Hokkaido Cuisine: Typical Food From the Region

Author: Yukino Tsuchihashi, Japanese writer and recipe developer studied at the Asian Culinary School in Singapore Edited by: Joost Nusselder, author of The Essential Japanese meal planner cookbook Updated February 28, 2024

Hokkaido is the 2nd largest island located Northern in Japan. With its vast area for harvesting and the cold weather, Hokkaido can produce many fresh ingredients.　

Also, they have descendants of the Ainu people, so it has a more distinctive tradition compared to other parts of Japan.

Here are the 4 areas of Hokkaido, each with a distinct type of food.

There are also must-visit restaurants such as Sapporo Beer Park, Genghis Khan Hall, or Keyaki Restaurant.

Let’s look at the specialty ingredients and food from those areas. There are also some restaurants and cafes that you might want to visit in Hokkaido.

Check out our new cookbook

Bitemybun's family recipes with complete meal planner and recipe guide.

Try it out for free with Kindle Unlimited:

Read for free

What food is Hokkaido famous for?

Hokkaido has various foods to explore. But here are the most well-known 6 Hokkaido foods that every Japanese knows.

1. Fresh seafood
2. Dairy products
3. Fruit and Vegetables
4. Hokkaido Ramen
5. Jingisukan (Genghis Khan BBQ)
6. Hokkaido Sapporo Soup Curry

They are overall famous in Hokkaido, but you may find specific food is nicer in specific cities or areas.

For example, potatoes are everywhere in Hokkaido, but if you’re looking for branded potatoes such as Danshaku or May Queen, you may want to visit Tokachi area and around Abashiri city.

1. Fresh Seafood

Hokkaido is famous for seafood, especially scallops, octopus, sake salmon, sea urchins, and hair crab.

This is because Hokkaido is surrounded by different seas and they can catch different fish in different seasons.

Main travel spots such as Sapporo City, Hakodate City, and Otaru City have a market, so you can enjoy fresh seafood from everywhere in Hokkaido.

You can try it in the form of sushi, sashimi, or donburi!

2. Dairy Products

Hokkaido produces over 50% of Japan’s milk according to the Japan National Tourism Organization.

It has a huge cultivated area of more than 1.1 million ha (2022) as well, according to the Hokkaido Government site. Their vast, cooling, and less humid environment makes it comfortable for cows to produce high-quality milk. The environment also helps to keep fresh milk.

Mostly it’s produced in the North and East areas of Hokkaido, specifically from the areas below.

• Souya area
• Kushiro city
• Nemuro city
• Tokachi city
• the Sea of Okhotsk area

You can enjoy it as milk, ice cream, cheese, or cake!

Hokkaido Milk

Hokkaido milk has a richer flavor than usual milk. You can get it supermarket or convenience store, but you may want to go to a milk farm to try the fresh milk.

Hokkaido Ice Cream

Hokkaido ice cream is richer in taste and texture as well. Sometimes it comes in different flavors or top it on top of Hokkaido melon. You can enjoy it in cafes or ice cream/gelato shops most of the time.　

Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart

Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart is a sweet that sells well in places like New York, Japan, and Hong Kong. They use 3 different cheeses to come up with a rich and creamy texture. You can visit its store in Sapporo City.

3. Fruit and Vegetables

For the same reason as dairy products, Hokkaido is famous for 4 vegetables and fruits. You get to see them at any kind of Hokkaido food fair such as the Hokkaido Food Festival in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo.

1. Potato
2. Corn
3. Melon
4. Lonicera caerulea (haskap)

1. Potato

70% of potatoes (Bareisho) come from Hokkaido! Other than the usual potato, it’s also famous for Danshaku, May Queen, and Kitaakari. It’s produced in the Tokachi area and around Abashiri city. You can enjoy potato chips and fried potatoes (age-imo).

2. Corn

Hokkaido is one of the most produced areas in Japan, well-known for its sweet taste. Kamikawa Town, Shiribeshi City, and Tokachi area are famous for corn. You can enjoy it as a corn snack, boiled corn, roasted corn, or even eat it fresh!

3. Melon

Hokkaido is the 2nd most produced area in Japan. Kyowa Town, Yu-bari City, and Furano City are the production areas. The most well-known melon is “Yu-bari king” from Yu-bari city. It’s one of the eye-opening melons that has red meat instead of green meat. You can enjoy a melon soft cream.

4. Lonicera caerulea (haskap)

It is a fruit that looks like a blueberry, but it has more acidity and gentle sweetness. This fruit only grows in cold places, so Hokkaido is the only place growing the fruit. You can also enjoy it as a gelato, cake, or jam.

4. Hokkaido Ramen

Ramen is a regional cuisine in Hokkaido. With the spread of word of mouth and the media, it became one of the specialties in Hokkaido.

If you go to these 3 different areas, each of them provides a different taste!

1. Sapporo ramen
2. Hakodate ramen
3. Asahikawa ramen

1. Sapporo ramen

You can enjoy it in Sapporo city. Miso is the most popular taste. The soup is usually thick and it comes with stir-fried beansprouts and/or onions. The noodle’s thickness is medium and curly.

2. Hakodate ramen

You can enjoy it around Hakodate city. Usually, it’s salt taste and the soup is clear. It has a refreshing, but deep taste.

3. Asahikawa ramen

You can enjoy in Asakhikawa, specifically Asahiyama Zoo. It also has a curly noodle, but has more lard and the noodle is less moisture. Soy sauce is the most popular taste.

5. Jingisukan (Genghis Khan BBQ)

Genghis Khan is a mutton grilled on a hot plate. In the 1960s, wool became a boom in the Japanese fashion industry, but to sell, they had to consume mutton. As the easiest and the most fun way, the farmers invented this meal and it became one of the well-known Hokkaido dishes. You can now enjoy it in other prefectures as well, but you may want to try the original taste in Hokkaido.

6. Hokkaido Sapporo Soup Curry

Soup curry is a curry-flavored soup with chicken, vegetables, and an egg that originated from Sapporo City. Mr. Tatsujiri, who ran a restaurant in Sapporo City, loved India and has been to India whenever he can to learn spices. That’s how he invented soup curry with fresh Hokkaido vegetables, and how it boomed and spread over to other prefectures. His apprentice still runs a soup curry restaurant in Sapporo City.

What restaurants do you go when eating in Hokkaido?

Here are the 5 best restaurants you may want to visit in Hokkaido. Most of them are highly ranked on the famous Japanese tourism site, Jaran!

1. Sapporo Beer Park Genghis Khan Hall（札幌ビール園 ジンギスカンホール）: Ranked the top in Japan. You can enjoy Genghis Khan with a fresh Sapporo beer!
2. Hakodate Morning Market（函館朝市）: This place ranked 2nd in Japan. Not a restaurant, but you can enjoy fresh sashimi in this market. You can stroll down to enjoy different seafood.
3. Le Glacier TOKACHI: Gelato shop that won the Gelato contest in Japan. Not only you can enjoy Hokkaido milk, but also enjoy ingredients, such as Tokachi cheese, Tokachi lonicera caerulea, or Tokachi famous fruits, seaberry. It’s located in Tokachi City.
4. Keyaki Restaurant (Flagship store)（けやき本店）: It is a famous miso-taste Sapporo ramen restaurant. You can enjoy it with the typical topping of corn, butter, and stir-fried vegetables. It’s ranked 7th in Jaran.
5. Yakuzen Curry Honpo Ajanta（薬膳カリィ本舗アジャンタ）: Pioneer of a soup curry that is located in Sapporo City. It uses 30 spices and 15 herbal medicines to make the soup.

What is the Hokkaido food festival?

It is not in Hokkaido, but there’s an event in Yoyogi Park, Tokyo every year. This festival has been running for more than 30 years and you can explore more than 60 food stalls. The festival date is going to be from late September to early October.

How does Hokkaido differ from other regional Japanese food?

Hokkaido has unique and fresh food in a huge amount compared to other parts of Japan.

This is because, it has a vast area, the coldest temperature, and 3 seas face to it, which gives a stress-free environment to all of the plants and livestock.

Also, Hokkaido has Ainu people as descendants. Growing up in its distinctive culture perhaps gives some creative ideas such as soup curry or Genghis Khan, or a regional cuisine such as Hokkaido ramen in 3 areas.

Check out our new cookbook

Bitemybun's family recipes with complete meal planner and recipe guide.

Try it out for free with Kindle Unlimited:

Read for free

Yukino Tsuchihashi is a Japanese writer and recipe developer, who loves exploring different ingredients and food from various countries. She studied in an Asian Culinary School in Singapore.