Exploring Sapporo – Odori Park, Sapporo Beer Museum and shopping at Tanukikoji Street and Sapporo Station.

1 September 2023

The plan for the day was to explore Sapporo in a free and easy manner, do some shopping at Tanuki-koji Street and have dinner at Susukino. I had some interesting sights mapped out on Google Map, such as Odori Park, Sapporo TV Tower, former Hokkaido Government Office, and Sapporo Clock Tower.

After breakfast at the Gracery Hotel, we took a short walk to Odori Park. Sapporo is easy to navigate, with the streets running in the North-South and East-West direction in a grid pattern. Located in the heart of Sapporo, the iconic Odori Park stretches east to west for 12 blocks (approximately 1.5km).

 

 

Odori Park and the Sapporo Clock Tower

We started at the eastern end of Odori Park where the Sapporo TV Tower stood. The tower has an observation deck with supposedly nice views of the park and the surrounding city.  We did not pay to go up to the deck but spend time relaxing in the green park and snapping photos of the tower. 

 

We were a late for the summer festival, so the park was quiet. We saw some workers preparing structures and tentage for an event. Autumn festival perhaps.

Some locals were out with their dogs, enjoying the green park in the middle of the bustling city.

Me fooling around up the Black Slide Mantra. The sculpture itself is a slide made of black stone.

After enjoying some peace and quiet at the Odori Park, we followed signage for our next destination - Tanuki Koji Street. We missed going to the former Hokkaido Government Office with exhibits on Hokkaido history but we did not mind that. 

Tanuki koji Shopping Street

Out first sight of Tanuki koji Shopping Street at Nishi-7-chome.

Opened in 1873, the Tanuki Koji shopping arcade is one of the oldest shopping streets in Hokkaido. Tanuki koji is an approximately 1 km long covered street with around 200 shops that runs east to west in downtown Sapporo, south of and parallel to Odori Street. The roofed arcade starts at Nishi-1-chome and ends at Nishi-7-chome.

A familiar signage. Unfortunately this Singapore themed eatery was not opened for business.

The real shopping starts from here – from 6th street onwards.

The shops are selling cosmetics, clothes, souvenirs, snacks, etc.

One of the more interesting stores is  Tanukiya. An iconic large Japanese raccoon marks the entrance. Tanukiya is one of the largest class souvenir store in Sapporo. Its spacious floor is filled with local specialties of Hokkaido, famous branded confectioneries like Shirokoibito, Royce, Rokkatei chocolate, T-shirts, lavender, beauty and health products.

And there is tax free shopping too. Tax free shopping in Japan is so so convenient. Just need to spent above 5000 yen, show your passport and the 10% sales tax on the goods would be deducted up front at the tax free cashier counter. However, the goods have to be brought out of Japan and the store will seal the items in a transparent plastic bag for custom officers to inspect at the airport (but we usually just pack them into our checked luggage).

One of the must visit shops. We bought some chocolates and Hokkaido foodstuff to bring home.

Mega Don Quijote store at Tanuki koji Shopping Street.

Another interesting store is the Mega Don Quijote. Don Quijote is easily the largest store, occupying 5 or more levels, and selling all sorts of stuff. It is open 24 hours a day. We bought a new suitcase to replace the old one with the broken handle.

Lunch at Fugetsu Okonomiyaki Restaurant

There are many restaurants along Tanuki-koji Street. We decided to have my son try the okonomiyaki. Okonomiyaki (literally means ‘grilled as you like it’) is a savory version of "Japanese pizza" or "Japanese pancake" and the ingredients and taste varies from region to region within Japan.

My wife and I had our first okonomiyaki in Hiroshima and then later in Kyoto and Osaka and we enjoyed this dish.

Waiting for a table outside the Fugetsu Okonomiyaki Restaurant. Note the light blue new suitcase we bought.

The restaurant serves okonomiyaki, monjayaki and yakisoba. Okonomiyaki, hailing from Osaka, features a thick batter loaded with cabbage and ingredients mixed together. Monjayaki, from Tokyo, has a thinner, runnier batter and a melt-in-your-mouth texture. Ingredients are first cooked separately, and then the batter is added.

We ordered the wagyu okonomiyaki (1650 Yen) and deluxe seafood okonomiyaki that came with Hokkaido pork, Squid and Shrimp (1430 Yen).

The raw ingredients for our orders. Look at the marbling on the wagyu beef!

It was interesting to see the food being cooked by the staff in front of us. The friendly waitress stopped at each stage of the cook to allow us to snap photos before proceeding to the next step.

The thick pre-made batter with cabbage is first placed on the sizzling hot plate and the ingredients (seafood or beef) placed on top.

We were provided with paper aprons that protected our clothes from the oil from the sizzling hot plate.

Flipped and cooking the other side.

One of the key characteristics of okonomiyaki is the thick, sweet brown sauce that is drizzled over the savory pancake.

Mayonnaise sauce being added.

Adding bonito flakes to the seafood okonomiyaki. I love to see the flakes dancing on top of the hot food.

Bonito flakes on top of the seafood okonomiyaki (left) and bacon on top of the wagyu oknomiyaki.

We also ordered a seafood yakisoba (fried noodles) that came with Hokkaido scallops, squid, shrimp and green toppings (1540 yen).

Seafood yakisoba.

Surprisingly, we were able to finish all the food. The food is that good and we were hungry.

Shopping at the malls in Sapporo Station 

We decided to go back to our hotel to dump the shopping bags and the new suitcase that we bought before heading to explore the shops and malls in Sapporo Station. There are lots of shopping at this train station, including the underground mall, Daimaru departmental store, Esta mall, APIA, Stellar Place, etc. One could easily spent the whole day just shopping inside.

The Dairmaru Department Store at the Sapporo Station opposite our hotel (the Gracery Hotel Sapporo).

We spent more time at the newly opened Bic Camera store located at the Tokyu building (they used to be at the Esta Building). This is a multi-storey mega store offering electronic, computer, pharmacy, alcohol and household products.

We browsed through the toys section and managed to buy some toys for our grandson.

One of my son’s favourites when he was a child - Ultraman figurines.

A worthy item to buy and bring home is the alcohol product, especially whisky. Since we had already bought some whisky from Nikka Distillery, we only bought an additional bottle of Glenlivet 12 years. There is tax free shopping in BIC Camera too!

Local whisky on sale at excellent prices.

There are imported whisky at good prices too.

Sapporo Beer Museum

My son actually did not join us for shopping at Sapporo Station until later. He wanted to buy a limited edition Sapporo Beer T-shirt so he walked to the Sapporo Beer Museum by himself before rejoining us at the Bic Camera store.

Hokkaido is the birthplace of beer in Japan. Sapporo Beer, one of the oldest and most popular beer brands in the country, has been brewed in Sapporo since 1877.

This red brick building used to be a brewery. Now it is the Sapporo Beer Museum.

Touring the beer museum.

Sapporo Beer Museum is also known for their beer garden and restaurants serving the famous “all-you can-eat” Genghis Khan BBQ Mutton buffet.

We skipped the tempting Genghis Khan BBQ this time and went to have dinner at Susukino instead.