Unlike traditional Japanese cuisine, Sapporo dishes rely on their simplicity and natural flavours of the ingredients. Crab, scallops, and salmon are local specialities and restaurants specializing in these delicacies are common in the city.

Genghis Kahn, a lamb barbecue named after the Mongolian warrior, is unique to Hokkaido and especially popular at beer halls throughout the city, many with their own original sauces in which the lamb is either marinated or dipped after grilling.

Beer is the beverage of choice to accompany this dish and Sapporo is the spiritual home of Japanese beer. Sapporo Beer, founded here in 1876, still brews locally along with other major national brewers; Asahi, Kirin and a host of local microbreweries.

No street or block in Sapporo is complete without a ramen shop, the internationally acclaimed noodles in miso, soy, or salt- flavoured soups. Indeed some streets have nothing but ramen shops like the famous Ramen Yokocho or Ramen Alley, where signatures of past and present celebrities adorn the walls of the shops that line either side of the narrow passageway. Freshly grilled corn on the cob are sold from stalls along Odori Park throughout the spring, summer, and autumn months.

Summer sees the harvest of the various types of melon grown in the area. Hokkaido is the home of vegetables in Japan and locally grown potatoes, onions, and asparagus add their natural flavours to any local dish. The long history of dairy farming in and around Sapporo has produced a legacy of first class butter, milk, and ice cream products. Indeed Sapporo is home to one of Japan's major producers, "Snow Brand" as well as many other first-class, local enterprises.

Washoku (Japanese cuisine) in Sapporo

Tips when eating at Japanese restaurants or Izakaya

Jingisukan, mutton barbecue

Sapporo Ramen noodle

“Ichiba” “Market“ The kitchen for the citizen