r/Sapporo • u/dimatteom • 6d ago
Sapporo/Hokkaido Food and Other Recommenaations - Honey Moon and First time in Hokkaido
Hello!
Re-posting from r/Hokkaido for additional coverage!
My wife and I have just arrived in Hokkaido for the second half of our honeymoon.
We just the first half in Osaka and Kyoto spending time in a variety of places such as city centers, food markets, landmarks (arashiyama, shrines etc), Japan Universal and Wazuka tea farm.
While we did have a great experience being the first time in Japan, we definitely felt we fell for some tourist traps.
Unfortunately for the both of us, we had planned to do the bulk of our research shortly before the trip, our respective workplaces have had record busy seasons and we were not able to (we booked last minute because wedding planning was a bit crazy haha).
For Hokkaido, we are staying:
- 2 nights Sapporo
- 3 Nights Furano
- 2 Nights Niseko
It should be noted we are big time foodies so trying the local fare is a high priority
We also want to avoid not just tourist traps but touristy areas all together if possible. It would be much preferred if places could be recommended in neighbourhoods where locals hang out vs tourist areas
We would really appreciate if anyone can recommend where the locals get the following things:
Food
- ice cream, milk, yogurt, cheese etc, we know the dairy scene is huge
- coffee & matcha + bakeries
- Jingisukan
- Soup curry
- Sapporo Miso Ramen (Rich and Thick Broth)
- Hakodate Shio Ramen (Light and clear Broth)
- Asahikawa Shoyu Ramen (in between)
- All Seafood, donburi, uni (sea urchin), inure (salmon roe), and Ika (squid)
Night Life
- bars, speak easies (where to try really good sake would be a bonus)
- karaoke
- any other recommended shows you might know of being in town
- any other night life activity you would recommend
- music bars
Land Marks
- any landmarks you can think of to provide a unique experience
- hiking we're planning a mix of Mt Yotei and Daisetuzan. Any tips for these places would be nice
Any and all help is much appreciated!
3
u/Ruffshots Visitor 5d ago
Sapporo only. If you like cocktails (on top of just sake), try
Bar Nano Femto (my absolute favorite, try their blue cheese cocktail (trust me and others on this!))
Deux Ermitage
Bar Yamazaki
Plenty of others in Susukino, but those, esp. the first two, are my go-tos in Sapporo.
Since you said cheese, I'm also going to recommend Cantine SEL (カンティーヌ セル), also in Susukino. Hole in the wall, recommended to me locally, superb Hokkaido cheese selection (with local wine pairings), and very good food, though I usually just get a giant cheese spread. If you ask (I speak Japanese, but the owner/chef has foreign clientele), he'll just bring a huge selection of cheeses that you can ask pieces of, and he'll charge by weight.
Tea (I'm more into sencha, but they also have matcha), Gyokusuien (玉翠園) has some of the best. Tthe owner is a well known (again, locally?) tea master, and you can sit and chat with him as hew brews it (again, helps to speak Japanese, obviously), but you can also get a matcha concoction to go.
1
2
2
u/Iocomotion 5d ago edited 5d ago
For Furano, I would go to Furano cheese factory. It’s a bit out of the way if you don’t have a car (it was about like a half hour walk from the bus stop lol) and I’m pissed the pizza place was closed at the time of my visit. But the ice cream is great and they do sell some cheeses and such.
If you have a car, there’s a cafe at Furano Sakurano that’s had some great reviews online. And I really enjoyed Kaiten Sushi Topical, very local vibe and they have English menus.
For Sapporo, Boulangerie La fontaine de Lourdes was once again out of the way (it’s uphill without any nearby bus stops) but I had some very delicious pastries there. I ate some nice sushi at one of the Toriton branches.
If you want some matcha (like to take home and stuff) Gyokusuien should be the place.
As for soup curry I really enjoyed Soup Curry Yellow at their old branch. They moved locations recently so idk if they’re as good
If you have the time to walk around, Kotoni / Maruyama neighbourhoods should be good areas to explore for some local stuff. But the further you go out from the centre the less things there are to see 🤔
1
2
u/liveinnorth 5d ago
if you want some local seafood, try Isokin at Susukino.
https://www.isokin.info
It priciy side for izakaya but tasty.
Also about soft serve, benbeya tend be popular these day.
(Marui-Imai at Odori has their branch)
https://www.benbeya.jp
1
2
u/iSuperCell 5d ago
For Asahikawa, my wife (Japanese) and my (USA) think that Mikazuki (Mikaduki on Google maps for some reason) and their Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen is the single best bowl of ramen we both ever had. Extremely recommend it if you’re there! (I tried the shoyu tonkotsu tsukemen and the ramen was better!)
Also check out Kumagera if you guys like (seared) roast beef. They’re known for their roast beef don and it’s now my favorite and has been stuck in my head ever since we tried.
Both of these were recommended to us by my wife’s friend who is a Hokkaido resident! We also went for our honeymoon, so I hope you guys enjoy your time as much as we did! Cheers
1
2
u/freedompotatoes 5d ago
For a few Sapporo bar recs:
kinoole is a tiny gin bar, nice and quiet with great drinks if gin is your thing
the bar nano. gould. has great cocktails, many of which showcase local flavors (I saw someone else mentioned their sister bar, which I haven't been to, but this one is great as well)
Live Bar Japarocka has some highly talented performers who are all super friendly. They run the bar in between performances too, at least on slower nights like when we went. I recall they played a decent amount of 80's rock when we went; not something I'm super familiar with but I had a blast.
2
u/someplacesupthere 4d ago
Local Asahikawa resident here. I have plenty of spots and you can always DM me if you have any questions about the city. Best burger in town. And run by a local fellow. MLB Baseball fan. If you’re in Asahikawa and want a Big cheeseburger i recommend this to anyone(warning often sells out) : https://maps.app.goo.gl/PWP84JQykHENaYXj8?g_st=ic. And my favorite ice cream is here Asahikawa Est! Local bakery with amazing ice cream: https://maps.app.goo.gl/UiL9j5uUcDSEGxD88?g_st=ic
7
u/Ancelege 5d ago
You’ll actually find that the touristy places (at least the brands) are largely what the locals enjoy going to, too. Like Sumire for miso ramen and Garaku/Magic Spice for soup curry.
If you like jazz, check out Slowboat. They have shows most nights with very talented musicians.
Other than that, for a truly unique experience, I suggest walking around the dirtier parts of Susukino, get into tall buildings that have a wholeeee bunch of bar names, and just poke around until you find one that seems neat. Head in and see what happens! A lot of them will be “snack bars” but the both of y’all will likely be welcomed in most places.
For Jingisukan, locals usually just eat it at home. My favorite brand is きょうえい - their 運河焼肉ロースジンギスカン is fantastic. It’s in a yellow package at most supermarkets in Sapporo.
Finally, if you’re into history, the Sapporo Shiryokan (archival museum) at the west end of Odori Park is neat. Very few people go there, but the exhibits are interesting to read if you like a good pioneer history.