Hokkaido Food Guide
Updated November 12, 2024
There’s no doubt that Hokkaido, the second-largest island and northernmost prefecture of Japan, is one of the most well-known places for food. Oftentimes, when people think of Hokkaido’s cuisine, fresh seafood and dairy products come to mind. Although that is what they are best known for, there are other local Hokkaido dishes that are definitely worth a try! Here's a food guide to help you decide what to eat when in Hokkaido.
Hokkaido Seafood
Hokkaido is known for their fresh seafood, and like much of Japan, there are many sushi restaurants.
Kaisen-don/Donburi
One of the most popular seafood dishes is a simple dish that can be enjoyed at fish markets as well. Kaisen-don simply consists of a bowl of rice and various seafood topped over the rice. The quality of the seafood often is what makes this dish. There is a combination of different seafoods topped like ikura(salmon roe), ika(squid), uni(sea urchin), and hotate(scallops). Usually, this dish is eaten with soy sauce poured over top, and there are many that recommend eating this in the morning at Nijo Fish Market for breakfast.
Hokkaido Crab
Kani, or crab is another seafood item that Hokkaido is especially known for. The crabs are best tried in the wintertime as that is usually when they are "in season." There are three types of crabs that Hokkaido is known for; the king crab, snow crab, and hairy crab. In Hokkaido, it is pretty easy to find and try them as there are restaurants that serve them including an all-you-can-eat crab restaurant. There are different crab dishes that can be enjoyed, but many Japanese people enjoy crab in hotpots, over rice, dipped in vinegar and soy sauce, or just plain! Eating the crab miso that is found towards the head of the crab is also considered a delicacy, and some make soups with it as well. There is no better place than to get crab than in Hokkaido!
Hokkaido Dairy Products
Because of their expansive land area, it is possible for Hokkaido to have large dairy farms. They produce much of Japan's dairy products, and are known for it. They produce milk, cheese, cream, butter, and ice cream to name a few. There are also some popular dairy product dishes in Hokkaido including cheese dishes and soft-serve ice cream. They have a variety of different flavors of soft-serve that you can get around Hokkaido, but to truly appreciate Hokkaido dairy, it is recommended you try the original vanilla soft serve first. There are also butter cookies that are a local classic including marusei, that features a creamy butter and raisin filling sandwiched between two butter cookies.
Hokkaido Ramen
Hokkaido is famous around Japan for their ramen. Some of the main, most popular types of ramen come from Hokkaido.
Sapporo is known for their miso ramen and Hakodate for their shio(salt) ramen. There are plenty of ramen restaurants in Hokkaido that make trying Hokkaido ramen easily accessible, and a must try for noodle lovers.
Hokkaido Melon
Hokkaido is also a big producer of certain produce. The most famous being their melons, namely Yubari King Melon. Some of their melons even reach a luxury level, where people pay top dollar for one of these cantaloupe crossbreeds. They are known to be the juiciest and the most delicious. If delicious fruit is something that strikes your fancy, a popular thing to try in Hokkaido are the melon soft serves. The sweet and mellow dessert combines the best of Hokkaido with the melons and the dairy.
Hokkaido Soup Curry
A specific dish that is popular in Hokkaido is soup curry. It is just like curry, but it has a more liquid-like consistency that resembles a soup more so than a thick stew.
Jingisukan
Jingisukan "Genghis Khan" is another dish popular is Hokkaido. It essentially is a barbecue dish that includes mutton and vegetables grilled over a round, helmet-shaped grill. Essentially like a mini version of korean barbeque with a smaller grill, the meat is cooked and then dipped into sauces. Places that serve this dish are relatively common in Hokkaido, namely Sapporo.
Zangi
Zangi is a popular dish among Hokkaido-area residents. To prepare it, a whole chicken is cut into pieces and deep-fried. The name "zangi" is derived from the Chinese word for fried chicken, "zhagui".
We hope this list didn't make you too hungry! Hokkaido offers up some amazing dishes and cuisine. If you can only try a couple of these dishes, then that is plenty as the quality and taste that just one of these Hokkaido dishes more than makes up for it.