The well known U.S warehouse retail branch first opened up its first branch in Japan in 1999 and now has 24 locations nationwide. Hokkaido’s first and currently only Costco hit the scene in 2008 and has been very popular, especially among restauranteurs and expats looking for a little taste of home. Costco has it all. It is basically a warehouse size supermarket selling food in bulk at cheap rates. Consumers generally frequent Costco  for its range of produce. It has a large vegetable and fruit section. Its meat section contains large cuts of steaks. Most Japanese supermarkets meat sections don’t stock thick steaks so Costco is a welcome establishment to the city of Sapporo. Roasted chickens are also made hourly and are well worth the 800 yen. You name it, Costco has it…..in BULK! Pork, sausages, frozen foods, dairy, blocks of cheese, seafood, huge pizzas, sushi, pallets of coffee, cereals, condiments, chocolates,  pastas, sauces, juices, wines from all over, beer, spirits and more! Simply pile it all into the giant shopping trolleys!

[the_ad id=”4264″]

Not only is food on the menu, but Costco has medicines, toiletries, an electronics section, appliances, hardware goods, outdoor furniture, cheap clothing, school supplies, summer gear, sporting gear, cleaning goods, the works. Why buy a couple of rolls of toilet paper when you can stock up with 2 dozen! If you are a first time shopper you will need to get your yearly membership card. There are two kinds of membership at Costco. There is Gold Star Membership at 4000 yen and there is Business Membership at 3500 yen which is available to all licensed businesses. To get the yearly membership you need to be 18 years or older. Once you are a member you may use your membership card anywhere in the world at any location and you may also bring up to two guests. ID is needed to get membership, and it may also be gotten online through the Costco website. 

Getting to Costco is a bit tricky if you don’t have your own transportation. Using public transport, take the Toho subway line (blue line) to Fukuzumi station and then from across the road at bus stop no. 8 take the Route Fuku 97 or 96 bus and get off at Sanrizuka Elementary School.  From there its a 3 minute walk. As you will most probably buying large quantities of groceries it is highly recommended you get your own wheels. Its a 40 minute drive from the centre of town along route 36. Costco will be on the right hand side.