Tips on filling up the car. Hokkaido has both full-service and self-service gas stations. At a full-service station, an attendant will pump the gas for you, while a self-service station is one where you have to do the filling yourself. Typically you will fill your car with regular gasoline at a self-service station. The nozzles...
Located in the Akarenga Terrace, Cafe Yoshimi is an authentic cafe restaurant run by Yoshimi Katsuyama, who is known for creating the popular Hokkaido souvenir rice crackers called “Curry Curry Mada Aru?” The restaurant is popular for its vegetable dishes and sweets, among other items. The cafe serves everything from breakfast to dinner, so feel free to start or end your day exploring Sapporo here.
Saera is a sandwich specialty shop that opened in Sapporo in 1975. It is known most for its fruit and red king crab salad sandwiches. From the moment its doors open, the shop is abuzz with customers who dine in or order takeout. Tourists also frequent the shop, which offers a menu in English, too.
The famous Nigirimeshi is a specialty rice ball shop open 24 hours in Susukino Market. Choose from shio-nigiri (salted) or shoyu-nigiri (soy sauce) styles. Definitely try the most popular cod roe butter in the shoyu-nigiri flavor. You can eat in or order takeout at this truly local shop visited frequently by Sapporoites for its prepared foods, hearty tonjiru soup, and oden.
Do not litter in Sapporo. The City of Sapporo has established rules against littering cigarette butts and smoking while walking to protect pedestrians as well as the environment of its communities. The city ordinance prohibits cigarette butts and packs from being littered along the street anywhere in the city of Sapporo. Using cigarettes while walking...
Toilets at public and commercial facilities are available for free. Public places such as underground passageways, subway stations, and JR stations, as well as those in commercial facilities such as department stores and shopping malls in Sapporo have toilets available for visitors to use. Nearly all toilets have toilet paper, which can be flushed down...
Cardboard boxes can be purchased at the post office. If you want to ship home some souvenirs you purchased in Sapporo, you can either have the store pack your purchased items in a box and arrange for shipping. You can also send it yourself via international mail at the post office or with another parcel...
The grit bin: snow country wisdom for walking safely on Sapporo’s winter streets If you visit Sapporo in the winter, you may notice that sand is scattered over the frozen surface of slippery roads. This sand is an anti-slip agent that is used on winter streets so that pedestrians can walk safely. Grit bins, usually...
How to order with a meal ticket. At restaurants with a ticket vending machine located near the entrance, you will have to purchase a meal ticket before taking a seat in the restaurant. These ticket vending machines are especially common at places such as ramen shops, as well as at restaurants located in service areas along highways....
Cleaning your clothes. Visitors staying several days in Sapporo are sure to find the coin-operated washing and drying machines, at self-service “Coin Laundry” shops around the city, to be very convenient. Laundry detergent is automatically added to the wash load, so all you have to bring with you is your laundry and some cash. Although...
Sake, known as Japanese rice wine, has a high alcohol content compared to other brewed alcohol like wine and is rather unique because of the temperatures it is served at. We sat down with Mr. Takashi Kamada of Hokkaido Local Sake—BAR Kamada, a master sake sommelier who promotes Hokkaido’s sake in Japan and internationally via the radio and seminars.
An izakaya directly owned and operated by Nippon Seishu Co., Ltd., a sake brewery in Sapporo known for its Chitosetsuru brand. Recommended among its selection of unique fusion foods that pair perfectly with sake is the Kissho Sake Hot Pot made from locally brewed sake and the water used in sake brewing. The izakaya is conveniently located close to Odori and Susukino stations.
