10 Highlights of Hokkaido: from Sapporo to Obihiro

Tokachigawa Onsen Daiichi Hotel

Japan’s second-largest island has one-fifth of the country’s landmass yet less than 5% of its population. Two million (or just over one-third) of those people live in Sapporo, the main city, which is closer to Russia than to Tokyo. Think of Sapporo as a baby Tokyo, with wider, less frenetic streets and real winters that make it an ideal place to host the massive annual Sapporo Snow Festival, where tourists and locals can spend eight days every February gawking at ice sculptures that reach up to 40 feet in height.

While Sapporo is the most likely gateway to Hokkaido if you’re arriving by air, Hokkaido’s next largest city claims fewer than 400,000 residents. In fact, most of Hokkaido is devoid of the skyscrapers many associate with one of Asia’s most urbanized countries. When driving across the island, you’re more likely to see cows grazing along rural roads where silos are the tallest structures for miles.

Here are 10 highlights of Hokkaido, from Sapporo to Obihiro.

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Sapporo TV Tower

JR Tower Observatory T38

Sapporo JR Tower was the city’s tallest building from 2003 to 2023. And ONE Sapporo Station Tower only eclipsed it by a not noticeable to the naked eye 7.’ A visit to the 38th-floor observatory is an ideal way to start your Hokkaido visit. As the green and blue subway lines run under JR Tower, the railway lines are visible, as is the Sapporo TV Tower.

There’s a 360-degree view of the city from every corner of the observation deck, including the bathrooms, with the men’s room having a floor–to–ceiling glass window. As you’ll be looking down at nearly every other rooftop in Sapporo, this is a good time to mention cell phones, reception, and the best eSIMs for Japan. Head over to Mobal for both long-term and tourist options.

Sapporo at night

JR Tower is in the centrally located Chuo Ward. This is a practical area to stay in if you don’t have a car. Floors 23 to 34 of JR Tower house the JR Tower Hotel Nikko Sapporo, which is one of hundreds of lodging options in and around the city center. Chuo Ward is large enough to have sub-neighborhoods, including Susukino, where entertainment and nightlife are concentrated. If those are a priority, then staying at the Sapporo Stream Hotel is ideal.

Bar & Grill Splish breakfast buffet

Part of the Tokyu Hotels group, Sapporo Stream has an 18th-floor spa with onsen baths only available to guests staying in premium rooms. Bar & Grill Splish is the lobby-level hotel restaurant with a breakfast buffet for guests only. If you begin your trip here, this is where you’ll start to realize that Hokkaido is different.

As Hokkaido is Japan’s dairyland, for every soba noodle and raw-fish station, there’s a cheese station and a Hokkaido soft-serve ice cream machine. In situations like this, jet lag can work in your favor to the point where eating soft serve for breakfast is just what one does when in Sapporo. Bonus: You can see the nORIA (Ferris wheel) from the dining area.

Ski jump

Sapporo Olympic Museum

Sapporo hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, and there’s a museum commemorating the occasion, just 30 minutes from the city center. If you add in the adjacent Mt. Okura Ski Jump Stadium and Nouvelle Pousse Okurayama, you can easily spend an entire morning or afternoon here. While the ski jump is only for professionals, one of the highlights is taking the chair lift up to the Okurayama Viewing Point. From there, you can look down the slope, across the hills, and on to the model urban planning of Sapporo. It’s a view you won’t get from the top of a skyscraper.

The museum has historical exhibits geared towards adults and young students as well as interactive simulated winter sports for young ones and adults who want to relive their more athletic years. Meanwhile, the multi-course tasting menu restaurant focuses on Hokkaido ingredients with French preparation techniques. You can spend as little as $30 or as much as $100 here, with lunch always being the more affordable option.

Sapporo Autumn Fest

Hokkaido’s only major city hosts several annual festivals, including the Sapporo Autumn Fest, which takes place between September and October. If you prefer more temperate weather, this is the festival to attend. The fact that the Sapporo Autumn Festival brings together a few hundred food vendors from around Japan into the city’s equivalent of Central Park makes it worth traveling for. Hokkaido’s version of Oktoberfest is part of the annual three-week event, where at most, you’ll have to wear a light jacket in the evening. Entry is free.

Even if you don’t visit Hokkaido during Sapporo Autumn Fest, Odori Park is an ideal place to catch the pulse of the city center. It may not be Sapporo’s largest public park (that distinction belongs to the Isamu Noguchi-designed Moerenuma Park, which is northeast of the city center), but so many key attractions are within walking distance of here, including Sapporo TV Tower. And to the east lies the man-made Sōsei River, which divides the city center into east and west.

Sapporo Beer Garden Hokkaido Genghis Khan lamb Jingisukan

Sapporo Beer Garden and Genghis Khan

Japan’s oldest beer brand dates back to 1876 and is one of its most popular internationally. While Japan has a few other beer shrines, this is the only one to call itself a museum and the only one in Hokkaido. Here, you can learn the history of beer in Japan, with a focus on Hokkaido. Spoiler alert: the Germans were involved. And if you care more about drinking beer than learning about its history in Hokkaido, there are a few Sapporo brands you can taste here that are not sold outside of Japan.

What makes the Sapporo Beer Garden worth visiting, whether you drink beer or not, is the all-you-can-eat Genghis Khan, which is a local lamb dish grilled at your table. Japan is widely recognized for producing the best premium beef in Asia. Still, anyone who has not visited Hokkaido can be forgiven for asking whether or not the Japanese eat lamb. Here, the thinly sliced lamb is grilled at your table, so be prepared to change your shirt afterward. It’s grilled with onions, bean sprouts, and other vegetables that get much of their flavor from the lamb juice. For added flavor, you can use the soy- and garlic-based barbecue sauce you’ll see on the tables around you.

Hokkaido Scallops and Other Seafood

Japanese restaurants with serious sushi chefs tend to favor seafood from Hokkaido. That’s especially true of uni and scallops. While nearly every omakase experience in the United States includes seafood flown in from Hokkaido, the best (and more affordable) option is to enjoy it at the source. And then there are the four main types of crab Hokkaido is famous for, including hairy crab, which tends to be smaller but sweeter. Just like Maine lobster is sweeter because of cold water, so is Hokkaido crab, scallops, and uni.

While in Sapporo, there are countless seafood options beyond breakfast buffets, whether you are visiting during a festival or not. If you’re looking for something uniquely Japanese, try the upscale Suginome in the entertainment district.

Author with geishas

Here, you can book a private dining room with a Geisha performance. If you prefer to enjoy Hokkaido beef or seafood at a higher elevation (let’s say 85 meters), the Keio Plaza Hotel Sapporo has two distinct 22nd-floor restaurants. One (Miyama) overlooks Hokkaido University, while the other (Teppan-yaki Yamanami) has a city view.

ES CON Field

If you’re a serious baseball fan who has visited every Major League Baseball Stadium in the United States, ES CON Field is worth getting a plane for. If you’re a casual or lapsed fan, Japan’s newest professional baseball stadium is still worth a visit. While American stadiums have certainly been upping their game when it comes to food and entertainment options, Japan is light-years ahead.

For example, ES CON Field has its own sauna and onsen in left field from which you can watch the game. And if visiting the stadium for a game or tour is just not enough, you can spend a night in single-floor rooms just outside the stadium or in Tower Eleven, which is built into the left field. There’s also an on-site brewery.

Cloud Walk

Sea of Clouds

Some things are worth waking up at 3 AM for. And the sea of clouds at Unaki Terrace is one of those. While you don’t have to be a guest of Hoshino Resorts Tomamu to hop on the Unkai Gondola, it is worth spending the prior night for the convenience. You’ll get a free wake-up call, and guests don’t pay for the gondola ride. Once you’ve ascended the 3,000 meters, you can enjoy adrenaline junkie activities like a stroll along the cloud boardwalk or an equally suspenseful crawl around the cloud pool, which is a net that juts out over the mountain.

Cloud Cafe

There’s also the Cloud Cafe, where even the French macarons are shaped like clouds.

Do keep in mind that the experience is not available between mid-October and Mid-May.

Shinto shrine Lake Shikaribetsu

Lake Shikaribetsu

While Lake Shikotsu is Hokkaido’s deepest lake, Lake Shikaribetsu is its highest. It’s best to start your journey at the Nature Center. From there, you can rent a kayak, which comes with a guide. While it’s nice to see the lake bottom at 60 feet, the more quirky attraction on the lake is the tiny Shinto shrine located on the lake’s only island. While landing is prohibited due to its protected status, it’s certainly on par with quirky roadside attractions on the island of Hokkaido.

Winter is a completely different experience, as the lake freezes over and an ice village is built atop the lake. Hokkaido’s only other ice village is at nearby Hoshino Resorts Tomamu.

Segway tour

Tokachi Millennium Forest

Designed to offset carbon and named after the nearby coastal Tokachi District, Tokachi Millennium Forest is a large conservation project west of Obihiro. There’s an outdoor art installation here by none other than Yoko Ono. There’s also a goat farm, where the hundred-plus goats produce milk used to make cheese and other dairy products sold at the gift shop. And speaking of dairy products, you can also join a pizza-making class. Hiking is popular as well, but if you don’t want to wander off on your own, you can join a guided Segway tour, where the twist is that the tires are big enough for off-roading.

Tokachigawa Onsen Daiichi Hotel

Tokachigawa Onsen Daiichi Hotel

If you’re flying out of Obihiro, this is an ideal place to spend your final night(s) in Hokkaido. While nearly all of Japan’s 47 prefectures have onsens, the most mineral-rich waters tend to be in Hokkaido. At Tokachigawa Onsen Daiichi Hotel, water from the hot springs is piped up to 36 of the rooms, six of which also have river views. While splurging for one of these rooms is an ideal way to end a Hokkaido trip, there are also public indoor and outdoor baths on the property if you’re looking to save some yen. As this is Japan, tattoos are frowned upon in public baths.

Room 435 balcony onsen

Moor hot springs are not the only attraction at this 108-room property. You can also dine in one of the complimentary traditional Japanese robes that are provided for guests. The breakfast buffet is what you’d expect from any upscale Japanese hotel, but with a twist. As this is Japan’s dairyland, the fresh mozzarella you’ll get will be on par with what you’ll find in New York or Naples. And for dinner, you can enjoy a combination of sushi and A5 Wagyu beef, which you can grill at the table.

Holstein dairy cows at Tokachi Obihiro Airport

Highlights of Hokkaido: from Sapporo to Obihiro

While it’s easiest to connect at one of the two Tokyo airports on your way to Hokkaido, there are seasonal winter direct flights to Sapporo (CTS) via United from SFO and via Air Canada from YVR. Obihiro is a small one-terminal airport with mostly domestic routes, including daily flights to Tokyo (HND) and Nagoya. Both are under two hours.

If you prefer to arrive in Hokkaido by the more scenic train route, you must first stop at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station on the southwest of the island. From there, you can change trains for the 3-hour journey north to Shin-Sapporo Station.