(Photos by Denisse Rauda/Stripes Japan)
Whether it’s for the Snow Festival in February or as stop in on the way to the mountains for skiing, Sapporo is a top spot to visit in the chilly months. I’m not a big fan of snow or extreme cold, but I am of low humidity and delicious food, so a quick hop to Sapporo to escape the Tokyo rain season sounded like heaven.
What I found was that the hype about the capital city of Hokkaido being a foodie central was true. If you’re expecting street food, you’ll be disappointed because unless you’re at a festival, you won’t find too much of it. Instead, you’ll find delicious local specialties and incredible local produce that will make you fall in love with Sapporo’s food scene. If you’re only in town for a day or two like I was, here are four foods you’ve got to try while you’re there!
(Illustration by Stripes Japan)
Genghis Khan (Photo by Denisse Rauda/Stripes Japan)
Lamb meat is a taste that I’ve definitely acquired, but I understand the unique flavors might not be for everyone. If you’re a lamb lover, then you’re sure to find some great spots dedicated to lamb meat in Sapporo. I opted for a lamb meal after touring the Sapporo Beer Museum at Kaitakushi-kan beer hall, one of the five different restaurants on the grounds. The restaurant offers all-you-can-eat and drink options as well as a la carte. Since our reservation was one hour before last order, we opted for the a la carte Genghis Khan with grilled vegetables (2,000 yen), an assortment platter of lamb cuts (3,980 yen) and an order of the beer hall’s original lamb dumplings (450 yen).
Each table at Katakushi-kan has an electric grill so it’s a hands-on experience. The Ghengis Khan was juicy and the cuts of lamb, including shoulder, leg, loin, shoulder loin and spareribs, were delightful. The tangy, peppered dipping sauce on the table gave the tender cuts a punch. My favorite, by far, were the lamb dumplings. The gyoza dumplings were generously filled with well-seasoned ground lamb meat and green onions. I wanted to order more since one order came with only three and we were sharing, but we had a lot of meat on the grill. We ended up splitting the third dumpling.
Sapporo KaItakushi-kan
Address: 2-10, Kita 7-jo Higashi 9-chome, Higashi-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 065-0007
Soup curry (Photo by Denisse Rauda/)
This is the signature dish in Sapporo with a plethora of options of restaurants to try. Soup curry is exactly what the name implies, a brothy, curry-flavored soup with protein like chicken, pork or shrimp and a medley of local vegetables. Soup curry restaurants will offer different varieties of curry soup, including different levels of spice. My favorite is coconut milk-based soup curry at an above mid-level spiciness. The best bowl of soup curry I had on my trip was at Soup Curry Lavi near the Sapporo TV Tower. I ordered the Lavi special curry (1600 yen) and added the coconut soup option for 250 yen more. The dish came with a side of rice, generous portions of pork char siu and chicken, plus a quail egg, three cheese raviolis and vegetables like okra, pumpkin, carrots, potato, broccoli and eggplant. The hearty dish must be excellent in the cold months, but I wasn’t going to pass up this trip to Flavor Town.
Soup Curry Lavi
Address: 1 Chome−13 Le Trois 8F, Odorinishi, Chuo Ward, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0042
Seafood boil (Photo by Denisse Rauda/Stripes Japan)
This one is a no brainer: You must try seafood in Hokkaido! The local catches are impressive and Sapporo has a few famous fish markets where long lines will show you that people are willing to wait to get their hands on the local salmon, tuna, scallops, uni sea urchin, shrimp, hairy/snow/king crab and more. I was craving an American-style seafood boil situation and Sapporo provided. A new shop called Samurai Seafood, about a 10-minute walk from tourist hot-spot Tanukikoji Street, fuses the flavors of the “Big Easy” with Hokkaido’s prized catches. This is not a cheap meal, but I enjoyed a taste of home despite the menu not including extra melted butter for dipping on the side. We ordered the Snow Crab Combo (9,100 yen) with generous portions of crab, shrimp, sausage, sweet Hokkaido corn chunks and potatoes, which was more than enough for two. Seafood purists might not enjoy this, but I sure did.
Seafood Samurai
Address: 9 Chome- 1008-10 Minami 5 Jonishi, Chuo Ward, Sapporo Hokkaido 064-0805
Lavender ice cream (Photo by Denisse Rauda/Stripes Japan)
My lactose-intolerant friends might want to make sure to pack some extra Lactaid. According to the Hokkaido Official Tourism site, Hokkaido is known as the “Dairy Kingdown” since it produces over half of Japan’s dairy. In Sapporo, you’ll find it in everything, from soft serve ice cream and cheese to restaurants boasting about Hokkaido butter in their dishes. I made sure to grab an ice cream cone… or four… had plenty of Hokkaido butter and even picked up some bottles of coffee made with local milk. Bottom line: Hokkaido’s dairy crown is secure. The milk was creamy and I loved everything I tried that had Hokkaido dairy in it. If you have more time, a visit to a dairy farm in neighboring areas to try fresh milk and other products is a popular activity for visitors.
