Sapporo Restaurants and Dining

(Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan)

Noodles, rice, sushi and chopsticks are all in plentiful supply in the city of Sapporo, where you will find a good selection of restaurants to satisfy your needs. Sapporo is renowned for its outstanding sushi restaurants and many dining venues around the city choose to specialise in seafood, due to its proximity to the shoreline.

Popular seafood-themed menus in Sapporo often feature oysters, crab, shrimps and salmon, all of which form a staple part of the diet for locals and many visitors. A great place to sample Sapporo's seafood at its absolute best is at the Nijo Fish Market, in the Chuo-ku area. Here you are able to simply purchase a bowl of rice and choose the freshly prepared 'sashimi' toppings of your choice. Of course, international fast-food restaurants are also available in many areas of Sapporo and include all of the main burger, fried chicken and pizza chains.

What to Eat

Many of the best Japanese restaurants in Sapporo choose to specialise in certain types of cuisine, with the following dishes often forming a staple part of most menus:

• Gyoza - tasty dumplings stuffed with pork and vegetables, and then lightly boiled / steamed
• Kimchi - Korean side dish consisting of pickled vegetables
• Sapporo ramen - a famous local version of the much-loved noodle / broth dish, inspired from China and often topped with slices of pork or bean sprouts
• Soba / somen / udon - traditional Japanese noodles
• Sushi - marinated sliced raw fish or vegetables, surrounded by cold, cooked rice and neatly packaged in a seaweed wrapper
• Tempura - battered seafood and vegetable pieces
• Yakiniku - Korean-style food grilled or barbecued

Where to Eat

Restaurants are never hard to find in Sapporo and the choice can often be a little overwhelming at times. Especially notable is the famous Ramen Yokocho alleyway, which contains a large group of exceptional 'ramen' noodle shops, serving inexpensive and tasty Japanese-style food. Top-end hotels also contain a number of good restaurants, where fine dining is aimed at tourists and menus are usually provided in English, being well illustrated with photographs of the main dishes.

The vast Esta food court is another good option and resides beneath the JR Sapporo Station, where skewered meats, sandwiches and even salads are all reasonably priced. Shops here are usually more than happy to provide free samples of their food and nearby you will also find a good selection of restaurants and even a large supermarket, suiting those self-catering during their stay in Sapporo. Further restaurants, bars and cafes lie all around the Chuo-ku area of Sapporo, and also close to Tanuki-koji, which has become a lively nightspot.