Sapporo travel guide: Where to eat, drink and explore in Japan’s northern city

While Kyoto and parts of Tokyo and Osaka grapple with overcrowding, there is a quieter alternative to the north: Sapporo, the snowy capital of Japan’s island of Hokkaido, the northernmost of the nation’s four main islands. Sapporo is preparing for more international visitors: There is more signage in foreign languages and new mid-to-high-end hotels. The dining scene, rooted in the cold waters surrounding the island — think colossal king crabs and plump scallops — has expanded as well. Local restaurants, including conveyor-belt sushi spots serving high-quality local fish, have opened new locations. Sapporo is a day’s travel by train from Tokyo (or a 1.5-hour flight), yet it remains distant enough from the congested “Golden Route” of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto that the city retains much of its charm and quieter pace.

FRIDAY

4pm | Stroll among sculptures

A half-hour bus ride northeast from Kanjo Dori Higashi station, (or a 30-minute car ride from the city center), Moerenuma Park is a vast and serene space merging art and nature. Considered the final masterpiece of the Japanese-American artist and architect Isamu Noguchi, the 467-acre space is dotted with dozens of geometric sculptures and artistic play structures that blend into the park’s rolling hills. The free-to-enter park offers activities in all seasons, including rental bikes (from 100 yen, about US$0.65 or S$0.80, an hour) and fountains in the summer and sledding and snowshoeing in the winter. Enter through the eastern gate and meander along trails toward the park’s centrepiece: the “Hidamari.” The glass pyramid houses two galleries, including one dedicated to the park’s history and Noguchi, and an atrium that hosts music events.

7pm | Pluck a plate of sushi

Some of Japan’s best seafood is harvested from the frigid waters off Hokkaido. For a casual and cheerful meal, join locals at Toriton, a conveyor-belt sushi specialist with outposts in central districts, including the Maruyama district. Toriton is prized for its generous cuts; pluck a plate of two nigiri with thick-cut slabs of seared or raw Albacore tuna or salmon from the revolving belt for as little as 200 yen. For a more refined, deliberate pace, book a table at the neighbourhood institution Sushi Dokoro Ichii in the neon-lit Susukino district. Here, the masterful chef orchestrates a multi-course omakase meal of cold and warm appetisers, followed by sushi highlighting regional delicacies like surf clams. (Dinner starts at approximately 8,000 yen per person.)

9pm | Spike your soft serve

Hokkaido is renowned for its dairy products, and Sapporo has cultivated a distinct dessert culture around them. One celebrated local ritual is the shime-parfait — the practice of concluding a night of eating with a decadent sundae. Milk Mura, a short stroll from Sushi Dokoro Ichii, offers a whimsical twist on this tradition, serving sets of housemade soft serve alongside a choice of over 100 liquors and liqueurs (2,000 yen) in a storybook interior cluttered with trinkets like dolls and clocks. Experiment with flavours and toppings, such as drizzling a tiny spoonful of aged cognac over orange ice cream.

SATURDAY

10am | Visit a peaceful shrine, then a temple of coffee

At the edge of Maruyama Park, a relaxed neighbourhood in western Sapporo, find the towering gates of Hokkaido Shrine, the island’s preeminent Shinto site (free admission; it is customary to bow before entering). The shrine offers a revolving calendar of seasonal pulls: cherry blossoms in the spring, a parade of period costumes during the Sapporo Festival in June, and the sight of its copper-tiled roofs blanketed in snow come winter. After offering a prayer at the honden (main hall), take a cab or walk 15 minutes to Morihico, a coffee roastery in a quaint, vine-covered wooden home. Find a moment of reprieve with a specialty pour-over brew (900 yen to 1300 yen) and a slice of their signature cheesecake (660 yen) before heading out into the city bustle.

12pm | Toast the city’s beer history

In a red-brick building that once served as a sugar factory, the Sapporo Beer Museum, just east of the city centre, chronicles the history of one of Japan’s oldest and best-known beer brands. Explore Sapporo’s evolution via a 50-minute guided tour — which includes a tasting of two brews (one is a recreation of the original 1877 recipe) for 1,000 yen — or opt for a self-guided stroll through the second-floor galleries for free. For a quintessential Hokkaido meal, head to the adjacent Kaitakushi-kan building. The museum restaurant specializes in jingisukan, or Genghis Khan, a beloved regional dish of succulent lamb or mutton grilled over a dome-shaped skillet with seasonal vegetables (1,980 yen).

3pm | Witness a tapestry of lights from above

Board a vintage streetcar (adult fare, 230 yen) from central Sapporo to the Ropeway Iriguchi station, followed by a 10-minute walk to the base of Mount Moiwa. From there, the Mount Moiwa Ropeway and cable car (2,100 yen round trip) ascends the densely forested slopes that cradle Sapporo. Arrive at the 1,742-foot summit just before twilight for one of Japan’s most stunning night views: As the sky deepens from purple to ink, witness the valley below turn into a tapestry of lights, framed by distant mountains and the dark expanse of Ishikari Bay.

6pm | Melt butter on ramen

In a narrow alley in Susukino, find the holy land of miso ramen, the soul food of Sapporo. Known as Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho, or Ramen Alley, this lantern-lined corridor hosts 17 stalls, many of which remain open late to serve the post-drinks crowd. Near the centre of the alley, duck into the steam-filled Tenhou to slurp up a quintessential Hokkaido bowl: a rich pork-and-miso broth and noodles topped with a mountain of sweet corn, braised pork belly and a generous slab of butter (about 1,300 yen). Tenhou is also known for a dark, soy-sauce broth with the savoury flavours that have made Sapporo a world-famous destination for ramen lovers.

8pm | Drink to the old and new Sapporo

Susukino is a hub of dining and nightlife that radiates from the iconic Nikka Whiskey sign at its centre. Hundreds of bars are tucked away on the upper floors and in the basements of the area’s unassuming buildings. Visit Bar Yamazaki, a Sapporo institution and pioneer of the city’s cocktail culture since 1958 with a hushed, mid-century interior. Bartenders in red checkered vests stir original creations, including the Sapporo, a smooth blend of amaretto, vodka and green chartreuse. For a contemporary option, the sleek and moodily lit Owl and Rooster offers a menu of cocktails crafted with absinthe, seasonal Hokkaido botanicals and herbal liqueurs.

SUNDAY

8am | Size up Hokkaido’s king crabs

Sapporo’s Nijo Fish Market is best experienced in the early morning, as close as possible to when the day’s first hauls begin to arrive. The century-old market hosts dozens of fishmongers showcasing the day’s bounty: colossal Hokkaido king crabs, sea urchins and glistening mounds of salmon roe. Some stalls will boil or grill a whole crab on the spot (10,000 to 40,000 yen). Or, step into one of the tucked-away eateries for a filling kaisendon bowl of rice topped with the day’s freshest, raw fish (from around 2,000 to 5,000 yen).

10am | Walk Sapporo’s verdant centre

Odori Park is the heart of Sapporo, a wooded strip stretching 12 blocks through the city centre. It serves as a living seasonal calendar, hosting the Lilac Festival in spring and the Snow Festival, a colossal exhibition of snow sculptures, ice carvings and evening illuminations, in winter. Stroll through the grounds and its immediate surroundings for a primer on the city’s 19th-century architecture, beginning with the neo-Baroque, red-brick Former Hokkaido Government Office two blocks north of the park. From there, a 10-minute walk east leads to the American-designed, wooden Sapporo Clock Tower. One of the city’s oldest surviving structures, it is a remnant of when the Japanese government hired American advisors to develop Sapporo in a modern, Western-style in the late 1800s.

12pm | Cure the cold with soup curry

A visit to Sapporo is incomplete without tasting the city’s preeminent, belly-warming comfort food: soup curry, a silkier, more aromatic relative of the traditional thick Japanese stew. At Okushiba Shoten near the central Sapporo Station, the specialty is a shrimp-based broth that adds a deep layer of umami to the spice-packed dish. Fully customise a bowl, selecting a protein, a choice of toppings, and a spice level that ranges from mild to burning, with prices mostly between 1,300 yen and 2,200 yen.

1pm | Shop in a 150-year-old arcade

Tanukikoji is a century-old, seven-block shopping arcade that cuts through the heart of Sapporo. Today, this glass-roofed corridor — an ideal refuge from Hokkaido’s unpredictable weather — bridges the city’s past and present, housing everything from tax-free megastores and 100-yen shops to vintage stores and curated multi-brand boutiques. Browse a selection of Japanese clothing brands at Seek, near the eastern end of the arcade, where you can pick up their popular hemp-blend denim jackets (from 20,900 yen) or a handmade colourful crocheted tam hat (7,920 yen). The arcade also offers a concentrated dose of the city’s greatest hits: soup curry dens, beer halls and neon-lit dessert parlours, making it a perfect final stop to gather souvenirs or have one last taste of a favourite regional staple.

By River Davis © The New York Times.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.