Sapporo Shopping

In Sapporo there are shopping opportunities galore. Sure if you’re after large western sized clothing, you might not find what you’re after, but it’s fun looking.

Sapporo has lots of shopping malls; some situated within multi-storey buildings, or there’s the Tanuki Kōji Shopping Arcade, an undercover shopping mall in Susukino. This is the oldest shopping mall in Sapporo and is popular with tourists, partly because of its location, but also because it has lots of kitsch Japanese souvenir shops and Pachinko parlours. This is a great place to go for a stroll or a slide as the case may be! The mall is covered in slippery tiles that the local girls in stilettos seem to negotiate well, but lots of tourists slip over even with hard-core ultra grip boots on, so take care.

On cold days Sapporo sometimes appears deserted. If the Sapporo inhabitants need to walk somewhere in Sapporo, they tend to do so via the many underground shopping malls. Some of these shopping centres extend for multiple blocks. The shopping is less geared to tourists but in amongst the coffee shops and fashion boutiques, there are a few shops selling kimonos, Japanese fans and Japanese slippers, which one can only assume are aimed at the gaijin.

Even though it’s a little off the main tourist drag, a popular shopping mall is the Sapporo Factory. Part of the shopping centre is housed within the old famous Sapporo beer factory which features a gorgeous high glass ceiling.

Sapporo Ski Shops

Niseko is the only Hokkaido resort that has a good range of ski and snowboard shops where you can buy a new outfit, skis, snowboard or boots. A couple of Hokkaido ski resorts have one or two good shops (e.g. Kiroro or Furano) that are adequate if you need a new pair of gloves, but the range of gear available is rather small, and many shops don’t sell hardwear (ie. skis, snowboards, boots). Your best bet is to source hardwear or outerwear before you leave home, but you could also try your luck at one of the Sapporo ski shops.

The ski brands in Japanese shops are often somewhat different to what you’ll find in North America or Europe, and when it comes to ski outerwear popular brands include Goldwin, On-Yo-Ne, Phenix and Mizuno.

Depending on currency exchange rates, prices are a little more expensive than North America but a little cheaper than Australasia.

It seems that Sapporo Sports Kan (S3W3) has closed its shop in Sapporo.

Across the road is Nissen Sports which specialises in cross country ski equipment.

Sports Depo is a massive chain of sports store and is located in the vicinity of the Sapporo Beer Museum (Higashi Ward, Kita 9 Johigashi, 4 Chome) and has a large range of ski and snowboard gear.

The Sapporo Factory has a ginormous range of outdoor shops with well known international brands. Burn a hole in your pocket at the Mammut store or the Haglofs shop. The Fullmarks shop has a good range of gear from Poc and Norrona. Buy new outerwear at Oakley, Millet, Columbia, Helly Hansen, or The North Face shop which is huge. There is also a ski shop selling lots of Kjus clothing. The majority of the clothing at these outdoor shops is small (Japanese) sized.

The Mont-bell store at the Sapporo Factory has an abundance of outdoor gadgets, powder baskets for poles, and other useful accessories.

Real skiers should make the trek to Outdoor Sports aka Shiraishi or Shugakuso (North 12W3 Yubinbango 003-0026 Sapporo Shiroishi-ku Hondori 1-chome, Minami 2-14). Here you’ll recognise the functional mountaineering brands including Montbell, Peak Performance, Mammut, Arc’teryx, and The North Face, but as to be expected the clothing is mostly little sizes. They sell Volkl slalom skis, lots of seriously fat skis and telemark gear, as well as an array of backcountry equipment and accessories. Unfortunately they don’t do ABS airbag canister refills. No ski bunnies or snowboarders (even split boarders) allowed.

Sapporo also has Ishii Sports Sapporoten (ICI) at 15 Chome-29-3 Kita 11 Jonishi (near JR Soen Station), which has lots of skiing, backcountry and mountaineering gear.

Sapporo Snowboard Shops

The Kawanako Sports Shop (S3W3) has a small range of ski and snowboard gear, but overall it’s somewhat disappointing.

Conversely Murasaki Sports (Parco) could be considered heaven for snowboarders with boots, boards and bindings galore. They have a huge range of accessories and aisle after aisle of outerwear, but I can’t say I recognised even one of the brands.

Mojane is a good Sapporo snowboard shop, located in Tanukoji Shopping Street 1-chome, up on the second floor.

The Sapporo Factory has a snowboard shop selling hardwear.

Souvenir Shopping in Sapporo

There are many souvenir shops around the Susukino area of Sapporo. A lot of the souvenirs are fairly kitsch colourful items that serve little purpose, but there’s also kitchenware such as chopsticks and bowls, and an amazing assortment of Hello Kitty items in case that’s what you’re into!

Alternatively New Chitose airport is a treasure trove for souvenir hunters.

Grocery Shopping

Sapporo has lots of supermarkets as well as convenience stores that sell an amazing assortment of snacks. There’s a lot of joy to be found in experimenting as to which are the best snacks. Sapporo has various 7-Eleven convenience stores that have ATMs that accept international cards.

As with the rest of Japan, alcohol is readily available in supermarkets, convenience stores and vending machines.