6 Days 5 Nights Hokkaido Sapporo Otaru Itinerary Day 1
6 Days 5 Nights Hokkaido Sapporo Otaru Itinerary Day 1
Hey guys, we received quite a number of request for our Hokkaido’s Sapporo and Otaru Itinerary. We have been really busy in this few weeks doing some back end work for our blog and Youtube but we are going to post the itinerary first and there won’t be many pictures or videos yet.
We know some readers are going to Hokkaido as soon as in July so we are going to post the itinerary first and we will update this post (or more future posts with more pictures and videos).
Before you plan to visit Hokkaido, please read this article 8 Things You Should Do When You Plan to Visit Hokkaido.
Our Hokkaido itinerary is focused on two cities, mainly Sapporo and one day in Otaru. We were in Hokkaido for the cherry blossom season and coincidentally it falls on the Golden Week of Japan (the week long holiday). It is the super peak season in Japan so we decided to stay in two cities and we will come back again in the future to visit other cities in Hokkaido.
We didn’t buy Hokkaido JR Pass or rent a car as we were in Sapporo most of the time so buying regular tickets are cheaper.
You can also buy the daily subway pass in Sapporo but if you take lesser trains, you don’t actually need one. You have to pay from 200 Yen per train ride and the daily subway pass is 830 yen for adult and 420 Yen for children.
6 Days 5 Nights Hokkaido Sapporo Otaru Itinerary Day 1
Morning
Chitose International Airport to Sapporo Station.
We landed in Chitose International Airport early in the morning and we took the train to Sapporo immediately as we stayed in Sapporo Station. Our apartment is five minutes of walking off Sapporo Station.
We dropped our luggage to our apartment and we head to the first destination of Sapporo for day one.
Afternoon
We took the train to Nijo Fish Market for lunch. Nijo Market is 7 mins walk from the subway stations (Nishiyonchome Station or Nishiyonchome Station) and it is near the Sapporo TV Tower and Odori Park. Remember to download Google Map and it will be your lifesaver when you travel to places in Japan. Read here to understand more.
You can read our full review at https://www.placesandfoods.com/2018/05/nijo-seafood-market-in-sapporo-hokkaido.html
Sapporo TV Tower
After our lunch at Nijo Fish Market, we walked to Sapporo TV Tower which is around 10-15 mins of walking. When you visit Japan, you need to walk a lot so we walked a lot during our trip in Sapporo so get a comfortable walking shoe. If you are rich, you can always hail a taxi.
We made a mistake as we booked our Sapporo TV Tower on the 2nd day (due to my bad planning) and we promised ourselves to go up the tower next time.
You can always book in advance you plan it well at https://www.klook.com/activity/1304-sapporo-tv-tower-ticket-hokkaido/?aid=602
There is a tourist information counter at Sapporo TV Tower, you can get the map and information as well as special tourists deals here. Do speak to them for promotional deals, the front desk staffs here are very friendly and they speak English (and probably Chinese too).
The Sapporo TV Tower illuminates at night in different colours. It is a good place for you to visit at night if you are staying in Sapporo (more for chilling).
Odori Park
Next to Sapporo TV Tower is the Odori Park. This is park is located right in the middle of Sapporo and there are underground shopping malls as well as subway trains below this park. You can also find bus stations around the park.
During Sakura season, there are a few Sakura trees here. What we love about Odori Park is the space and the benches. You can find many local enjoying their lunches here and also taking pictures.
There are water fountains in Odori Park so you can take a break here and enjoy the view. We are not the gung-ho type of people so we usually walk and rest so we can keep on going.
Former Hokkaido Government Office
From Odori Park, take another 10-15 minutes of walking and you will reach Former Hokkaido Government Office. Please refer to our photo for the main entrance of the building, many tourists mistaken the side back door as the main entrance.
The Former Hokkaido Government Office comes with a museum shop, tourist information office, historical exhibition rooms and libraries. The entrance to enter the building is free but we didn’t explore inside the building.
Former Hokkaido Government Office is a beautiful red brick building inspired by American architecture. It was built in the 1800s and it was listed as one of the National Important Cultural Properties in 1969.
We were taking pictures outside the building and there is a small park next to the building. You can find a few pretty Sakura trees here and there is also a small pond in this park.
Sapporo Clock Tower
From the Former Hokkaido Government Office, take another 10 -15 minutes of walking you will reach the iconic Sapporo Clock Tower.
Sapporo Clock Tower is an American design wooden structure. It was built in the 1870s with the assistance from the American government.
The clock is working and it will chime every hour. The Sapporo Clock Tower is one of the top attractions of Sapporo.
From the red bricks of Former Hokkaido Government Office to the wooden structure of Sapporo Clock Tower. Both are American style design but built using different materials.
Evening
Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade
Where to shop in Sapporo? The answer is Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade. We took the subway to the shopping arcade.
The Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade is started I 1873. The name ‘Tanukikoji’ is the name of the neighbourhood back then.
This is a very long shopping arcade and it is an approximately 1km long with 200 shops. This covered shopping arcade stretched from Nishi-1-chrome to Nishi-7-chrome. It is a long arcade with 7 sections or 7 blocks.
You can find many tourists looking for souvenirs. Some of the popular souvenirs and snacks can be bought here. There are also Japanese pharmacies and restaurants in this shopping arcade.
The prices of the souvenirs and popular snacks are the same and they will give you more discount when you purchase more. You can get tax free return immediately when you shop over a certain limit. The shop keeper will advise you and most of the sellers here speak English and Chinese.
There are also many restaurants in this shopping arcade so you can consider dining here.
For cheap snacks, it is usually close to expiry date which is less than 12-18 months. There are huge discount signs on these snacks and they are also in shops and pharmacies. Do check the expiry dates of these items.
After Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade, we went back to our apartment. We didn’t buy anything today as we come back again on another day.
We will blog about on the rest of the days in this upcoming days, will post the link here so do bookmark this page.
6 Days 5 Nights Hokkaido Sapporo Otaru Itinerary:
6 Days 5 Nights Hokkaido Sapporo Otaru Itinerary Day 1
6 Days 5 Nights Hokkaido Sapporo Otaru Itinerary Day 2
6 Days 5 Nights Hokkaido Sapporo Sakura Itinerary Day 3
6 Days 5 Nights Hokkaido Sapporo Itinerary Day 4
6 Days 5 Nights Hokkaido Sapporo Chitose Itinerary Day 5
6 Days 5 Nights Hokkaido Chitose Itinerary Day 6
