Top 5 eats in Sapporo, Japan
Where to eat in Sapporo? No problem. Here’s my list you can follow.
Hokkaido is the land of fresh seafood, sweet milk and melon, and home to miso base ramen! Those were surely on the top of my list but there were definitely other dishes that took me by surprise and tickled my taste buds. We are in Japan after all – they take food seriously. That being said, I spent a whole week in Sapporo in search of the best places to eat. This was definitely a FULL-filling week 😛
Here are my favorites:
# 1: Ramen Republic ($-$$)
Location: ESTA Building, 10th floor (this building is connected to Sapporo JR Station). Click for Google Maps: Sapporo Ramen Republic
Once you hit that 10th floor, be prepared to enter the ramen world. There are about 10 or so ramen shops for you to try. All of them serving different types of ramen. From their traditional Hokkaido style miso butter ramen, spicy miso, pork-bone based ramen, topped with a varietal of chasu, pork belly, and other meat goodies! They also serve some rice bowls and gyozas but those are definitely secondary. My mission was to try as many ramen bowls as I could. Here are some of the notesworthy ramen choices:
Top left: Three style chasu miso ramen (3 styles of pork topping)
Top right: Spicy miso ramen topped with roasted pork belly and sesame seeds
Bottom: Flame-grilled ribs on soy sauce based ramen (1-star Michelin winner)
**These ramens ranges from $10-$13 a bowl, not bad.
The names of the ramen places are in Japanese. You can find these three places by checking the large menu banners outside with pictures. They are easy to find. These three ramens are their specialty so once you see them, on the picture menu, that’s it! They all serve different items, hence, easy to find these!
If you want to try more bowls of ramen in one sitting, make sure not to drink too much beer like I did. LOL. I couldn’t help it! I love Sapporo beer. Two glasses kinda took some valuable belly space.
#2: Sankaku Seafood Market ($$-$$$)
Location: Otaru Station – it’s located on the left side of the station exit. Once you’re standing by the exit door, look to your left. You’ll see a small staircase leading up to a street. Then you’ll see the market door immediately on the right side when you reach the top of the stairs. Click for Google Maps: Sankaku Market
Hokkaido is known for their crabs and sea urchin (uni). The region’s climate allows them to grow huge sweet and juicy seafood. What caught my attention was this hairy crab – and yes! it’s literally one hairy crab! It was priced at about $65 for one whole crab. They will be happy to boil the crab for free. All the vendors have the same style. You pick the seafood then they’ll cook it for you. This hairy crab isn’t as big compared to a snow crab or Dungeness crab but it packs a lot of lean meat inside. The sweet, with a hint of saltiness, meat was totally umami.
I know this second dish might not be your favorite, but it’s definitely mine. I admit it is acquired taste as I didn’t like eating this growing up. I’ve grown to love this as I ate more and more sushi throughout the years. And now, it’s my most favorite sushi – EVER! And it’s UNI!!
A sea urchin, orange but very creamy, sweet, soft deliciousness that I can’t get enough of. They sell it by the case at about $35. You can eat it as is from the case or they can prepare it for you on top of a hot bowl of rice. Oh my, oh my. This was heaven in a bowl for me. They are the sweetest uni you can ever get. Most of the uni’s served in the US normally gets imported from from Japan – specifically from this region. An order of 2-piece uni nigiri from Japan will cost me about $18-$20 back home, but I got a case for just $35!!!!! It’s a bargain if you put it that way. This was the big trophy winner in my book.
# 3: Hokkaido Ice Cream and Sweet Melon
Location: Inside Otaru Denuki. Click for Google Maps: Denuki
You can actually get both for about $6! A slice of Yubari Melon with soft serve ice cream is Hokkaido’s most popular dessert. It’s also a healthier dessert option, but don’t get fooled. It will satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth!
Fun fact: Hokkaido’s ice cream comes from cows in this region. They say that Hokkaido’s cool climate and naturally rich grass combined with a large cow farmlands produces happy cows. Happy cows make happy sweet milk! Hence, they are claiming that they produce the sweetest milk in the world. Now you really gotta try one of these.
# 4: Curry Soup ($$)
Location: Suage+ in Susukino area, click for Google Maps: Suage+
(There might be a short wait on this one, as they serve very good bowls of curry soup, a lot of people line up)
Compared to the usual Japanese curry with thick gravy like texture, this curry is a soup form. If a pork bone broth and curry had a baby, it would be this! You can add different toppings on to your curry soup. You can also add squid ink onto your curry soup to add a seafood hint. But honestly, I’m already very impressed with just the plain one! So you can’t go wrong with either one.
We ordered plain curry soup with chicken karaage (right bowl) and squid ink curry soup with pork belly (left bowl). It’s an explosion of savory flavors in these two bowls. The curry has a mild flavor while the meat toppings compliment the soup as it absorbs the flavor. And we added a side of rice topped with cheese. Who knew rice and cheese would work with the curry? My mind was blown.
Try it for yourself and see if you like the plain or the squid ink curry soup better. Comment down below which one you prefer!
**Each bowl was between $11-$15 depending on the toppings you add.
# 5: Esta Building Basement Food Court ($)
Location: Esta Building, basement level (Connected to Sapporo JR Station), click for Google Maps: ESTA
They have what seems like a hundred food stalls in this floor from savory to sweet pastries, sandwiches, hot dishes over rice, hot and cold teas, countless Japanese cheesecakes, matcha parfaits, and freshly made taiyakis.. one week won’t be enough to try all the stalls they have here. You can buy any items by piece for a quick meal or buy by the bunch. I went here mostly for breakfast (although they don’t open till 10 am sharp, one time I was waiting for them to open the gates LOL). Oh and they even have a coffee shop right outside the food court with the fluffy pancakes.. bonus!
My most fave item here is the chicken katsu roll. It’s crispy flat breaded chicken, sweet mayo with a hint of mustard, lettuce, all wrapped in a sushi style bundle of joy. This roll is so simple, yet it fills you up even when you’re on the go. They put it in a to go container which you can eat anytime anywhere. There are different types of meat you can choose from but the chicken katsu was my most favorite. I actually ate it 3 days in a row 🙂
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So there you go! My 5 favorite places to eat in Sapporo. I can’t wait for you to try them out.
Comment below if you’ve tried any of these places or if you have other recommendations. Sharing is caring!
Better travel with me…. To Sapporo!