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10 Popular Things To Do In Sapporo, Hokkaido
Sapporo, the capital of Japan’s northern most island, Hokkaido, is a fantastic city that offers many sights and things to do. It’s a fairly spread out city and while there is a subway, it isn’t nearly as extensive as the subway systems found in Tokyo or Osaka so some of the locations may take a little longer to get to. But certainly it’s worth the extra effort to explore this wonderful city.
So what are some of the top things to do in Sapporo? Here’s a list of 10 Popular Things To Do In Sapporo, Hokkaido.
Table of Contents
10 Popular Things To Do In Sapporo, Hokkaido:
Visit Ramen Alley
If you’re a ramen fan a visit to Sapporo’s Ramen Alley is a must. With 17 ramen shops within the alley there are plenty of places to try here each with their own unique twist on the beloved food. It’s a unique experience since it’s a narrow alleyway that is packed with ramen restaurants. You won’t this many ramen spots in such a small area anywhere else.
Take A Stroll Through Odori Park
One of the top things to do in Sapporo is to visit its famous Odori Park. Located right in the middle of the city, it’s nearly impossible to miss. This overly large strip of a park, over a mile long, that has major streets running along side of it. The Sapporo TV Tower is also located here and can be seen throughout the park.
There are several festivals held throughout the year at the park including the Snow Festival, Lilac Festival, Soran Festival, and Beer Garden.
In December Odori Park gets a Christmas makeover with several exhibits with lights and a German Village that has stalls selling Christmas decorations and food. It’s a good time!
It’s definitely worth visiting to see what’s going on even outside of the popular festivals. It’s certainly a nice stroll through a unique park which is why it lands on my popular things to do in Sapporo list.
Check Out Maruyama Park and Everything Within It
Maruyama Park is a large sprawing park in Sapporo housing over 300+ different types of trees and plants with over a hundred different types of birds. It’s a huge park that offers a lot when visiting and is certainly one of the top things to do in Sapporo.
One of the most famous shrines in Hokkaido, Hokkaido Jingu Shrine, is located right next to it.
The Maruyama Zoo has been housed within the park since 1951. It has over 170 different species including polar bears, wolves, deer, elephants, giraffes, hippos, chimpanzees, and brown bears, just to name a few.
The Maruyama-Hachijuhakkasho Trail offers a nice little hike within the park that takes you up to a point that has a spectacular view of Sapporo. It’s a short hike which will take you uphill for that view but isn’t overly strenous. A visit to Maruyama Park is definitely one of the more popular things to do in Sapporo and is well worth the visit.
Go To The Sapporo Beer Museum
The oldest beer in Japan, Sapporo, was founded in 1876 and has a long history not only within Sapporo but Japan itself. It remains one of the country’s most popular beers and is quite popular around the world. The Sapporo Beer Museum is the only museum in Japan that’s dedicated to beer. This attraction is one of the most popular things to do in Sapporo.
The museum itself is free. It’s pretty tiny and will only take about 20-30 minutes to walk through. There’s a paid tour as well which provides more detail about the history of the legendary beer. On premises as well is a beer garden, a couple of stores with merchandise, and some restaurants, including a Genghis Khan restaurant.
Eat Famous Hokkaido Dishes
Hokkaido has a few signature dishes that originate from the area and are trying some of these dishes is certainly one of the most popular things to do in Sapporo. Genghis Khan, Soup Curry, and Miso Ramen, all originate from Hokkaido. You will find these dishes in other parts of Japan, but the number of places you can purchase these from are more plentiful in Hokkaido and are certainlty worth trying!
Soup Curry 
Genghis Khan 
Miso Ramen Enjoy The View Of Sapporo On The Mt. Moiwa Ropeway
Mount Moiwa is a small mountain southwest of central Sapporo. At the base of the mountain you’ll find the Mount Moiwa Ropeway. There’s a transfer station about three quarters up where you get into another cablecar that takes you to the very top of the mountain. This is where the observation deck is located along with a restaurant. The observation deck offers some stunning views of the city. It’s especially nice at night when the city is lit up! The ropeway and view are what makes this one of the most popular things to do in Sapporo.
Visit The Hokkaido University Museum
If you enjoy museums then the Hokkaido University Museum is worth a visit. This free admission museum is located on the Hokkaido University campus and is one of the more popular things to do in Sapporo. The three floor museum houses over four million specimens and documents. It educates visitors on all the different types of research that has occurred on campus. The museum also has a small cafe. The museum itself is fairly small, this is afterall on the campus of a college, but it’s fascinating to see, especially for museum buffs. Also, the ice cream in the cafe is top notch!
Do Some Shopping At Tanukikoji Shopping Street
Undoubtedly, one the of most popular things to do in Sapporo is shopping. One of the more popular areas is the Tanukikoji Shopping Street. This pedestrian only shopping street is HUGE. It runs for seven blocks and is about 900 meters. It’s home to over 200 shops, restaurants, and other stores. You can find essentially everything here be it souvenirs, clothing, food, dessert, entertainment. If you’re a shopper you’ll no doubt be spending some time here. It’s very close to Sapporo Station as well, just a 10-minute walk.
Check Out Es Con Field Hokkaido
The impressive stadium to the only baseball team in Hokkaido – the Nippon Ham Fighters – Es Con Field Hokkaido field opened in 2023 and seats 35k people. This is a beautiful stadium with a retractable roof, natural grass, and massive glass wall in the outfield which provides excellent natural lighting. The field is open to visit during the off-season as well. The food court, brewery, stadium tour, and massive team store were all open in the middle of December. It’s a little further out from Sapporo and is a 20 minute walk from the train station to the stadium but it’s certainly worth it. If you visit during the season, seeing a game here should certainly be high on the list for any baseball fan.
Sapporo Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill
This attraction is a bit of a trek if using public transit as you will need to take the bus. The pros: The scenic view of the famous bronze statue of Dr. William S. Clark. Clark was a famous American professor who came over to Hokkaido in 1876 and established the Sapporo Agricultural College, which is now Hokkaido College. His parting words “Boys, be ambitious” are immortalized on the statue as well. It’s a fantastic view with a wide open field in the background with the Sapporo Dome visible.
The cons: There’s not much else here. There’s some additional smaller buildings that serve as mini museums, and a restaurant and a place to grab some ice cream, but outside of that there’s not a ton here. It also costs yen to enter the parking lot. With the amount of time it takes to get here and how little is actually here, I wouldn’t place this at the top of the list of things to do in Sapporo.
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Lively Odori Park in Sapporo Is Well Worth A Stroll Through
What is Odori Park?
One of the top attractions in Sapporo is Odori Park. Located right smack dab in the middle of the city, this is an easy attraction to go and see. In fact, just walking around the city you’d undoubtedly stumble upon this at some point during your Sapporo adventure.
Initially used as a fire break back in 1871, the space has gone through a lot of transformation since those days.
Odori Park is unusual since it’s really a long strip of “park” that has major streets running along the side of it. Stretching east to west, over a mile long and over 12 blocks, in the heart of the city it’s hard to miss.
The Sapporo Tower is at one end of the park. Standing about 492 feet, it’s a nice sight to see as you stroll through the park. It’s also another top attraction in Sapporo that you can visit. It has an observation deck where you can get a full view of Odori Park and the surrounding area, if you please. I didn’t go to Sapporo Tower this trip but maybe next time!
Why is it so popular?
Odori Park hosts seasonal events such as the well-known Snow Festival in the winter, the Lilac Festival in the spring, the Soran Festival and Beer Garden in the summer, and the Autumn Festival, in well, the autumn.
This is a popular location for both locals and tourists alike for a nice place to either take a stroll or just hangout. It’s just a really unique park since it’s so close to the street and isn’t an enclosed “normal” park. The seasonal events attracts MEGA crowds, with the Snow Festival being the biggest of them all, for good reason.
I went in mid December and the park was decked out with Christmas light displays. It was stretched out for most of the park and was a lot of fun to walk through and see all the displays. There was a German Christmas Village set up that had shops selling Christmas souvenirs and there were a number of stalls selling food and beverages. It was a really fun and festive environment to be in and was really enjoyable on a cold December evening!
