants and cafes. It’s not a large area but walking beside the canal feels like walking through the early 20th century. You can also take a boat ride from here to see more of the canal and port, and learn more about Otaru’s history.
Sakaimachi Street
Close to Otaru Canal is Sakaimachi Street, where old Western-style warehouse and office buildings have been converted into shops, cafes, restaurants and museums.
You can join glass workshops on this street where you can try to make your own glass goods, or there are plenty of souvenir shops where you can buy Otaru glass.
You can visit the Bank of Japan Museum here, and the Museum of Venetian Art. At the southeast end of the street you can visit the Otaru Music Box Museum and shop (they are very expensive!).
Outside of the music box shop there is the Otaru Steam Clock. This is partially powered by a steam engine and chimes with a steam whistle. You’ll see people gathered around it to watch the steam puff out.
The food along this street is also great. I had some of the best sushi I’ve ever had at Otaru Tatsumi Sushi, where I also tried the local Otaru beer. The LeTAO patisserie also started in Otaru and has a large shop and cafe on this street where you can try lots of samples!
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