| Pricing Guide (Avg. cost per person) | ¥500 to ¥1000 for lunch |
| Opening Hours | 9:00 - 17:00 Yoichi 9:00 - 18:00 Date |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 0135-31-2222 Yoichi 0142-68-6270 Date |
| Notes | Fresh supermarket Small restaurants on site |
| Location / Getting There | Located along route 5. A 40 minute drive past Otaru. 1 Chome-930 Oe, Niki, Yoichi District, Hokkaido 048-2402 On route 276, past Lake Shikotsu. 1 hour 30 minute drive from Sapporo. 637-1 Otakiku Sangaitakicho, Date, Hokkaido 052-0303 |
Take your pick
There are two Mushroom Kingdoms located in Hokkaido. They can be both found along highways and serve as a souvenir stop, supermarket, restaurant and a rest stop while driving around the island. As this is a popular place for those on the road, there is a huge amount of produce that can found here. You can choose from over a thousand kinds of products! As the name suggests, mushrooms are in abundance here, and most of the dishes at the large eatery use mushrooms in their ingredients.
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Farmland Niki
If you don’t like mushrooms, then not to worry! The souvenir shop sells local wines, jams using fruit from Hokkaido, dairy products including cheeses, and also snacks, sweets, and desserts. The spacious restaurant has seating for 120 people, plus external seating that is open from April to October. The menu includes soba noodles, udon noodles, and ramen. Next to the main building is the ‘Farmland Niki’ supermarket. It is here that fresh vegetables are brought directly from neighboring farmers and stocked. So, for some shopping, a bite to eat, or just as a pit stop, Mushroom Kingdom is a good spot to mark on your map.
| Admission | ￥300 Adults ￥100 Children |
| Opening Hours | 9:00 - 16:30 |
| Closed | Mondays Winter (November to mid April) |
| Contact | 0135-22-5600 |
| Notes | Parking available |
| Location / Getting There | Located on main road in Yoichi region. 1 hour 30 minute drive from Sapporo. 150−1 Hamanakachō, Yoichi-chō, Yoichi-gun, Hokkaidō 046-0021 |
During the Edo period, the coastal waters off Hokkaido in the Sea of Japan once flourished with herring. It was here in Yoichi that the fishing buildings were built. The fishing buildings and grounds were repaired and restored by the Fukuhara family until 1868. Now, you can take a step back in time and get a real sense of what life was like one hundred and fifty years ago. This valuable historic site can be accessed by car and is a must see while in the town of Yoichi.
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Inside the old treasury
The very reasonable price of admission will get you into the large grounds where you will find around half a dozen large buildings. Four of these you may enter. The largest building at the center of the grounds, is the first building that is noticeable from the road as you are driving along. This three story building used to serve as a secure treasury building for the local towns money and gold, hence the fortified windows around the building. Now it serves as a museum for artifacts over the last century. It overlooks the old grounds that were used for cutting and processing the herring.
Living quarters
The other buildings that may be entered include the fishing storage, that contains dozens of paintings, dioramas, and a fishing boat. It is a great building to stop by to study the history and folklore. The other, and equally fascinating building is also an old style home, that upon entering, shoes must be taken off. This house gives an interesting insight into living conditions in the past. They have tea rooms, old household items, and photographs of life One of the rooms has an antique hairdesser’s chair that was handled by some barber, now long gone.
So, for a nice (and cheap) day out, the Old Fukuhara Herring House is a great spot to visit. Not only, is the road out a nice drive, or ride, along the coast, but the Herring House is a place steeped in history. To get there, follow the Yoichi National Highway (route 5), which is a turn off to the right, after you pass through the small city of Otaru.
| Pricing Guide (Avg. cost per person) | ¥1000 - ¥2000 |
| Opening Hours | 11:00 - 22:00 |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 011-688-6252 |
| Notes | Seating 66 Parking lot Smoking and non-smoking All-you-can-drink course available English menu |
| Location / Getting There | Located in Maruyama Class on the 3rd floor 27-1-1 Minami 1 Jo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido |
Chinese noodles
Located in the Maruyama Class shopping center, Ren Ren Ren is a Chinese restaurant, which is a good spot to grab some lunch or dinner during the shopping day. The extensive menu has everything you would expect from a Chinese restaurant. Delicious dumplings, duck dishes, stir fried dishes, and a huge variety of noodle dishes, and fried rice plates. They also have some great special set meals, especially the spicy hot pot soup, the sweet & sour pork, or the chili prawns. The menu is in English and is pictured so it’s easy to choose your desired meal.
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Front entrance
The set menus come with an option of plain or fried rice plus a soup, and pickles. They have drinks for all occasions. Ren Ren Ren has teas and coffees, juices, plus a variety of beers. You can also find some Chinese liqueur to go with your meal. Why not sample a bottle of the Kamedashi Shaoxing rice wine, which has been aged for three, five, or ten years. There is also a Japanese plum wine, apricot wine, and sweet olive wine. The restaurant has plenty of space and seating can be reserved for groups and parties.
| Pricing Guide (Avg. cost per person) | ¥1000 - ¥2000 |
| Opening Hours | 11:00 - 23:00 |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 011-209-5270 |
| Notes | Non-smoking Window views Beer & wine restaurant Seating 39 |
| Location / Getting There | Located on the 6th floor above Sapporo station 060-0005 Sapporo-shi Chuo-ku North 5 - west 2-5 Stellar Place 6F |
Smoked cheese with caviar
Musica restaurant is located on the 6th floor of the department store, Stellar Place, which is directly above Sapporo station. Musica is a beer and wine restaurant that serves up the perfect food to go with its drink menu. The drink menu has a delicious selection of local beers plus selected fine wines from Hokkaido and overseas. To accompany these refreshments, you can order your pick of petit plats. The cheese plates have some fantastic choices such as mozzarella, ricotta, blue cheese, and some Hokkaido cheeses. Served with wine or beer make for a great pairing.
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Bacon and avocado roll with fries.
There is counter seating plus table seating that offer nice views overlooking the courtyard at Sapporo station. Taking in the views, especially in the evening you can enjoy a nice lunch or dinner. The food menu has taco and rice, a selection of curries and rice, plus sandwiches, french fries, sausages and mashed potatoes to name a few. If you want to stop in for a tea or coffee, then Musica has these too on the menu. If you are looking for something a little sweeter Musica has a dessert menu plus some large sundaes to enjoy.
| Dates | First weekend of July |
| Opening Hours | 11:30 - 18:00 |
| Cost | ￥3000 per ticket (includes cup + drink ticket) |
| Contact | 011-391-7775 http://www.sapporo-craft-beer-forest.com/enjoy/ |
| Location / Getting There | Located at Bankei ski field. Access via bus from Maruyama bus terminal. Taxis are also available. 410 Bankei, Chūō-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaidō 064-0945, Japan |
Cheers
As Hokkaido begins to warm up in the summer months, the Sapporo Craft Beer Forest has become an increasingly popular spot to enjoy a huge selection of craft beer from local sellers. There are over twenty-five different craft beer stalls at this event, each selling a selection of their hard work. You can sample beers from all over the world at this event, and find a variety of beers ranging from light and flavorful pale ales, sweet and malty blonde ales, flowery or spicy pilsners, to smooth & creamy dark lagers and everything in between. The Sapporo Craft Beer Forest has something for everybody.
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Beer stalls
Upon on entry, and paying for your ticket, you will receive a cup (which you need to keep all day) plus two beer tickets. For further beer tickets, simply buy them at the ticket stall inside the venue. It is possible to get advance tickets for ￥3000. The premium advance ticket includes an event glass and six drink tickets. The normal advance ticket will get you seven beer tickets for the same price. Across from the beer stalls, there are food stalls set up. You can enjoy a selection of meats such as mutton, ribs, and sausages. There is also pizza, curries, and some Jacksonville Hamburgers. Besides the stalls, there are tables set up to grill your own!
As there is no outside seating, be sure to bring a mat to sit on the grass and any gear to make the day comfortable. Inside the Bankei building itself there is inside and a couple of stalls selling souvenirs. If you don’t have your own transport, or do and want to drink (of course), there are taxis that will cost around ￥2000 yen one way. There is also a free shuttle bus that will leave from Maruyama bus terminal which is across from the Maruyama subway station.
| Shuttle bus | Leaves from Maruyama bus terminal to Bankei ski field |
| Times | Leaves every 8 minutes |
| Cost | Free |
| To Bankei ski field | 11: 00 - 15: 00 |
| To Maruyama bus terminal | 17: 00 - 19: 00 |
| Pricing Guide (Avg. cost per person) | ¥1000 - ¥2000 |
| Opening Hours | 11:00 - 23:30 |
| Closed | - |
| Contact | 011-213-5151 http://r.goope.jp/oneills |
| Notes | Irish pub Foreign beers English menu |
| Location / Getting There | 2 minute walk from Sapporo station. Located at Paseo West Dining 〒 060-0806 Hokkaido, Sapporo, Kita Ward, Kita 6 Jonishi, 4 Chome-3-1 1F in Paseo |
Beef lunch set
Irish Pub O’Neill’s is a great pub located in Paseo West Dining at Sapporo Station. If you like some good foreign beer, or some good hearty food, then this is a great spot to have some lunch, or dinner. O’Neill’s is good for sharing a drink with friends, taking in some sports on the screens, or having a nice quiet beer. The lunch menus of steak or sausages come as a set with a salad, bread and a soup. The dinner menu has some delicious options of lamb, chicken steaks, Irish stew, fish and chips, and of course, sheperd’s pie!
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Counter seating
Apart from the extensive food menu, O’Neill’s has a great selection of world beers. As you can expect from an Irish bar, they have Guinness, and Kilkenny. Local beers include, Sapporo Classic, Yebisu Creamy Top, and Edelpis. If you’re looking for something with a bit more bite, then there are some whiskeys (Irish, scotch & bourbon) to sample. For groups, there are all you can drink plans that come with food. The ‘all you can drink’ plan goes for 120 minutes. If you are looking for an Irish style bar, then O’Neill’s is a good spot to check out.
