Hokkaido Restaurants

Hokkaido's regional food includes excellent seafood, beef, lamb, corn on the cob, and potatoes. Dining out is generally much cheaper than in Tokyo and Osaka. Look for lunch and dinner tabehodai (all-you-can-eat) smorgasbords (called baikingu, from the word Viking; long story) ranging from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000. Many restaurants have picture menus or a visual display made of plastic in the window. Lead the waiter outside to the window display and point if necessary.

Outside the cities there may not be many dining choices in the evening, and many resort towns (where meals are included in hotel stays) may offer nothing but noodles and booze. Further, dinner reservations at guesthouses are required, and if you arrive without a reservation and are able to secure a room, you will generally have to eat elsewhere. Not to worry—you won’t starve: There are 24-hour convenience stores (konbini) in any Hokkaido settlement, where you can pick up a bento box lunch, sandwiches, or just about any amenity necessary. While large hot-spring hotels often have huge buffet dinners, the smaller guesthouses excel in food that is locally caught, raised, and picked. Given the overall high quality of dining throughout Japan, you probably won’t even need to leave your hotel to get a decent meal.

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  • 1. Ajidokoro Takeda

    $$

    Claws emerging from a bed of fresh-cut crab and darkly gleaming red salmon eggs piled high on a bowl of rice are just two of the famous raw-fish options at this 50-year-old family restaurant in the middle of the noisy fish market. They also have lighter options like fresh shellfish and simple grilled fish, rice, and miso lunch sets. The menus have plenty of pictures and a bit of English to make ordering easier. The restaurant also houses a fishmonger known as Takeda Sengyoten.  

    3--10--16 Inaho, Otaru, Hokkaido, 047-0032, Japan
    0134-22–9652

    Known For

    • The well-priced omakase-don
    • Fresh crab
    • Half-shell oysters

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner
  • 2. Boyotei

    $$

    A European-style restaurant set in a tranquil garden, with very friendly staff, Boyotei (which literally means "View of Mt. Yotei") charms with its stone floor, low beams, long-legged tables, and family photos dating back for decades. There are English menus available.

    36--12 Toyako Onsen, Toyako-cho, Hokkaido, 049-5721, Japan
    0142-75–2311

    Known For

    • Hokkaido onion gratin soup
    • Hamburger steak platters
    • Various macaroni gratins
  • 3. Daruma

    $$ | Chuo-ku

    Below the red sign depicting a roly-poly mustachioed doll, this establishment founded in 1954 serves the city's freshest barbecued lamb jingisukan. The slices of lamb are served steaming atop heaps of vegetables. At the end of the meal you're given hot tea to mix with what's left of your dipping sauce—mixed together, they're oddly delicious. Be sure to wear your least-favorite clothes and don the paper bib that's provided, then feast away until you become roly-poly yourself.

    Minami 5 Nishi 4, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 064-0805, Japan
    011-552–6013

    Known For

    • Popular (can be a line in the evening)
    • Local Sapporo atmosphere
    • Good-value lamb plates

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch, Reservations not accepted
  • 4. Ebi-Ten Bun-Ten

    $$ | Chuo-ku

    On a narrow street near the Mitsukoshi department store, Ebi-Ten Bun-Ten is as friendly a tempura place as you're likely to find in Hokkaido. The sliding doors behind a blue banner reveal a quiet, homey restaurant, managed for two generations by the friendly Yamada family. Seating is available at the counter, at tables, and in tatami rooms with cushions. A rudimentary English menu is available.

    Minami 2 Nishi 4, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0062, Japan
    011-271–2867

    Known For

    • Tendon sets (tempura served on rice) from ¥800
    • Decadent king crab tempura (¥3,000)
    • à la carte options
  • 5. Izakaya Bang Bang

    $$$$

    Sizzling yakitori (meat on wood skewers) and other local favorites like grilled salmon and herring accompany imports like spareribs and tacos at this place in Hirafu Village. The folks at the nearby tables could become tomorrow's skiing or whitewater rafting buddies, and your hotel's staffers probably enjoy their evenings off here. It's open for dinner, but if you're in the area around lunchtime consider the sister restaurant Bang 2 (Deux) just next door. English translations are on the menu.

    188--24 Aza-Yamada, Kutchan, Hokkaido, 044-0081, Japan
    0136-22–4292

    Known For

    • International crowd
    • Chicken, skewered meats, and vegetable yakitori
    • Fun vibe

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed end of the ski season till July. No lunch
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  • 6. Jo-Jo's

    $$

    This spacious, laid-back restaurant—all soaring beams and wide windows overlooking Mt. Yotei—on the second floor of Niseko Adventure Center is busy all day with guides and their nervous or elated customers. The platters here overflow with nourishing meals for adventurers, including an all-Hokkaido burger with only local ingredients. Jo-Jo's sells drinks from 9:30, but doesn't start serving food until 11.

    179--53 Aza-Yamada, Niseko, Hokkaido, 044-0081, Japan
    0136-23–2220

    Known For

    • Juicy burgers
    • Homemade cakes
    • Fresh salads
  • 7. Kani Honke Sapporo Station

    $$$$ | Chuo-ku

    There are two branches of Kani Honke, one in Susukino, and the other in front of Sapporo Station. In business for more than 50 years, these crab-eating havens serves raw, steamed, boiled, and baked crustaceans—the waitress will tell you whether the ke-gani (hairy crab), taraba-gani (king crab), or zuwai-kani (snow crab) is in season. Wood beams, tatami mats, and traditional decorations provide an authentic setting for the feast. Look for the building with crabs all over it and a couple of giant white signs on the roof. There's also an English menu.

    2--1--18 Kitasanjo-Nishi, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0003, Japan
    011-222--0018

    Known For

    • Local icon
    • Courses centered on crab shabu-shabu or crab sukiyaki
    • Sides such as sashimi of tuna belly
  • 8. Keyaki

    $ | Susukino

    This ordinary-looking 10-stools-at-the-plastic-counter joint in Susukino has had lines of faithful slurpers outside since the year 2000 (a lifetime for a ramen shop) and is still chopping, boiling, and serving its succinct seven-item ramen menu. Order from the vending machine at the door then wait on the bench or stand around the corner; once seated wait for the cook to hand down a steaming bowl topped generously with vegetables from the raised and hidden kitchen. If you want to keep your clothes clean, don't avoid slurping, just accept the paper bib they offer.

    Minami 6 Nishi 3, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 064-0806, Japan
    011-552–4601

    Known For

    • Corn and butter ramen
    • Garlic (ninniku) ramen
    • Cha-shu (seasoned pork) ramen
  • 9. Matsuda Suisan - Shiretoko Tabi no Eki

    $$

    This bustling village eatery serves steaming crab curry, golden sea urchin on rice, and anything else they can make out of the morning's catch. They often give customers free crab legs to suck on while they wait. It's near the harbor down from the Shiretoko Grand Hotel and across the street from the 7-Eleven; picture menus are available for easy ordering.

    Utoro Higashi 151, Shiretoko, Hokkaido, 099-4355, Japan
    0152-24–2910

    Known For

    • Unidon (rice bowl topped with sea urchin) for ¥4,000
    • Filling teishoku (set meals)

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No credit cards
  • 10. Meiji Hakodate Beer Hall

    $$

    This seaside hall serves seafood as well as a huge variety of other foods from pastas to salads that can keep just about anyone satisfied. The soaring rafters are beautiful and the atmosphere is lively. Its spaciousness and conviviality are typical of Hokkaido and, although it's in a tourist complex, even locals like the wide range of seasonal specials from a menu that changes monthly.

    14--12 Suehiro-cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 040-0064, Japan
    0138-27–1010

    Known For

    • Local craft brews on tap
    • Hakodate's specialty ika somen (raw squid thinly sliced and resembling noodles)
    • Superfresh sashimi sets
  • 11. Nakazushi

    $$

    Nakano-san presides over the catch of the day in a small restaurant, run since the 1970s by the same family. Take a seat at the wooden counter, over which Nakano-san offers you whatever seafood is in season. Open from midday to midnight.

    Minami 2 Nishi 2, Abashiri, Hokkaido, 093-0012, Japan
    0152-43–3447

    Known For

    • Grilled seafood such as plump scallops (hotate)
    • Sushi sets
    • Seafood donburi, a bowl of rice topped with sea urchin (uni), salmon roe (ikura), or other in-season produce
  • 12. Otaru Beer Otaru Warehouse No.1

    $

    Located in one of the warehouses beside the Otaru Canal, Otaru Beer a great place to try the local Weiss, Pilsner, and Dunkel. The food is also international with a menu that includes such wildly differing foods as pizza, paella, german sausage, and roast pork. The shiny copper brew kettles, brick walls, and wooden beams help create a great atmosphere. Otaru Beer has been a favorite amongst locals and visitors for nearly three decades. 

    Minato Machi 5--4, Otaru, Hokkaido, 047-0007, Japan
    0134-21--2323

    Known For

    • Great house-brewed beer selections
    • Fun atmosphere that draws locals and tourists
    • Good pizza
  • 13. Otaru Kita Togarashi Restaurant

    $$

    Standing apart from all the sushi joints in Otaru is this lamb barbecue heaven at the easy-to-find branch of a famous jingisukan restaurant. Purchase a plate of tender, succulent lamb, which you cook tyourself on a dome-shaped griddle with side orders of alfalfa sprouts (moyashi) and leeks (negi). If you're still hungry, pick up a crepe or a treat on your way out from one of the shops in the cute collection of buildings. Reservations are required on weekends.

    1--1--17 Ironai, Otaru, Hokkaido, 047-0024, Japan
    0134-33–0015

    Known For

    • Lamb steaks
    • Charcoal cooking
    • Bustling vibe
  • 14. Otaru Masazushi

    $$$

    In the middle of Otaru's famous strip of sushi restaurants, Masazushi serves up the morning's catch of herring, tuna, abalone, salmon, and more perched on quality vinegared rice. The staff will check your wasabi horseradish tolerance levels when taking your order. A good, quick lunch is the basic 10-piece akane set. The restaurant is quiet and removed from the day-tripper crowds, and in the evening it's where local business leaders hold court in private rooms, but there are English menus.

    1--1--1 Hanazono, Otaru, Hokkaido, 047-0024, Japan
    0134-23–0011

    Known For

    • Uni-ikura don (donburi of sea urchin and salmon roe)
    • Good-value lunch sets and children's meals
    • Indulgent evening courses like the super-expensive omakase

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Wed.
  • 15. Soup Curry Garaku

    $ | Chuo-ku

    In a city with no shortage of soup-curry restaurants, the long lines outside this place just south of Odori Park tell you how much the locals rate Garaku. There are eight basic soup curries on the menu to which you can add more toppings and tweak spice levels. The way to eat them is the same: the soup curry comes in a bowl with rice on the side that many people mix in as they go.

    Minami 2, Nishi 2, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
    011-233–5568

    Known For

    • Customizable spice levels from 1 to 40
    • Rice topped with grilled cheese
    • Classic chicken leg and vegetable soup curry
  • 16. Sushizen

    $$$$ | Chuo-ku

    Hokkaido sushi is famed throughout Japan, and this is probably the best of the best. It's where locals take guests when they want to impress them with a pure sushi experience. The main branch in Maruyama is the best of the four scattered around the city, while the one next to JR Sapporo Station (Daimaru 8F, Kita 5 Nishi 5) is cheaper and more welcoming to families (and where you won't need reservations).

    Kita 1 Nishi 27, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 064-0821, Japan
    011-612–0068

    Known For

    • Excellent service
    • Fixed-price omakase course
    • Elegant atmosphere

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Wed., Reservations essential
  • 17. Yamasan Michishita-Shoten

    $$

    Although squid is not the only thing on the menu, it is fresh—your squid is pulled flapping from the tank and might return minutes later sliced, with squid-ink black rice, delicious slivers of still-twitching flesh, soup, and pickles. If squid isn't your thing, don't fret, the restaurant has plenty of other seafood, and a picture menu for easy selection. Look for a sign with red letters on a yellow background.

    9--15 Wakamatsu-cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 040-0063, Japan
    0138-22–6086

    Known For

    • Reasonably priced rice bowl topped with uni (sea urchin), awabi (abalone) and ikura (salmon roe)
    • Crab-cream croquette
    • Squid in many ways, including raw
  • 18. Zazi

    $ | Chuo-ku

    A casual downtown coffee shop with an English menu, this hangout is popular with students and expats. Only one busy cook works in the kitchen, so don't expect a speedy lunch, but come in when you're peckish and you'll eventually leave feeling full. Or just hang out and have a cup of coffee or tea.

    Minami 2 Nishi 5, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0062, Japan
    011-221–0074

    Known For

    • One-pot stews
    • Generous pasta portions
    • Homemade cakes

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