Hokkaido · Sapporo

Sapporo: a crab bowl in the morning, Odori Park, the Beer Museum, and lamb on the grill

Hokkaido's capital is built on a grid like an American city, and revolves around food: a fish market, a long park that is the city's axis, the brewery from 1876, jingisukan (lamb on the grill), miso ramen, and a parfait at midnight because that is how it is done here.

A day in Sapporo, Hokkaido's capital, which is built on a grid like an American city and revolves around food. You start the morning at Nijo Market and Odori Park, go on to the Beer Museum as it opens at 11:00, and ride the subway west to a soup curry lunch in Maruyama and Hokkaido Shrine in the forest. In the afternoon there is a break at the hotel, or Shiroi Koibito Park with children, and in the evening a ropeway up Mount Moiwa, jingisukan, ramen and a parfait in Susukino. Most rides are on the subway: on weekends and holidays the Donichika ticket, ¥520, pays off from the third ride, and on weekdays the one-day pass, ¥830, pays off only with a fourth ride, for example to Shiroi Koibito or back to the hotel. The tram to Mount Moiwa is paid separately, ¥230.

Verified online, October 20269 stops · 08:00 to 21:45¥14,600 · ≈ $93 per personWalking between stops: 113 min · Transport: ¥1,340FoodWinter: the Snow Festival in FebruaryGood with kids

The day on a map

9 stops, in order

Stops: 9
Walking minutes: 33

Stop number on the timelineWalkingTrain, metro or busBase map: © OpenStreetMap

Open this day in Google Maps

The same stops with the same numbers, and the way from stop to stop. On a phone it opens in the app, and that is what you navigate with in Japan. Pin names on the map are in Hebrew.

Getting there: From Chitose Airport: JR, the rapid train 'Airport', to Sapporo Station, 37 minutes, ¥1,230. You start at Nijo Market: about 10 minutes on foot from Odori Station, or about 8 minutes from Bus Center-mae Station on the Tozai Line. From Sapporo Station to Odori: the Namboku Line, one station, ¥210. In the city: a subway with three lines, a tram and buses, and most of the stops are near Odori Station.

08:0009:15
Stop 1MarketRecommended
Nijo Market: kaisen-don with uni and crab
You start in a small market in the city center, with seafood stalls and breakfast restaurants: a rice bowl with uni, ikura and crab costs ¥2,500 to ¥4,000. Tasty, expensive and touristy. The cheaper, local alternative is the Curb Market, the wholesale market at the edge of the city, which starts at 05:00.
¥3,000 · ≈ $19Open in Maps
Up to Odori Park
- Walk · 10 minNorth and west to the east end of the park, at the foot of the TV Tower. About 770 meters.
09:3010:20
Stop 2Park and viewpointRecommended
Odori Park and the TV Tower
A park 100 meters wide and 1.5 km long that cuts across the city: fountains, grilled corn in summer (¥400, the park's food), and in February the ice sculptures of the Snow Festival. The TV Tower at the east end gives a view over the whole park, ¥1,200 since January 2026. The old Clock Tower (1878) is close by, and is known as one of the most disappointing sights in Japan: 3 minutes from outside is enough.
¥1,200 · ≈ $8Open in Maps
Ride to the Beer Museum
- Metro · 25 min · ¥210From Odori Station, under the tower, take the Toho Line north to Higashi-Kuyakusho-mae, 3 stations, 6 minutes, and from Exit 4 it is about 1.1 km on foot to the museum, 10 to 14 minutes.
- or: Walk · 30 minNorth and east through the grid streets to the red building. About 2.4 km.
11:0012:15
Stop 3MuseumRecommended
Sapporo Beer Museum: the red building from 1890
Sapporo Brewery was founded in 1876, and the museum is in a red-brick building with a chimney. Arrive for the opening, at 11:00. Entry is ¥1,000, a guided tour with a tasting ¥2,000, and three beers in the tasting room ¥1,200, including 'Sapporo Classic', which is sold only in Hokkaido. Open 11:00 to 18:00, last entry at 17:30, every day except 31 December, and the guided tour does not run on Mondays. Next door is a huge jingisukan hall, but save the lamb for the evening in Susukino.
¥1,000 · ≈ $6Open in Maps
Ride to lunch in Maruyama
- Metro · 40 min · ¥250About 14 minutes on foot to Higashi-Kuyakusho-mae Station, the Toho Line south to Odori, 3 stations, and a change to the Tozai Line west to Maruyama-koen, 3 stations, 19 minutes with the change. From Exit 5 it is about 5 minutes on foot.
12:5513:55
Stop 4LunchMust
Lunch break in Maruyama
Soup curry was invented in Sapporo: a spiced broth with whole vegetables and chicken on the bone, and you choose the spice level and the amount of rice. Maruyama is a neighborhood of cafes and small restaurants between the station and the shrine forest, and all the options are a few minutes' walk apart:
- Matale, the Maruyama branch
  Sri Lankan-style soup curry with a Japanese stock. At Minami 1 Nishi 23, about 5 minutes from Exit 5 of Maruyama-koen Station. Lunch on weekdays 11:30 to 15:00, last order 14:30, and on weekends and holidays until 16:00, last order 15:30. Irregular closing days.
- Maruyama Kyoju¥1,180 to ¥1,600
  Thick Japanese curry, not soup, at Minami 4 Nishi 21, about 7 minutes south. 11:00 to 22:00, last order 21:00, irregular closing days, and closed from 31 December to 2 January. Curry with shrimp oil ¥1,600, egg and cheese curry ¥1,180.
- Morihico, the main shop
  If you are still full from the morning's kaisen-don: a cafe in a wooden house at Minami 2 Nishi 26, on the way to the shrine, with house-roasted coffee and cakes. 9:00 to 19:00, last order 18:30.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥1,500 · ≈ $10Open in Maps
Walk to Hokkaido Shrine
- Walk · 20 minWest to Maruyama-koen Station, and from there through Maruyama Park to the shrine. About 1.5 km.
14:1515:05
Stop 5Shrine and parkRecommended
Hokkaido Shrine and Maruyama Park: the forest in the city
The island's main shrine (1869), in the forest of Maruyama Park. Entry is free, and there are squirrels among the trees. The gates close at 17:00 from April to October and at 16:00 from November to February. In spring there are 1,400 cherry trees and picnics, but fire is banned in the park, so no grill. In winter the path is snowy and beautiful.
FreeOpen in Maps
15:0517:00
Break
A rest at the hotel, if you are staying near Odori, Sapporo Station or in Susukino
The day starts at 08:00 and ends at around 21:45, and after the shrine there is a gap until the ropeway up Mount Moiwa. If you are staying in the center, go back now: about 15 minutes on foot to Maruyama-koen Station, and the Tozai Line east to Odori, 3 stations, 5 minutes, ¥210. For Sapporo Station or Susukino, continue from Odori on the Namboku Line, one station. At around 17:00 leave for Mount Moiwa: from Sapporo Station the Namboku Line to Odori, and the tram from Nishi-4-chome to Ropeway-iriguchi, 33 minutes, ¥360 at the transfer fare; from Susukino the tram from Susukino stop to Ropeway-iriguchi, 25 minutes, ¥230. Either way the ride to the hotel is about half an hour, which leaves about an hour at the hotel. If you are staying farther away, or traveling with children, go on to Shiroi Koibito Park, the next stop.
Ride to Shiroi Koibito
- Metro · 37 min · ¥250Walk back to Maruyama-koen Station, about 15 minutes, take the Tozai Line west to Miyanosawa, 5 stations, 10 minutes, and from there it is about 9 minutes on foot to the park.
15:4516:45
Stop 6BreakIf there is time
Shiroi Koibito Park: the cookie factory with the courtyard
The factory of the 'White Lover' cookie (white chocolate between two cookies, the Hokkaido souvenir), in a building that looks like a European castle: a factory tour, a cookie workshop for children (¥1,500) and ice cream. Entry is ¥800. The park is open 10:00 to 18:00, but the paid area admits visitors only until 16:30, so do not linger at the shrine. With children this is a must stop, and without children you can skip it and rest at the hotel.
¥800 · ≈ $5Open in Maps
Ride to Mount Moiwa
- Metro · 55 min · ¥400About 9 minutes on foot to Miyanosawa Station, the Tozai Line east to Nishi-18-chome, 6 stations, 12 minutes, about 6 minutes on foot to the Nishi-15-chome tram stop, and the tram south to Ropeway-iriguchi, 13 minutes. From there a free shuttle bus to the lower ropeway station, 2 minutes, every 15 minutes (on weekdays from 17:17), or about 10 minutes on foot uphill. ¥400 at the subway-to-tram transfer fare.
17:4018:30
Stop 7ViewpointMust
Mount Moiwa Ropeway: the best night view in the north
A ropeway and a mini cable car to the summit, 531 meters, with a view over all of Sapporo and the plain, one of Japan's three great night views. ¥2,100 round trip. Arrive for sunset and stay for dark. In winter it is minus 10 at the top, so bring gloves.
¥2,100 · ≈ $13Open in Maps
Down to Susukino
- Train · 40 min · ¥230A free shuttle from the lower ropeway station to Ropeway-iriguchi, 2 minutes, or about 10 minutes on foot downhill. From there the tram to Susukino, 28 to 30 minutes in either direction of the line, plus about 3 minutes on foot to Daruma.
19:1020:30
Stop 8DinnerMust
Dinner in Susukino
Jingisukan is Sapporo's dish: fresh lamb, not the supermarket kind, grilled on a helmet-shaped grill with onion, dipped in sauce and eaten at the counter. Your clothes will smell of lamb until tomorrow, and that is part of it. All the options are within a few minutes' walk:
- Daruma, the main branchAbout ¥3,000
  The original, from 1954, at Minami 5 Nishi 4. Only 14 counter seats, no reservations, and a line of 30 to 60 minutes. 17:00 to 05:00, closed from 31 December to 2 January.
- Daruma 6.4
  A Daruma branch at Minami 6 Nishi 4, one block south of the original, with 26 seats, so the line is shorter. The same menu, no reservations, 17:00 to 05:00.
- Shirokuma, the Sapporo branch
  A different jingisukan, in the Joyful Shoko-koji alley at Minami 6 Nishi 3, a minute from Hosui-Susukino Station. Opens at 18:00, last order at 01:00 Monday to Wednesday and at 01:30 Thursday to Saturday, irregular closing days.
- Kosher or vegan? Every kosher and vegan place in this city
¥3,000 · ≈ $19No reservations, just a line.Open in Maps
On to the ramen alley
- Walk · 3 minOne block east, to Minami 5 Nishi 3. About 250 meters.
20:4521:45
Stop 9NightRecommended
Ramen Yokocho, then Parfaiteria PaL: the 'shime parfait' at midnight
You finish in Susukino's ramen alley: 17 stalls of miso ramen, Sapporo's original, about ¥1,000. Then the local custom, shime parfait: an elaborate parfait that closes the night instead of ramen. Parfaiteria PaL or miL are open until 24:00 and later, and there is a line. Susukino is the entertainment district, safe and well lit. From there you head back to the hotel: from Susukino Station on the Namboku Line to Sapporo Station, 2 stations, 4 minutes, ¥210, or on foot if you are staying in Susukino.
¥2,000 · ≈ $13Open in Maps

Sapporo: a crab bowl in the morning, Odori Park, the Beer Museum, and lamb on the grill

9 stops, in order

Nijo Market: kaisen-don with uni and crab

Odori Park and the TV Tower

Sapporo Beer Museum: the red building from 1890

Lunch break in Maruyama

Hokkaido Shrine and Maruyama Park: the forest in the city

A rest at the hotel, if you are staying near Odori, Sapporo Station or in Susukino

Shiroi Koibito Park: the cookie factory with the courtyard

Mount Moiwa Ropeway: the best night view in the north

Dinner in Susukino

Ramen Yokocho, then Parfaiteria PaL: the 'shime parfait' at midnight

Sapporo Teine: a ski day on the 1972 Olympic runs, without leaving your hotel in Sapporo

Otaru: the canal, the glass street, the music boxes, sushi and the cheesecake

Hakodate: live squid at the morning market, the church slopes, the star-shaped fort and the night view

Niseko: a ski day in Hirafu powder, apres-ski in a fridge, and an onsen in the snow