Sapporo Food Guide

Miso ramen was popularised in Sapporo in the 1950s and 1960s and is the dish the city is known for across Japan. The classic bowl is stir-fried: bean sprouts, onion and minced pork are tossed in a wok, the miso-based soup is added to the hot pan, and the bowl is finished with thick, curly, yellow noodles, a layer of melted lard that keeps the broth scalding, chashu pork, menma, sweetcorn and often a pat of butter. Expect 1,000 to 1,400 yen for a standard bowl and 200 to 400 yen more for butter-corn or extra pork.

The famous address is Ganso Ramen Yokocho, the original “ramen alley” in Susukino, a narrow covered lane of about 17 tiny counters a few minutes from Susukino subway station. It is touristy and most shops open until late, which is the point: Sapporo’s after-drinking ramen culture means queues at 11pm. Across the street, Shin Ramen Yokocho is the newer alley with a similar mix.

For the bowls locals argue about, go to the specialists. Sumire (Nakanohara, with a branch in Susukino) serves a famously oily, intense miso that defines the style, Saimi in Hiragishi has a queue from opening, and Shingen near Susukino does a richer, smoky miso. All accept that you will order from a ticket machine at the door; press the top-left button for the house standard.

Soup curry is Sapporo’s other invention: a thin, spiced broth closer to a South Asian curry soup than to Japan’s thick curry rice, served with whole roasted vegetables (pumpkin, okra, potato, aubergine, carrot), a fall-off-the-bone chicken leg, pork or seafood, and a separate plate of rice that you spoon into the soup. It has spread across Japan, but the city has well over 200 shops and the format is local.

Ordering is a three-step process: choose the main ingredient, choose the soup base (the standard, a coconut or tomato base, or a shrimp-stock version in some shops), then choose the spice level on a numbered scale, where the lower numbers are mild and the top levels are very hot; ask for the house recommendation if unsure. Rice size is also a choice and is sometimes topped with lemon. Expect 1,300 to 2,000 yen.

Well-known names include Suage+ (crispy fried vegetables on skewers, near Susukino), Garaku (near Odori, queues at lunch), Rojiura Curry Samurai (big vegetable bowls) and Picante. Many shops do a vegetable soup curry with a vegetable broth on request, which makes this the easiest meal in Sapporo for vegetarians.

Jingisukan, named after Genghis Khan, is lamb or mutton grilled on a domed cast-iron pan over a flame at your table. The meat cooks on the dome while vegetables (bean sprouts, onion, pumpkin, cabbage) sit in the rim and soak up the fat, and you dip it in a soy, apple and garlic sauce. Two styles exist: unmarinated slices dipped after grilling, which is the Sapporo norm, and pre-marinated meat, the style of central Hokkaido.

Daruma in Susukino, open since 1954, is the classic counter: a small room of smoke, a few dishes, and plates of lamb at around 1,500 yen. Queues form from 5pm. The other way to eat it is at the Sapporo Beer Garden beside the Sapporo Beer Museum in the old red-brick brewery buildings, where all-you-can-eat-and-drink jingisukan and beer for 100 minutes costs roughly 5,000 to 7,000 yen. In summer the Odori Park beer gardens, which run from late July to mid-August, add outdoor tables between the city’s big brewers.

Wear the paper apron offered, put your coat in the bag or bin provided, and expect your clothes to smell of lamb for the rest of the evening.

Hokkaido’s cold waters supply the country’s best uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe), scallops and crab, and Sapporo eats them for breakfast.

• Kaisendon: a rice bowl topped with raw seafood. At Nijo Market, a block of stalls and small restaurants between Odori and Susukino, a mixed bowl of crab, ikura, salmon and scallop costs 2,000 to 3,500 yen, and a full uni bowl 4,000 to 8,000 yen depending on the season. Shops open around 7am; go early for the freshest choice and shortest queues.
• Jogai Shijo (Central Wholesale Market outer market): the market by the wholesale market in Chuo-ku’s west, near Nijuyonken station on the Tozai Line, is less touristy, with breakfast counters from about 6am.
• Crab: three kinds dominate. Kegani (hairy crab) is small and sweet, tarabagani (king crab) gives long, meaty legs, and zuwaigani (snow crab) is delicate. Crab specialists in Susukino serve crab kaiseki courses for about 8,000 to 15,000 yen; a market crab leg or a steamed hairy crab is cheaper at 3,000 to 8,000 yen. Winter is peak season.
• Uni: the murasaki and bafun uni from the Shakotan coast, west of Otaru, are in season from about June to August; outside that window much of what you eat is imported or from elsewhere in Hokkaido.
• Ikura: best in autumn, when the salmon run.
• Scallops: hotate grilled in the shell with butter and soy at market stalls, 500 to 1,000 yen.

Check the price per 100 g on the board before you order crab, and confirm whether a “market price” (jika) item has been weighed.

• Zangi: Hokkaido’s take on karaage fried chicken, marinated longer in soy, ginger and garlic and often served with a dipping sauce. A plate costs 600 to 900 yen in any izakaya.
• Shime parfait: the Sapporo habit of finishing a night out with an elaborate parfait instead of ramen. Dessert bars in Susukino open from the evening until 1am or 2am; parfaits cost 1,500 to 2,500 yen.
• Corn and potatoes: in summer, the yellow corn carts (toukibi wagon) in Odori Park sell grilled corn and jaga-bata, steamed potato with butter, for 300 to 400 yen.
• Ishikari nabe: salmon and vegetable hotpot in a miso broth, a winter dish in izakaya.
• Sushi: Hokkaido conveyor-belt chains such as Nemuro Hanamaru and Toriton are some of the best value in Japan; the Sapporo Station branches have long queues at lunch.

Sapporo is Japan’s oldest beer brand, founded in 1876 by the Hokkaido Development Commission, and the city keeps the history. The Sapporo Beer Museum in the 1890 red-brick building north-east of the station is free to walk through and explains the brewing story in English; the paid tasting bar and the guided premium tour, which ends with a tasting, are the reason to go. Sapporo Classic, a crisp all-malt lager sold only in Hokkaido, is the beer to drink here; Sapporo Black Label is the national version.

A draught beer costs 500 to 800 yen in an izakaya, and many izakaya offer a nomihodai (all-you-can-drink) plan for 1,500 to 2,500 yen for 90 to 120 minutes. Hokkaido also has a craft beer scene, Nikka’s Yoichi whisky distillery an hour beyond Otaru, and good local sake from Sapporo’s Chitose-tsuru brewery.

Hokkaido makes about half of Japan’s milk, and its dairy turns up everywhere. Soft cream, the Japanese soft-serve ice cream, is the thing to eat from any stand at 400 to 600 yen; the richest come from farm shops on day trips, but the department stores and airport sell excellent cones.

The edible souvenirs most people buy:

• Shiroi Koibito (Ishiya): white chocolate sandwiched between langue de chat biscuits, made at Shiroi Koibito Park, near Miyanosawa station on the Tozai Line.
• Rokkatei: the Marusei butter sandwich, raisin and butter cream between biscuits, from Rokkatei’s main shop near Sapporo Station.
• Royce: nama chocolate (soft ganache dusted with cocoa) and chocolate-covered potato chips; nama chocolate needs to stay cool.
• LeTAO: the Double Fromage cheesecake, from the Otaru main shop on Sakaimachi street.
• Kinotoya: baked cheese tarts, eaten warm.

New Chitose Airport’s domestic terminal has the largest single collection of these shops, so you can buy on the way out.

• Susukino: Hokkaido’s largest nightlife district and the place for ramen alleys, jingisukan, crab restaurants, izakaya and shime parfaits; busy until 2am.
• Sapporo Station: the restaurant floors of the station buildings and Daimaru, the Stellar Place food court and the conveyor-belt sushi branches; reliable and open late.
• Odori and Tanukikoji: soup curry near the TV Tower, cafes, and the covered Tanukikoji arcade’s cheap izakaya; Nijo Market at the east end.
• Maruyama: cafes, bakeries and small bistros near Hokkaido Shrine, good for a quieter lunch.
• Otaru: Sushiya-dori, the sushi street, and the Sankaku market by Otaru Station. A sushi set costs 3,000 to 6,000 yen; counter omakase at the better shops 8,000 to 15,000 yen. See the Sapporo itineraries for how to fit it into a day trip.

• Tipping: none, anywhere. Service is included.
• Slurping: fine and normal for ramen.
• Ticket machines: ramen and some curry shops take your order by machine at the door; many machines are cash only, so carry 1,000-yen notes.
• Cash: small market stalls, alley ramen counters and old izakaya may be cash only; department stores and chains take cards and IC cards.
• Otoshi: izakaya add a small seating charge of 300 to 600 yen with an appetiser; it is not a scam.
• Vegetarian and halal: soup curry with vegetable broth is the easiest meat-free meal; ramen broths almost always contain pork or fish. A handful of halal-certified restaurants serve ramen and jingisukan for Muslim visitors.
• Allergies: carry a card in Japanese listing what you cannot eat; crab and shellfish appear in many broths and sauces.