Sapporo with Kids: What to Do and Itinerary

Last Updated on September 21, 2024 by Kay

Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido and the largest city in the prefecture, is a wonderful place to travel with kids and should be on everyone’s itinerary when traveling to northern Japan.

I visited Sapporo three times before my daughter was born so I was excited to take her there when we went on a family trip to Hokkaido.

In this article, I’ll share what my family did when we visited as well as other fun things to do in Sapporo with kids.

How to Get to Sapporo

You can take both domestic and international flights straight to New Chitose Airport (CTS), which is located about 45 minutes by train from Sapporo Station.

In Tokyo, you can take flights to New Chitose Airport in Sapporo from both Haneda Airport (HND) and Narita Airport (NRT). Flights from Haneda Airport are a little faster at 1.5 hours, compared to almost 2 hours from Narita Airport.

In Osaka, you can take flights to New Chitose Airport in Sapporo from both Kansai International Airport (KIX) and Itami Airport (ITM). Flights from Kansai International Airport take about two hours to reach Sapporo. We took a flight from Itami Airport and it took 1 hour and 45 minutes.

Domestic airlines in Japan that fly to Sapporo include Peach Airline, Jet Star, ANA, and JAL. We prefer ANA and JAL because we’re not a fan of low-cost carriers (before we had a kid we had no problem but as parents, we don’t want to take any chances).

There is no bullet train (Shinkansen) that goes straight to Sapporo from Tokyo or other cities on Japan’s main island (called honshu). The Tohoku Shinkansen goes from Tokyo Station to Hakodate, a city in the southern part of Hokkaido, but after that, you’ll need to either take the train for almost four hours to Sapporo, drive, or take a flight from Hakodate Airport (HKD) to New Chitose Airport.

When to Visit Sapporo with Kids

Sapporo is a great city to visit at any time of the year. Notably, during winter it has the Yuki Matsuri, otherwise known as the Sapporo Snow Festival, in February, which has impressive sculptures made of snow and ice. When I first visited Sapporo, I was lucky enough to see the Yuki Matsuri and it was absolutely amazing.

Below is a photo I took of one of the sculptures when I visited in 2010. Everything was stunning, huge, and beautifully crafted!

However, keep in mind that it’s quite cold (despite that I am Canadian, I did not have my Canadian winter gear with me and I deeply regretted it) and it’s very busy, probably the most popular time for tourists in Sapporo. This means accommodation will be expensive and fill up fast.

We visited during summer and found that although it was a little hotter than expected (hello, climate change), it was still a pleasant trip.

Sapporo with Kids Itinerary

Here I’ll share what we did as a family when we visited Sapporo. Hopefully, it’ll help you with your trip planning! If you feel like it’s too packed, you can easily spread these activities out.

Day 1

We arrived in the late afternoon and after checking into our hotel, we decided to eat Jingisukan, which is one of Hokkaido’s most famous dishes. It consists of BBQ lamb cooked on a dome-shaped grill and is absolutely delectable. We went to a place near our hotel that locals frequent, called Yamagoya (山小屋), and were not disappointed.

Although there are restaurants such as the Sapporo Beer Garden that offer all-you-can-eat Jingisukan, the cuts are typically cheaper. If you want high-grade cuts of lamb, definitely go to Yamakoya. My daughter only liked the high-grade cuts because they were softer. (Note that this restaurant does not have children’s cutlery or booster seats. There is also no English menu.)

After stuffing our faces, we headed to the NORBESA shopping mall, which is filled with shops selling anime goods and games, as well as capsule machines. My daughter spent a while looking at everything and we let her buy a few things since it’s a little out of our way to visit shops like that here in Osaka.

They have a great selection of goods so I highly recommend checking it out!

We then rode the nORIA Ferris Wheel so we could see Sapporo’s night view and it did not disappoint.

Afterward, we decided to share a bowl of butter miso corn ramen, which is another famous food in Hokkaido. There are lots of options but we chose Tenhou Ramen (天鳳) because it had high reviews and had salarymen inside instead of tourists, so we figured it was good.

And it absolutely was — the broth was rich and creamy thanks to the knob of butter inside and the corn was fresh. The gyoza was a little lackluster, though, so I wouldn’t recommend getting that.

Once we had finished, we went back to our hotel to rest up since we had a busy day ahead.

Day 2

Visit Sapporo’s Iconic Landmarks

(~8:00 AM to 10:00 AM)

At around 8 AM, we grabbed a quick breakfast from Hokkaido’s convenience store, Seicomart, and decided to eat it at Sapporo’s famous Odori Park, which is where events like the Yuki Matsuri take place. The benches were a little worn but it was fine for us to sit on and enjoy our breakfast while people watching at the park.

When we were done, we took some cheesy touristy photos outside of the iconic Sapporo TV Tower before heading inside right when it opened at 9 AM.

After purchasing a ticket on the 3rd floor, we rode up to the observation deck located 90 meters above ground. From here, you can get a panoramic view of Sapporo.

The one-time ticket costs 1000 yen but you can get a ticket to visit the observation deck two times, once during the day and once at night, for 1500 yen. At night there’s a beer garden right outside Sapporo TV Tower so that might be an option for dinner if you want to see the view at night.

For 1100 yen, you can get entry to the observation deck as well as entry to the famous Sapporo Clock Tower.

We decided on the one-time ticket for 1000 yen because of time restraints. Children ages six and under are free so we didn’t have to pay anything for our daughter.

Our daughter wasn’t too impressed with the views of Sapporo but hey, when in Sapporo, sometimes you have to do touristy things for the parents. She did enjoy the small arcade right outside the entrance of the observation deck, and there were lots of Hokkaido souvenirs as well.

When we were done, we headed down and walked to Sapporo Clock Tower. Built in 1878, this is Sapporo’s oldest building and is designated as a National Important Cultural Property in Japan. We didn’t go inside but the entry fee is quite cheap at only 200 yen.

After taking several photos, we walked back to the hotel to get our car to drive to Shiroi Koibito Park. You don’t need a car to get there as it’s easy to reach by train but we rented a car for our Hokkaido trip so we figured we might as well drive.

Shiroi Koibito Park

(~10:30 AM to 2:00 PM)

Despite having visited Sapporo several times before, I had never been to Shiroi Koibito Park, which is all about Hokkaido’s most famous souvenir. But of course, I have a kid now so I’m always on the hunt for places she’ll have a great time, and she certainly did!

This park really exceeded my expectations. If you’d like to know more about Shiroi Koibito Park, I’ve written an entire article about our experience!

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo

(~2:30 PM to 4:00 PM)

Sapporo Maruyama Zoo is a fairly large zoo in Maruyama Park. I am generally not a fan of zoos but I found that the animals here are quite well taken care of and have plenty of space, especially in comparison to zoos in cities like Tokyo and Osaka. The zoo grounds are quite lovely and if you visit in spring, you’ll be treated to cherry blossom trees!

The zoo boasts animals such as different types of monkeys, a giraffe, elephants (my daughter enjoyed making digital elephant “poop” on a screen in the elephant room), turtles, hippos, birds, lions, and penguins.

Near the West Exit, there’s a large playground with equipment called Maruppa for kids of all ages. My daughter went wild here and it was clear that she wanted to play longer but we had a schedule to keep, so alas, we had to pry her away.

We only spent 1.5 hours here but if your kids really love animals, you might be here longer. In this sense, it might be worth moving the zoo to either Day 1 or even Day 3, especially since the zoo closes at 4:30 PM.

Hokkaido Jingu

(~4:15 PM to 4:30 PM)

A short walk away from Sapporo Maruyama Zoo is Hokkaido Jingu, one of the most famous shrines in the prefecture. This might not be too exciting for kids to visit but it’s a nice place for photos and to pay your respects to the Shinto gods.

They also sell a beautiful white goshuincho featuring the shrine and white snowflakes. I had to resist buying it!

Note that Google Maps gives a bit of a strange route from Sapporo Maruyama Zoo to Hokkaido Jingu. I don’t know if they’ll update it but make sure you walk on the sidewalk along the road, which I’ve highlighted in red below. It should be about a fifteen-minute walk.

Note that Hokkaido Jingu closes at 5 PM, so you don’t have to rush to get there from Sapporo Maruyama Zoo.

Horomitoge Lavender Garden

(~4:45 PM to 5:00 PM)

The Horomitoge Lavender Garden is somewhere I would recommend visiting at the end of June to early August, and only if you have a car. It’s quite small so it’s not worth going out of your way to see.

Since we visited Hokkaido around the end of August, I wanted to see whether I could catch some lavender in Sapporo. Unfortunately, all the lavender in Horomitoge Lavender Garden had been harvested by then.

However, I was still able to see lots of other kinds of seasonal flowers, including white mountain hydrangea, which were beautiful. Since this garden is located on a mountain, you can also see a lovely view of Sapporo City.

Dinner (Nemuro Hanamaru)

(5:15 PM to 6:30 PM)

Nemuro Hanamaru (根室花まる 南25) is a highly-rated revolving sushi restaurant in Hokkaido that’s popular with locals. The branch we visited is a little difficult to get to if you don’t have a car so I recommend checking out the other branches such as Hanamaru Susukino in the city center. There is also one near Sapporo Station but I’ve heard it’s quite busy. (My husband chose the Nemuro location because he figured it would be less busy, and he was right because we got a table right away!)

The sushi here is incredibly good and best of all, it’s extremely reasonably priced. The service is also excellent. This is definitely a restaurant I’ll visit again the next time I’m in Sapporo.

Note that it will get quite busy at around 6 PM so the earlier you get there, the better. I imagine the city center locations are far busier.

If you don’t feel like sushi and want another dinner option, consider Soup Curry GARAKU. Soup curry is one of Hokkaido’s famous dishes and it’s mouthwateringly good. I can’t go to Hokkaido without having it. GARAKU has a kid’s menu so you don’t have to worry about finding food that’s not too spicy for kids. Keep in mind that GARAKU is quite busy as well.

Mount Moiwa Observation Deck

(6:40 PM to 7:45 PM)

Mount Moiwa Observation Deck is considered one of the best night views in Japan so we felt compelled to visit. However, I’m going to be honest with you, it’s not worth it. I’m including it here, though, so you can decide whether you want to go after reading about our experience.

It’s easiest to get to Mount Moiwa Observation Deck with a car although there is a free shuttle bus that runs from Ropeway Iriguchi Station.

We arrived at around 6:40 PM and the line to buy tickets wasn’t long at all but the two people in front of us took some time purchasing their tickets. The ropeway that goes to the observation deck runs every fifteen minutes and there was one soon, so we wanted to try to get on that one but as it turned out, not everyone waiting could get on.

This is important to know because as it gets later in the evening, it gets busier so you might be waiting 30 minutes or more just to get on the ropeway.

Thankfully, we could get on the next one so we only waited for fifteen minutes.

The gondola was quite crowded but we were still able to see the night view as we rode up.

To our surprise, the gondola stopped at a mid-way point (Moiwa Chufuku Station) and we had to switch to another gondola to get to the observation deck (Moiwa Sancho Station). The ride on the second gondola was much shorter and we arrived in no time.

Another surprise for us was seeing the number of people lined up for the ropeway going down. The line was far longer than the one going up!

We headed to the observation deck and took in the night view.

The night view of Sapporo was lovely enough but within five minutes, we were pretty much done looking at it. My daughter enjoyed ringing the Fortune Bell but there were people in the background so the picture wasn’t as nice as I would have liked.

My husband decided to head down before us and wait in the line to go down so that we didn’t have to. It moved faster than he expected and after twenty minutes, he called us to come down because we would be getting on the next gondola.

There’s also a restaurant on the observation deck called THE JEWELS that offers great food (according to Google reviews) and views. If I were to come back to Mount Moiwa, I would only go if I could dine at the restaurant because it looks really nice.

Overall, although the view is pretty, I’m not sure if it’s worth the time it takes to go up and then down, especially if you’re not going to be dining at the restaurant.

Karaoke

(8:30 PM to 9:30 PM)

After Mount Moiwa, my daughter really wanted to do karaoke so we headed back to NORBESA shopping mall. There’s a chain karaoke venue on the 4th floor called Karaoke Mash that’s quite reasonably priced, so we chose a 1-hour plan with all-you-can-drink and let loose.

When our time was up, we headed back to our hotel and went straight to sleep.

What Else to Do in Sapporo with Kids

Looking for more things to do with kids in Sapporo? There’s plenty!

Playgrounds

There are so many great playgrounds in Sapporo that I wrote an entire article about it, so check it out!

AOAO SAPPORO

AOAO Sapporo is an indoor aquarium located right in the heart of downtown Sapporo so it’s very easy to get to. They have two floors of various creatures like jellyfish and penguins, as well as a digital ocean where your kids can encounter digital life-size killer whales and sperm whales! How cool is that?

If we had more time, I definitely would have brought my daughter here, but we were going to an aquarium in Otaru the next day so I figured it wasn’t a priority.

You can purchase tickets for AOAO SAPPORO here.

Sapporo Science Center

For budding scientists, you may want to check out Sapporo Science Center. It has a planetarium as well as lots of interactive exhibits to keep curious minds entertained.

Day Trip to Otaru

I highly suggest taking a day trip to Otaru, one of my favorite places in Japan.

Where to Stay in Sapporo with Kids

We stayed for two nights at La’gent Stay Sapporo Odori, which was in an excellent location right along Odori Street and a 5-minute walk from Odori Station. One key reason why I chose this hotel is because the toilet is in a separate room from the bath. (I really don’t like toilets near the bathtub or shower.)

Everything is within walking distance, including a MEGA Don Quijote 4 minutes away by foot that carries baby and toddler products! The hotel also has parking, which was a lifesaver for us.

You can also enjoy free coffee and tea in the lobby from 3 PM to 9 PM.

My family enjoyed our stay but we had two gripes. The first was that the public bath was really crowded at around 10 PM. Perhaps if you go earlier it won’t be as crowded. The other was we could hear people talking outside our room, but I feel like lots of hotels in Japan don’t have the best soundproofing.

Wrap-up: Exploring Sapporo with Kids

From amazing food to shopping and adventures, Sapporo was truly a memorable time for our family. I hope my article inspires you to take a trip to the capital up north and is helpful for your travel planning.

As always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. I am more than happy to help!