Things to Do in Sapporo: 22 Places to Visit on Your First Trip

Sapporo was never supposed to be the main event of our first trip to Japan.

Like most first-time visitors, Tokyo had completely dominated my planning. But after five days of sightseeing in temperatures reaching 39°C, flying north to Hokkaido and stepping out into a considerably more civilised 26°C felt like an excellent life decision.

We based ourselves in Sapporo for four nights, using the city to explore Hokkaido while taking a day trip to Otaru.

And I loved it.

Sapporo still feels unmistakably Japanese, but it’s more spacious, less chaotic and considerably easier to get your head around than Tokyo.

We also accidentally arrived on the first day of the Sapporo Summer Festival, which turned out to be one of the highlights of our entire time in Hokkaido.

So if you’re wondering what to do in Sapporo on your first visit, I’ve put together the places we visited, things I’d recommend and a few we didn’t manage to squeeze in.

And if you’re looking specifically for things to do in Sapporo in summer, I’ve got you covered there too.

We visited in July, which turned out to be a brilliant time to be there.

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1. Walk through Odori Park

If there’s one place you’ll repeatedly find yourself returning to in Sapporo, it’s probably Odori Park.

The park stretches through the centre of the city, with lawns, trees, fountains and Sapporo TV Tower at one end.

It was one of the first places we visited after arriving and immediately made Sapporo feel completely different from Tokyo.

There’s actual space.

After several days of weaving between thousands of people in Tokyo, I appreciated this more than I probably should have.

In summer, people gather around the fountains and sit outside enjoying the weather, and we spent plenty of time doing exactly that.

Odori Park is also where many of Sapporo’s major seasonal events take place, including the Sapporo Snow Festival in winter and the Sapporo Summer Festival when we visited in July.

You don’t necessarily need to dedicate several hours to the park itself, but you’ll almost certainly pass through it while exploring the city centre.

2. See Sapporo TV Tower

Standing at the eastern end of Odori Park, Sapporo TV Tower is one of the city’s most recognisable landmarks.

And yes, it does look slightly like a smaller version of Tokyo Tower.

There’s an observation deck around 90 metres above the ground where you can look directly down the length of Odori Park and across Sapporo.

Even if you don’t go up, you’ll see the tower repeatedly while wandering around the centre.

Personally, I’d prioritise going up Mount Moiwa if you only want to pay for one elevated view of Sapporo, particularly around sunset.

But Sapporo TV Tower is much easier to incorporate into a day of sightseeing because you’re almost certainly going to be in Odori Park anyway.

3. See Sapporo Clock Tower

I’ll be completely honest.

I didn’t understand the fuss.

Sapporo Clock Tower regularly appears on lists of the best places to visit in Sapporo, so naturally we went to have a look.

It’s a small wooden building dating back to the 19th century and one of the city’s best-known historical landmarks.

It’s also surrounded by considerably larger modern buildings, which perhaps doesn’t help with the drama.

I wouldn’t go considerably out of your way to see it, but it’s centrally located and very easy to walk past while exploring the city.

So you might as well.

Just manage your expectations.

4. Explore Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade

We somehow ended up walking through Tanukikoji repeatedly during our time in Sapporo.

This covered shopping arcade stretches for several blocks and is packed with shops, restaurants, cafés, pharmacies, arcades and the inevitable Japanese stores selling things you didn’t know existed but now apparently need.

It’s also a particularly useful place to explore when the weather isn’t cooperating because most of it is covered.

We originally wandered through on our first evening and ended up coming back after abandoning our plans to visit Mount Moiwa another day.

That’s one thing I particularly liked about Sapporo.

You don’t necessarily need to be rushing between major attractions all day. Some of our favourite time in the city was spent simply wandering around, especially because most places were within walking distance of our hotel.

5. Spend an evening in Susukino

If you’re wondering what to do in Sapporo once you’ve finished sightseeing for the day, head towards Susukino.

This is Sapporo’s main entertainment district, filled with restaurants, bars, karaoke venues and enormous illuminated signs.

It’s considerably livelier than the rest of central Sapporo at night.

You’ll also find the famous Nikka whisky sign here, which has somehow become one of the most photographed sights in the city despite essentially being a giant advert.

Japan does have a remarkable ability to turn advertising into a tourist attraction.

Susukino is also a good area to look for dinner, particularly if you want to try some of Hokkaido’s better-known dishes.

6. Visit the Sapporo Beer Museum

You can’t really visit the home of Sapporo beer without learning something about Sapporo beer.

Well, you can.

But we didn’t.

The Sapporo Beer Museum covers the history of beer production in Japan and the development of one of the country’s most recognisable beer brands.

The museum itself is relatively small.

Don’t arrive expecting the Japanese equivalent of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin because you’ll be finished considerably sooner than anticipated.

I still thought it was interesting, though.

And after walking around Sapporo in the July sun, spending some time inside an air-conditioned museum wasn’t exactly a hardship.

You can also sample different Sapporo beers while you’re there, making this considerably more exciting if you actually drink beer.

Can I admit that I much prefer the taste of Asahi though?

7. Eat and shop at Sapporo Factory

We headed to Sapporo Factory after visiting the Beer Museum.

I’d seen it described as a large shopping and entertainment complex inside a former brewery, which sounded considerably more exciting than I found it in reality.

I was a little underwhelmed.

However, we did stumble across Fugetsu while looking for lunch and ended up cooking our own okonomiyaki on the hotplate built into our table.

Which immediately improved matters.

The okonomiyaki was delicious and the experience was much more memorable than the shopping centre itself.

So would I make Sapporo Factory one of my absolute must-see places in Sapporo?

No.

But if you’re visiting the Beer Museum and looking for somewhere nearby to eat afterwards, it’s worth knowing about.

8. Cook your own okonomiyaki

Technically this happened because we were hungry rather than because I’d carefully researched cultural activities in Sapporo.

Sometimes those are the best discoveries.

At Fugetsu, we were given the okonomiyaki mixture and cooked it ourselves on the hotplate at our table.

If you’ve never had okonomiyaki, it’s a savoury Japanese pancake generally made with cabbage and various additional ingredients before being covered in sauce.

And attempting to flip one yourself without destroying it adds an entirely unnecessary element of jeopardy to lunch.

Ours survived.

Mostly.

It’s one of the meals I’d happily eat again from our time in Sapporo.

9. Visit Nijo Market

Nijo Market is one of the most popular places to visit in Sapporo if you’re interested in seafood.

Which I am not.

Being vegetarian, wandering around looking at enormous crabs and bowls of sea urchin wasn’t particularly high on my personal Sapporo wishlist, so we skipped it.

However, Hokkaido is famous for seafood and Nijo Market is one of the easiest places to try it without leaving central Sapporo.

You’ll find stalls selling crab, scallops, salmon roe and other fresh seafood, along with restaurants serving seafood bowls.

If that’s one of the reasons you’re visiting Hokkaido, I’d put this much higher on your list than I did.

10. Watch sunset from Mount Moiwa

This is the thing we planned to do and didn’t.

Mount Moiwa overlooks Sapporo and is one of the city’s best-known viewpoints.

You can take the ropeway up the mountain and continue towards the observation area for panoramic views across the city.

If I were planning our Sapporo days again, I’d aim to arrive before sunset.

That way you get to see the city during daylight before watching everything gradually light up below you.

We ultimately abandoned the idea because we’d had a long day and couldn’t be bothered.

A deeply sophisticated travel-planning decision.

Instead, we went back to Tanukikoji and wandered around the shops.

I don’t regret having a slower evening, but Mount Moiwa is one place I’d make another attempt to visit if I returned to Sapporo.

11. Experience the Sapporo Summer Festival

If you’re looking for things to do in Sapporo in July, check whether your dates overlap with the Sapporo Summer Festival.

We hadn’t deliberately planned our trip around it.

In fact, we landed in Sapporo on the first day and initially wondered why the city was quite so busy.

It turned out we’d accidentally timed our visit extremely well.

The festival runs for several weeks during summer and includes events around the city, but the highlight for us was the enormous beer garden in Odori Park.

It ended up being one of my favourite experiences in Hokkaido.

Sometimes not planning everything six months in advance pays off.

12. Spend an afternoon at the Sapporo Odori Beer Garden

Even if, like me, beer isn’t particularly your thing, the atmosphere here is brilliant.

During the Sapporo Summer Festival, huge sections of Odori Park are transformed into outdoor beer gardens with thousands of seats.

And I really do mean thousands.

Asahi branding seemed to be everywhere when we visited, with huge communal tables, food stalls and plenty to drink.

We spent the afternoon and evening sitting outside with everyone from locals to visitors escaping the summer heat further south.

Despite speaking absolutely no Japanese, we somehow ended up socialising with a group of people from Sapporo using a combination of hand gestures and optimism.

There was plenty of Hokkaido food available too.

As a vegetarian, my options weren’t quite as exciting as everybody else’s grilled meat and seafood, but I did manage to find baked potatoes and grilled corn.

Other stalls had pizza, fries and other vegetarian options to choose from too.

Apparently I flew to Japan to rediscover British comfort food.

The food ordering system was very well organised too. Staff wearing yellow caps took orders and payments, while those in red caps delivered the food.

This was exactly the slower day we needed after Tokyo.

If you’re deciding what to do in Sapporo in summer, I’d prioritise this over squeezing in yet another day trip.

13. Try Sapporo soup curry

You can’t spend several days in Sapporo without encountering soup curry.

Unlike the thicker Japanese curry you might already be familiar with when ordering katsu curry, Sapporo soup curry has a much thinner, spiced broth filled with vegetables and other ingredients.

We tried it at Curry Shop S on our final night.

They had a vegetarian mushroom version and you could customise the soup base and add additional toppings.

I also added cheese because apparently that’s a thing.

Was it nice?

Yes.

Would I immediately order another bowl?

Probably not.

I’m glad I tried it because it’s one of Sapporo’s signature foods, but it wasn’t one of my favourite things I ate in Japan.

You can’t love everything.

14. Take a day trip to Otaru

If you have more than a couple of days in Sapporo, I would absolutely leave the city for a day and visit Otaru.

It’s only around 40 minutes from Sapporo by train but feels completely different.

The small port city is known for its canal, historic warehouses, glass shops and preserved buildings.

We walked from Otaru Station towards the canal before continuing to Sakaimachi Street, where you’ll find cafés, sweet shops and enough handmade glassware to make travelling with hand luggage increasingly inconvenient.

Visit Kitaichi Glass, browse the Otaru Music Box Museum and stop for cheesecake at LeTAO.

That last one is important.

LeTAO seems to be everywhere in Hokkaido, but its flagship store is in Otaru and the cheesecake is ridiculously rich, creamy and smooth.

There’s also an observation area upstairs with views across the surrounding streets.

If the weather is clear, you can finish the day by heading towards Tenguyama for views over Otaru and the coast.

Otaru was easily one of my favourite additions to our Hokkaido itinerary.

15. Consider a day trip to Noboribetsu

Noboribetsu was the day trip we almost took.

Then we decided we couldn’t be bothered.

And I’m actually very glad we didn’t.

Noboribetsu is one of Hokkaido’s best-known onsen towns and is famous for Jigokudani, or Hell Valley, where volcanic activity has created a landscape of steaming vents and sulphurous pools.

It looks incredible.

I’d also heard that soaking in an outdoor onsen surrounded by snow is particularly atmospheric, although Noboribetsu can be visited year-round.

But travelling from Sapporo means you’re looking at a substantial journey in each direction.

After several packed days in Tokyo, flying to Sapporo and already taking a day trip to Otaru, we realised we didn’t actually need to fill every available day.

So we stayed in Sapporo and spent the day at the Summer Festival instead.

For our particular trip, that was absolutely the right decision.

If Noboribetsu is high on your Japan wishlist, it’s still a perfectly reasonable day trip.

Just don’t feel like you have to take one simply because you’ve got a spare day.

Check availability for a Noboribetsu Hell Valley & Lake Toya Day Trip

16. Visit Hokkaido Shrine and Maruyama Park

If you want to escape the busier streets of central Sapporo, Hokkaido Shrine and neighbouring Maruyama Park are easy to combine in the same trip.

The shrine is surrounded by woodland, while Maruyama Park gives you a chance to see a much greener side of the city. It’s particularly popular during cherry blossom season, but in summer everything is lush and green.

We didn’t actually make it here during our trip.

So I can’t give you a dramatic first-hand story about what happened at Hokkaido Shrine.

Nothing happened.

I wasn’t there.

But if you’ve already spent several days exploring busy temples and shrines in Tokyo, this looks like a much quieter alternative and somewhere I’d consider visiting next time.

I’d definitely combine the shrine and park rather than treating them as two separate attractions. They’re right beside each other, and I don’t think either needs to take up an entire day on a first trip to Sapporo.

17. Relax at Jozankei Onsen

If you fancy escaping the city for half a day or longer, Jozankei Onsen is another option I’d consider.

This hot spring town sits in the mountains outside central Sapporo and is known for its onsen, forest scenery and riverside setting.

We didn’t visit Jozankei because, as you’ve probably gathered by now, we’d reached the point in our trip where adding another excursion sounded considerably less appealing than simply enjoying Sapporo.

But I can see why you’d choose it over Noboribetsu if you’re short on time.

You still get the experience of leaving the city for a Japanese hot spring town, without travelling quite as far from Sapporo.

I’d particularly consider Jozankei if you have three or four days in the city and want to see a different side of Hokkaido without sacrificing an entire day.

18. See Sapporo from JR Tower Observatory T38

If Mount Moiwa sounds like too much effort, JR Tower Observatory T38 is a considerably easier way to get a view across Sapporo.

The observation deck is directly above Sapporo Station, so you can fit it into a day exploring the city without taking a ropeway or travelling out towards the mountains.

We didn’t go up because another panoramic view wasn’t particularly high on our list after Tokyo.

There’s only so many times I need to look at a Japanese city from a great height on the same holiday.

But if the weather isn’t cooperating with your Mount Moiwa plans, or you simply want an easy city-centre viewpoint, this would be the one I’d consider instead.

19. See the Hill of the Buddha

This is probably the place I most wish I’d known more about before our trip.

The Hill of the Buddha is home to an enormous Buddha statue designed so that most of it appears to be hidden inside a man-made hill.

You approach through a tunnel before eventually reaching the statue itself, which sounds considerably more interesting to me than simply walking up to another viewpoint or monument.

In summer, the surrounding landscape is green and lavender blooms around the hill, making July a particularly interesting time to consider visiting.

We didn’t make it here, so I can’t tell you whether it’s genuinely as impressive in person as it looks.

But if I returned to Sapporo, this would be much higher on my list than some of the central attractions we did visit.

Especially the Clock Tower.

Sorry, Clock Tower.

BOOK: Hill of the Buddha, Lake Toya & Hell Valley day tour

20. Explore the Historical Village of Hokkaido

If you’re interested in Japanese history, the Historical Village of Hokkaido is worth considering.

It’s an open-air museum filled with historic buildings relocated from around Hokkaido, giving you a glimpse of what life was like in the region’s past.

We didn’t visit, and I’d probably only prioritise it if you have several days in Sapporo or you’re particularly interested in history.

Personally, I’d still choose Odori Park, the Beer Museum and Otaru first.

But if you’ve had enough shopping streets, observation decks and food, this offers something completely different.

21. Visit Shiroi Koibito Park

Shiroi Koibito Park is essentially a theme park dedicated to biscuits.

Japan, obviously.

It’s the home of Shiroi Koibito, one of Hokkaido’s best-known souvenirs: thin biscuits sandwiched around chocolate.

The park combines the chocolate factory with elaborate European-style buildings, gardens, shops and plenty of opportunities to buy considerably more confectionery than you intended.

We didn’t visit because it wasn’t high enough on my Sapporo wishlist to squeeze into four nights.

But if you’re travelling with children, have a serious sweet tooth or have already developed an unhealthy attachment to Shiroi Koibito biscuits, you’ll probably get considerably more out of it than I would have.

Personally, I’d put it in the nice-to-do rather than must-do category for a first trip to Sapporo.

22. Give yourself time to simply explore Sapporo

This sounds like a cop-out final entry.

It isn’t.

One of the things I enjoyed most about Sapporo was not feeling like we had to sprint between attractions.

Tokyo had been incredible, but we’d spent days averaging around 20,000 steps while trying to fit in neighbourhoods, observation decks, temples and experiences.

Sapporo gave us room to slow down.

We sat around Odori Park.

We wandered through Tanukikoji more than once.

We found a tiny Eritrean café for breakfast.

We hung out with a coffee shop owner talking about our travels over coffee.

We spent an afternoon at a beer garden we hadn’t known existed before arriving.

And some of those moments are what I remember most.

Don’t fill every hour simply because you’ve found another attraction on Google Maps.

BOOK: Sapporo Culture & History Walking Tour

What to do in Sapporo in summer

Summer is a brilliant time to spend more of your Sapporo trip outdoors.

I’d make the most of the warmer weather by spending time in Odori Park, exploring Hokkaido Shrine and Maruyama Park and heading up Mount Moiwa around sunset.

It’s also a good time to get out of the city.

Otaru makes an easy day trip, while Jozankei Onsen is another option if you’d rather spend half a day or longer exploring the mountains outside Sapporo.

If you’re visiting during the Sapporo Summer Festival, I’d absolutely leave space in your itinerary for that too. The Odori Beer Garden ended up being one of the highlights of our time in Hokkaido, despite me not even being particularly interested in beer.

My biggest recommendation would be not to over-plan.

One of the things I enjoyed most about Sapporo in summer was simply being able to wander around, sit outside and enjoy the city without constantly rushing towards the next attraction.

After Tokyo, that felt like a holiday in itself.

What is Sapporo like in July?

We visited Sapporo in July and the first thing I noticed was the temperature.

We’d just flown up from Tokyo, where temperatures had reached 39°C during our trip.

Sapporo was around 26°C.

Still warm.

Considerably less murderous.

That temperature difference completely changed how we travelled. Instead of repeatedly looking for air conditioning and wondering whether sightseeing was worth developing heatstroke for, we could actually enjoy being outside.

I particularly enjoyed being able to wear make-up without having it immediately slide off my face!

July also turned out to be far livelier than I’d expected.

Sapporo is also well known for skiing and snowboarding in winter, thanks to the nearby mountains. Obviously, that wasn’t happening in July, unless someone had worked out how to ski on grass.

We accidentally arrived on the first day of the Sapporo Summer Festival, so Odori Park was full of people and huge sections were being transformed into beer gardens.

We hadn’t planned our trip around the festival at all.

In fact, I hadn’t even known it was happening.

But spending an afternoon at the Odori Beer Garden, eating grilled corn and baked potatoes and somehow making friends with locals despite speaking absolutely no Japanese became one of my favourite memories from Sapporo.

We later learnt that plenty of Japanese visitors head north to Hokkaido during summer to escape the heat further south.

Having just experienced Tokyo in July, I completely understood why.

So if you’re looking for things to do in Sapporo in July, my biggest tip isn’t actually to add more attractions to your itinerary.

Check what’s happening during your dates and leave yourself some free time.

We did, admittedly by accident.

And I’m very glad we did.

How many days do you need in Sapporo?

I’d allow at least three full days if Sapporo is going to be one of your main bases in Hokkaido.

You could see many of the central places to visit in Sapporo in two days, but I’d allow longer if you want to take day trips.

We used Sapporo as our base for several nights, which meant we could explore the city without constantly moving hotels and take an easy day trip to Otaru.

Where to stay in Sapporo

We stayed at the Sapporo Grand Hotel for four nights, and I’d happily recommend it if you’re visiting Sapporo for the first time.

The biggest selling point for us was the location.

It’s right in the city centre, within easy walking distance of Odori Park, Sapporo Clock Tower, Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade and Susukino. Sapporo Station is also nearby, which made it a convenient base for exploring further afield.

We could walk to most of the attractions we wanted to visit without constantly figuring out public transport, which was particularly nice after five hectic days in Tokyo.

The rooms were also surprisingly large, especially compared with what you might expect from a city hotel in Japan.

After spending our days exploring Sapporo, it was lovely to come back to a room where we actually had space to spread out rather than having to climb over our suitcases.

For a first visit, I’d definitely stay somewhere central again.

Check prices and availability at Sapporo Grand Hotel.

Is Sapporo worth visiting?

Absolutely.

Especially if you’re visiting Japan in summer.

I loved Tokyo, but by the time we flew north, I was ready for somewhere that didn’t require fighting my way through crowds while slowly dissolving in 39°C heat.

Sapporo gave us something completely different.

It’s still a major Japanese city, but it feels more manageable at a slower pace.

There are enough things to do in Sapporo to keep you busy for several days, but you can also use it as a base for exploring more of Hokkaido without constantly changing hotels.

And some of my favourite moments weren’t necessarily the major attractions.

They were sitting in Odori Park, stumbling across somewhere good to eat, spending an unplanned afternoon at the Summer Festival and somehow making friends with people despite sharing almost no common language.

If you’re planning your first Japan trip and automatically assuming you need to follow Tokyo with Kyoto and Osaka, I’d seriously consider heading north instead.

Particularly in July.

Your sweat glands will thank you.

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Read more about planning a trip to Japan:

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• Things to Do in Sapporo: 22 Places to Visit on Your First Trip