If you’ve already been to Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, or other areas of Japan, or if you just love delicious food and nature, make Sapporo and Otaru next on your list of places to visit in Japan!

Sapporo is the largest city on Hokkaido, which is the northern island of Japan, and Otaru is located about 40 minutes away by train from Sapporo.

When people in Japan think of Hokkaido, the first things that come into mind are great food and beautiful nature. So, in this post, we’re going to briefly introduce some of the food and nature in Sapporo and Otaru.

Grindz (Food!)

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Hokkaido is kind of like the Big Island (of Hawaii) of Japan. It’s the largest island in Japan, and it’s known for fishing and large ranches/farms. Because of this, Sapporo is the place to get some of the best fish and meat (also dairy products) in all of Japan! From, fresh seafood, ramen, to desserts, Sapporo has it all. If you’re looking for ono (delicious) seafood, head over to Otaru! Otaru is a 40 minute train ride Sapporo, and you can enjoy looking at the ocean while leisurely making your way to Otaru.

Nature

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Sapporo has flowers, greenery, autumn leaves, and snow, so you can go there any time of year and enjoy nature. The Sapporo Snow Festival is held in early- February in and around Odori Park, and the Sapporo Lilac Festival is held in mid/late-May also in Odori Park. If you want to travel during winter from Hawaii, you need to get winter clothes because it is COLD. If you are unlucky or lucky, depending how you look at it, you can experience a Hokkaido winter in a blizzard. Blizzards are windy, snowy, and cold, but it makes the ramen taste that much better!

Travel Plan Recommendations

• If you are only going to stay in Sapporo and maybe check out Hakodate, which is about 3 and a half hours away from Sapporo by train, 5-7 days will work. This is if you want to have a relaxing trip.
• If you are active and want to go to Sapporo and travel to different areas of Hokkaido, at least 7 days would be necessary because Hokkaido is a lot larger than you think (about 32,000 square miles, which is about 8 times larger than the Big Island of Hawaii).
• If you want to fly into New Chitose Airport, which is about 40 minutes from Sapporo, spend some time in Sapporo before going to another part of Japan, you would need at least 7 days of traveling to fully enjoy your trip. If you do this, there are many options on how to plan your trip depending on where you want to go after Sapporo. If you want to finish your trip off in Tokyo, you could go from Sapporo directly to Tokyo by airplane; another option is to stop off at Sendai by shinkansen to stay a night or two, and then go to Tokyo. If you want to go to Sapporo and then Osaka, you would need to take a flight from New Chitose to Osaka (Kansai Airport or Itami Airport).

All in all, Sapporo and Otaru are great places to visit to each food and go out into nature!