Sapporo Guide and Five-Day Itinerary During the Snow Festival

Guide & Itinerary

Jan 30

As the capital city of Hokkaido and Japan’s fifth largest city, Sapporo (札幌市) is a city with plenty of things to see and do that can be visited all year round. Known for its beer and food specialities (ramen notably), its annual Snow Festival, held every February, attracts tourists from all over Japan and the world. I was lucky enough to visit Sapporo twice in wintertime in 2017 and 2023 during this special time of the year (see my article “15 pictures of the Sapporo Snow Festival 2023”).

In this article, I will be sharing with you the 5-day itinerary I made for my own trip in February 2023 to enjoy both the festival and explore Sapporo and its surroundings, as well as some tips to help you prepare for your visit of this great city.

How to Get to Sapporo

While it is possible to reach Sapporo by train from Tokyo going through Tohoku and passing by Hakodate, and it may be financially interesting if you use the JR pass, in general, the main way to get to Sapporo from Tokyo is to fly from Narita or Haneda airports to New Chitose airport, a 2 hours flight.

New Chitose airport is 60km south of Sapporo city, so you will need to consider the time and type of transport required to reach your accommodation in Sapporo. Express and regular trains run frequently from the airport to Sapporo station (a 40 minutes journey for ¥1,990 on an express train or a 1 hour trip for ¥1,150 on a regular train on the Chitose Line). You can buy tickets at the New Chitose airport station counters or directly use your IC transportation card (Suica or Pasmo among others) at the gates.

I have always chosen the train to get to Sapporo from Chitose airport as I find it very convenient and affordable, but buses and taxis are also available.

My Five-Day Itinerary to Explore Sapporo

Below is the itinerary I had planned for my 5-day trip to Sapporo during the 2023 Snow Festival to explore the city and do some day trips around. Unfortunately, I was not able to do everything I had planned as I fell ill after my first two days in Sapporo and had to slow down to recover. So I’m particularly happy to share this itinerary with you so that all my planning hasn’t been in vain!

Day 1 : Arrival in Sapporo and First Glimpse of the Sapporo Snow Festival

When I flew to Sapporo in 2023, tickets were very expensive at the time of the snow festival, so I opted for a cheaper flight from Narita airport early in the morning and spent the night before at Narita Tobu Hotel Airport, a nearby hotel offering regular shuttle buses to and from the airport. I arrived at Sapporo station from Chitose airport around lunch time and decided to eat at one of the malls connected to the station.

There are a lot of options for restaurants at Sapporo station, including the very popular kaitenzushi (conveyor belt sushi restaurant) Nemuro Hanamaru in the Sapporo Stella Place mall. I had been to this sushi restaurant back in 2017 and remembered a divine sushi dinner, but getting a table at lunchtime, when Sapporo is at its busiest during the Snow Festival, was mission impossible. There is a ticketing system at the entrance, and even out of the meal hours, you are likely to have to wait 30min-1hr to get in. I still think it is worth it and queuing is part of the restaurant experience in Japan. But in my case, after the long trip I opted for a less crowded restaurant on the same floor and had a delicious pork cutlet meal set, called tonkatsu teishoku (とん豚) at Tonkatsu Wako.

After a good meal, I checked into my hotel, JR Inn Sapporo Kita-Nijo. I can recommend this hotel for its affordable rates, small but stylish rooms, its pleasant common room with free warm beverages and (saving the best for last) public baths!

✨TRAVELY TIP: If you have the choice, I recommend that you look for a hotel with a public bath or hot spring bath during your stay in Sapporo. After a day of exploring in the cold and snow, soaking in the warmth of a large bath is a wonderful experience. If I were to stay again and look for other options, I’d also recommend Dormy Inn Premium Sapporo Hot Spring or Dormy Inn Sapporo Annex Hot Spring, a hotel chain I stay at regularly because it offers excellent value for money.

For the rest of the afternoon, I would recommend taking a stroll around downtown Sapporo to see some of Sapporo’s monuments such as Sapporo Clock Tower and Hokkaido Government Office (currently closed for renovation) and exploring the Sapporo Snow Festival main area, the Odori Park Venue.

*Hokkaido Government Office (closed for renovation)*

Stretching on 1.5 km, you can walk up and down this long park to see snow sculptures of various sizes made by artists, students and citizens. I highly recommend visiting the Odori Park Snow Festival Venue during the day and again at night, as the atmosphere differs singularly with projection mapping on the largest snow sculptures and illuminations.

In the early evening, another thing to do nearby while you are at Odori Park is to enjoy a night view of Sapporo city from the top of the Sapporo TV Tower (¥1,000).

Day 2 - Sapporo Beer Museum and More of the Sapporo Snow Festival

Even if you're not a beer lover, I'd recommend a visit to the Sapporo Beer Museum (サッポロビール博物館), Japan’s only museum dedicated to beer, as part of your Sapporo itinerary! As well as the building's beautiful brick architecture, the free exhibitions offer an interesting insight into the history of Sapporo and Hokkaido through the making of beer.

As the Sapporo Beer Museum opens at 11am, depending on whether you're an early bird or a late riser, you may have time to wander around more in the morning to explore downtown Sapporo (vist Nijo market, or the Sapporo Pokemon Centre in the Daimaru Sapporo mall for example).

The Sapporo Beer Museum is easily accessible from Sapporo station or Odori Park by train, subway or bus. Once you’ve arrived, you can opt for a free tour of the museum, or a paid guided tour requiring advanced reservation (more details on the Sapporo Beer museum website here).

After having visited the exhibition floors, beer lovers can take the opportunity to try different types of Sapporo beer in the museum’s tasting corner.

After the visit, you can have lunch at one of the many restaurants nearby, the most popular option being the Sapporo Beer Garden restaurant which offers a “Genghis Khan” (a lamb specialty from Hokkaido) all-you-can-eat barbecue starting at ¥3,600 per person (advanced reservation is required during the Sapporo Snow Festival on the restaurant’s website).

You can also find cheaper options in the nearby Ario mall, where I had lunch at this super cute bakery called Donguri Ario Sapporoten (どんぐりアリオ札幌店), selling totoro-shaped bread!

It’s time to return to downtown Sapporo, this time to explore the area south of Odori park, heading for the second venue of the Sapporo Snow Festival at Susukino, where you can see a competition of detailed sculptures carved in ice. On the way, you can stop off to do some shopping and warm-up at the Mega Don Quijote shop and the Ghibli Donguri boutique at PARCO.

Still not tired? One last thing you can do on the same day if the weather is nice (which was not the case for me as it started to snow heavily when I visited the Susukino venue) is to go see the sunset or a nightview of Sapporo at Mount Moiwa Observatory. From Susukino station, take the Sapporo Shiden tramway to Ropeway Iriguchi station (35 minutes ride for ¥200). The round trip by ropeway to the Mount Moiwa observation deck costs ¥1,400. Be sure to check the website in advance for temperature, sunset time and operating status here. I went there in 2017 and remembered how magical the view was at night!

Day 3 - Day Trip to Otaru

Located north-west of Sapporo, Otaru (小樽市) is a charming port town that, in my opinion, should be on every Hokkaido/Sapporo itinerary. As you can get there in less than an hour, it really makes Otaru a perfect day trip idea from Sapporo. Known for its glassworks, music boxes and sake breweries, the town is particularly beautiful in winter when covered in snow. Like Sapporo, Otaru hosts every year in February its own snow festival called “Snow Light Path Festival”, during which streets are filled with adorable snow sculptures and snow candles made by volunteers that are lit at night around Otaru canal. Generally, the first week-end of the “Otaru Snow Light Path Festival” coincides with the last week-end of the Sapporo Snow Festival so better try to visit around that time if you are interested in both of these events.

For more details about Otaru and to prepare for your day trip, you can read my dedicated article “Otaru in Winter: an Unforgettable Day Trip from Sapporo”.

Day 4 - Second Day Trip Outside Sapporo, According to Your Preferences

Here are two alternatives for a fun day trip out of Sapporo depending on whether you are more into sweets or hot springs: going to the Shiroi Koibito park or spending the day at Jozankei Onsen.

*Shiroi Koibito Park at night (photo by @bonjour.dora)*

As introduced on the official website, Shiroi Koibito Park is a “sweets theme park operated by a Japanese confectionery manufacturer which produces Shiroi Koibito, one of the famous sweets in Japan”. I always bring back Shiroi Koibito as an omiyage when I travel to Hokkaido because I love the taste of these chocolate biscuits and they’re always a big hit with the friends or family I give them to! So I really wanted to visit this place (which came highly recommended by a friend who provided with the photo below), but I was not able to because of my illness during my trip in 2023.

At Shiroi Koibito Park, you can learn about the history of chocolate-making, visit a chocolate factory and make your own chocolate… As well as enjoying the beautiful English-inspired architecture, in winter, there are beautiful night illuminations on the premises from November to March.

Access to the park from Sapporo station is by bus (35-45 minutes journey). Admission costs ¥800 for an adult and ¥400 for a child.

Not a big fan of chocolate? Another option is to go spend a day at Jozankei Onsen, located in Shikotsu-Toya National Park, about one hour from central Sapporo. I did this day trip in 2017 and have fond memories of it. You can reach Jozankei easily from Sapporo station using the Kappa Liner Express bus (more details on the Jotetsu Bus website). In particular, there is a valuable package costing ¥2,100 that comprises a round trip to Jozankei by bus and entrance to one onsen facility in the area. More details on this discount ticket can be found here.

In my personal case, I chose to visit Hoheikyo Onsen (豊平峡温泉), which offers 3 hot spring baths in a picturesque open-air setting. I particularly remember the pleasure of eating a delicious and warm curry at the Indian restaurant in the building, after soaking in the open-air bath to my body and heart’s content.

Jozankei Onsen also organises a winter illumination, which in 2024 is from 27 January to 3 February.

Day 5 - Last Day in Sapporo

In the morning, you can visit two well-loved spots of Sapporo, Maruyama park and Hokkaido Jingu. From Odori station, you can take the Tozai Line to Maruyama Koen station. I enjoyed a lot my visit of this snow covered park. You may be able to spot like I did some cute snow sculptures made by local artists.

After exploring Maruyama park, make sure to pay a visit to Hokkaido Jingu. Built in 1869, this shrine is dedicated to four deities, including Emperor Meiji, and is one of Hokkaido”s most revered spiritual sites.

After that, zoo lovers may be interested in visiting the popular Sapporo City Maruyama Zoo (札幌市円山動物園) where you may be able to see red pandas. Otherwise, another option for your last afternoon could be to head to the last site of the Sapporo Snow Festival, the Tsudome Venue, in the north of the city.

The venue offers a variety of snow attractions for children and adults, such as long slides made of snow and snow rafting, among others. To get to Tsudome, take the Toho line from Odori station and stop at Sakaemachi station, then walk 10 minutes to the site.

In 2023, as it was the first time the Sapporo Snow Festival had been held since the covid pandemic, the Tsudome Venue was closed to limit the risks of covid contamination. As a result, I chose to go instead to Nakajima Park to take a stroll and make a totoro snowman!

And that’s it for this 5-day Sapporo winter itinerary! As always, this itinerary is only a reference and a suggestion to inspire you to make your own travel plans that suit your travel preferences and is adapted to other factors such as the weather, the precise time you plan to visit Sapporo.

Travel Tips to Enjoy your Time in Sapporo

1/ Early planning is necessary especially if you want to attend the Sapporo Snow Festival in February. Airplanes and accommodation prices become a lot higher during the time fo the festival, so better make your reservations at least 4 months in advance (or more if possible). You should also check the Sapporo snow festival official website for details about the program and venues. You should also be aware that Sapporo will be especially crowded during this period. It is therefore advisable to book in advance for activities or restaurants and to be prepared to queue for entry to popular restaurants (avoid peak periods or be prepared for the wait to avoid disappointment).

2/ Where to stay in Sapporo? From my personal experience, I would recommend staying around Odori station as it is very central to explore the city and close to the main venue of the Sapporo Snow Festival. You also are still within walking distance to Sapporo station, while having access to the subway and buses.

3/ Wear warm clothes and comfortable shoes and use the underground walkway when needed. Temperatures can drop below zero degrees Celsius in winter and pavements can be slippery so better come prepared with warm clothes and winter shoes. Something useful to know is that there is a long underground street called “Chi-Ka-Ho” or the Sapporo Ekimae-dori underground walkway connecting Sapporo, Odori and Susukino station, which is very convenient to use in case of bad or very cold weather.

4/ What to eat in Sapporo? As well as seafood, the culinary specialities I recommend you try in Sapporo are curry soup, Jingisukan ('Genghis Khan') and miso ramen (also known as Sapporo ramen). Unfortunately I wasn't able to sample Sapporo's cuisine the last time I was there so I can't give you any more recommendations than those already mentioned, but there are several articles online with suggestions for restaurants in Sapporo that you can check out.

To Conclude

The Sapporo Snow Festival was on my Japan’s bucket list and I was lucky enough to be able to attend this festival not once, but twice! I hope this article helps you plan your own trip to Sapporo and have a fabulous time in Hokkaido like I did. Feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email if you have any questions. :)

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