| Opening Hours | 9:00 - 21:30 Sapporo Station Esta 10:00 - 21:00 Maruyama Class 9:00 - 21:00 Sapporo Aurora Town 10:00 - 20:00 Higashi Sapporo 10:00 - 21:00 Shin Sapporo 10:00 - 20:00 Pole Town |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 011-890-2560 Sapporo Esta, 011-688-6261 Maruyama Class 011-212-1511 Sapporo Aurora Town, 011-832-04011 Higashi Sapporo 011-252-9231 Pole Town |
| Notes | Coffee & foreign food supermarket |
| Location / Getting There | 6 locations in Sapporo, see map below. 1 location in Asahikawa |
Take your choice of coffee
Whether you are a Japanese national, an expat missing those ingredients from home, or a tourist looking for a tasty treat, Jupiter has a great selection of food items that you won’t be able to find in any other Japanese supermarket. Jupiter sells foreign ingredients that come from all over the world. Anywhere from Thai curries to Mexican dips, these imports come mainly from China, Thailand, Europe, Australia, and the US to name a few. Jupiter can add that extra special zest to your cooking! All the stores not only sell food items, they have a good selection of wines and alcohol.
You can find a huge selection of top wines from Australia, France, Chile, and Italy. Plus, you can also check out their foreign beer section! And, of course, to accompany your wine, simply peruse their bountiful cheese section. Snacks, sweets & chocolates, sauces, pastas, noodles, tea & coffee are just some of the goods on sale. In Sapporo, the easiest stores to access are the locations next to Sapporo station at Esta, under Bic Camera (which has the most stock), and the location at Maruyama Class shopping centre, which is a five minute walk from Maruyama subway station. For the Asahikawa location see below. Enjoy your shopping!
| Admission | Free to walk or drive up |
| Admission for ropeway | ¥1500 adult round trip ¥700 children/students round trip |
| Opening Hours | Ropeway 10:00 - 22:00 Operates every 15 minutes from 10:00 to 22:00 (until 21:00 from mid October to late April). |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 013-823-3105 Ropeway 013-827-3127 Restaurant |
| Notes | Sightseeing spot, stunning night views, parking, wheelchair access, restaurant, souvenir store, take out store |
| Location / Getting There | The ropeway station is a 10 minute walk from Jujigai tram stop (5 minutes, ¥210 from Hakodate Station). By direct bus. From late April to mid November, there are multiple direct buses per hour between Hakodate Station and the summit of Mount Hakodate in the evenings (30 minutes, ¥400). The buses are covered by the day passes for trams and buses. By car. The toll-free road to the summit of Mount Hakodate is open from mid April to mid November. The road is closed to individual car traffic in the evenings between 17:00 and 22:00. |
Mt. Hakodate is one of the main attractions of the city of Hakodate. The mountain is a prominent feature overlooking the city and stands at 334 metres. It can be found on the southern headland and it is most famous for its stunning night views. It has been voted as one of the top three night viewing spots in the whole of Japan! While visiting Hakodate it is a must see during any season. At the top, besides the views, there is a restaurant, observatory, rest area, souvenir store, and tea store.
There are three ways to get to the top. The most popular mode of transport is the use of the gondola (it is the most used gondola in all of Japan!). The ropeway station has parking at the bottom and operates all year round. The gondola offers great views on the way up. There is parking at the summit, and a winding road to drive up for those with their own transport but this road is closed during winter once the snow arrives. For those more adventurous and fitter , there are walking trails to the top (it takes about 40 minutes to the top). You can hike to the top throughout the year. Anyway you get to the top, the views and facilities make this a must see in Hakodate!
| Opening Hours | 9:00 - 18:00 |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 011-3824-8108 |
| Notes | Supermarket, shopping hall, souvenir shop, tax free, parking available (at Mitsui nearby), |
| Location / Getting There | It's only a 2 minute walk from Suehirocho station. It's also an 18 minute walk from Hakodate station. It's right by the old red brick warehouses shopping district. 24-6 Suehirocho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 040-0053 |
Hakodate Nishi Hatoba (known as the ‘west wharf’ in english), is a seafood market, souvenir and large shopping warehouse. Here, you can walk through this shopping area which has an atmospheric beauty. Old wooden floorboards, warm lighting from rustic light shades, and Japanese written hangings, makes this market a pleasant place to walk around and peruse the local wares. Hakodate being a harbor city, this market sells mainly seafood, and they have a lot of produce, 2,000 types of products! For those traveling from abroad, you can pick up some souvenirs, and being tax free is a real bonus.
Hakodate Factory is part of the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse area and is a popular sightseeing spot. They have a tonne of seafood products that make for a great gift to take home, or to give as a present. These items include a variety of fish, salmon, eggs, kelp, squid, octopus, and crab. They have livestock products such as ham and sausages, and agricultural items grown fresh in Hokkaido. They also have dairy, plus ramen, curries, and famous sweets. In addition, you can try the raw delicacies such as the local “Matsumaezuke” (pickled seaweed with shredded squid), or the dried delicacies such as the popular “dried scallop”. Around the area they have restaurants including the famous Lucky Pierrot, a Starbucks, cafes, and other shopping outlets. This is a great day out in Hakodate.
| Opening Hours | 9:30 - 18:00 |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 0138-27-5530 |
| Notes | Shopping complex, historical site, free Wifi, wheelchair access & rental, no smoking, tax free shopping, rental bicycles, lockers, baby stroller rental, breast feeding room, pay phone, no pets, no outside food, currency exchange machine, parking available at ¥400 an hour |
| Location / Getting There | It's only a 2 minute walk from Suehirocho station. It's also an 18 minute walk from Hakodate station. It's right by the old red brick warehouses shopping district. 14-12 Suehirocho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 040-0053 |
Sitting on the old Hakodate pier, the Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse is a commercial shopping area. Kumashiro Watanabe founded the first warehouse business in Hakodate, which lead to the current site. Constructed in 1909, it consists of four large facilities. Hakodate Port opened up to international trading. The Kanemori Red Brick Warehouse, over its history, has seen countless people and cultures trade within its walls. The area has changed very little. This area is a great spot to walk around and enjoy the history of the place.
The Red Brick Warehouses are divided into four areas. Bay Hakodate, Kamemori Yobutsukan, Hakodate History Plaza, and Kanemori Hall. Bay Hakodate includes numerous stores, such as souvenir shops, boutiques, tax free stores, art and craft stores like Malaika, restaurants and cafes, plus a wine museum. Kamemori Yobutsukan, as with Bay Hakodate, has an array of twenty four stores including boutiques, interior stores, arts and crafts. Hakodate Plaza has fewer shops, but has a large beer hall with a couple of other stores, and the last warehouse is the Kanemori Hall. The hall is a concert hall that has regular shows on. Points of interest around the warehouse include the Girl in the Red Shoes, and the First Place of Entering Hokkaido.
| Admission | Free |
| Opening Hours | Open 24 hours |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 011-3826-3753 |
| Notes | Sightseeing spot, historical landmark, walking spot, no parking (paid parking nearby) |
| Location / Getting There | It's only a 2 minute walk from Suehirocho station. It's also an 18 minute walk from Hakodate station. It's right by the old red brick warehouses shopping district. 23 Suehirocho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 040-0053 |
The statue of the girl on the red shoes has a sad and fascinating background. The actual origins can be traced back to a poem ‘Akai Kutsu’ (which translates to red shoes), written in 1922 by Ujō Noguchi. The poem is about a young girl in red shoes taken to a foreign country by a foreigner. This short poem is based on the real life of Iwasaki Kimi (July 15, 1902 – September 15, 1911), though there has been disagreement on the accuracy of this story. The story is of Kimi, and her mother, Kayo moving to Hokkaido (hence the three statues in the prefecture), to start a new life with Kayo’s new husband.
Living on a farm and due to the harsh living conditions Kayo entrusted Kimi’s upbringing to a pair of married American missionaries by the name of Hewitt. The missionaries planned to return to America and bring Kimi with them. Unfortunately, the tale takes a sad turn, as Kimi died of tuberculosis before going away at the age of 9. Kayo, not seeing her daughter again, spent her life believing Kimi had gone to America with the Hewitts. There are six statues throughout Japan, with three in Hokkaido, one in Hakodate, Otaru, and in Rusutsu.
| Admission | Free |
| Opening Hours | Open 24 hours |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 0138-23-5440 |
| Notes | Sightseeing spot, historical landmark, walking spot, no parking (paid parking nearby) |
| Location / Getting There | The monument is located on the old pier of Hakodate. It's only a 2 minute walk from Suehirocho station. It's also an 18 minute walk from Hakodate station. It's right by the old red brick warehouses shopping district. 24 Suehirocho, Hakodate, Hokkaido 040-0053 |
Since the Meiji era, the Higashihama Pier (the former pier) was the gateway to Hokkaido. This pier was the original landing site. In 1968 a monument was erected to commemorate the 100th anniversary of this landing. The monument also celebrates the achievements of the ancestors who came and cultivated Hokkaido. It is fascinating to go to that very spot and gaze over waters that brought in settlers from the mainland of Honshu. For those who like historical spots, take a quick walk down and enjoy the view.
The design of the monument depicts a brown bear standing over an anchor. The bear and the anchor are common motifs seen around Hokkaido. The monument was designed by Nobumichi Akashi, who was a professor at Waseda University. The pier itself is a nice place to take a walk by the water. The landing spot is right past the Red Brick Warehouse shopping area (which is a great spot to visit), so it is easy to have a wander around and take in a bit of history. 
