Enjoy Hokkaido! This site supports your travel in Hokkaido!

Seafood

Many tourists desire to eat seafood in Hokkaido. It is one of the reason to visit Hokkaido for some tourists. Please check when is the best season for the seafood you want to eat, and check the best area for it.

Main products
Crabs (horsehair crab/king crab/snow crab/Hanasaki crab) / salmon / scallop / codfish / prawn / sakhalin surf clam / sea urchin / abalone / herring / saury / Atka mackerel

Also there are many processed foods.



Where to eat crabs?

Product name  Japanese nameBest season Area  Horsehair crab Ke-ganiApr-Aug / Nov-Dec  King crab Taraba-ganiSep-Jan  Snow crabZuwai-gani Nov-Mar   Hanasaki crabHanasaki-gani Aug-Oct Nemuro  SalmonSake Sep-Nov   ScallopHotate Dec-Feb   Cod fishTara Oct-Mar    sakhalin surf clam Hokki-gaiWinter Tomakomai / Kamiiso  sea urchin Uni May- Dec  Hokkai ebi (pwawn)Hokkai shima ebi July & August  Notsuke (Bekkai) HerringNishin Jan-Apr  Rumoi / Otaru  Atka mackerelHokke  Jul-DecRebun / Rausu / Hidaka  AbaloneAwabi   Oyster Kaki  Oct-MarAkkeshi 

Those best seasons on the above depend on the weather of year.

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Drink

Beer

Beer in Hokkaido is very famous in Japan. When it started to develop Hokkaido around 1869, the government at that time established a beer breweries in Sapporo, in 1876.
Also there are many local beers in Hokkaido today.

Whisky

Nikka Whisky

Wine

There are many wineries in Hokkaido. And the number of wineries is increasing. Especially winery in Furano, winery in Otaru, and winery in Ikeda are famous.

Sake

Good quality rice and water in Hokkaido, and cold weather in winter, those facts make good sake in Hokkaido. There are several breweries of sake in Hokkaido.

Milk

Hokkaido is known as the land of milk. You can see many herd of dairy cattle around Hokkaido. And you can drink fresh milk and you can eat good quality cheese & yoghurt or daily products during your trip. Don't forget to eat ice cream as well!

Meat

Beef

There are not only milk cows, but also beef cattle in Hokkaido. It is worth to eat beef in Hokkaido.
(Shiraoi Beef / Onuma Beef / Frano Beef / etc)

Mutton

We call grilled mutton "Jin-gisu-kan". It is one of the local foods in Hokkaido.

Chicken

"Bibai Yakitori" (Bibai is the name of town. Yakitori means a grilled chicken on a skewer.) "Bibai Yakitori" is that you can taste several parts of chicken with one skewer.

"Jin-gisu-kan"

Vegetables

Fresh vegetables and fruits in Hokkaido are also worth to eat! Melon in Hokkaido is famous as souvenir. New varieties of asparagus and corn(Indian corn) have emerged in market today. Please taste local vegetables and fruits in those best seasons.

Main products
Potato / Indean corn / Asparagus / Pumpkin / Onion / Lily bulb / Apple / Melon / Grape / etc

Ramen

Ramen (noodle soup) in Hokkaido is very famous. It is said that Ramen originated in Sapporo. At first, the Sapporo Ramen was sho-yu soup. However, the soup based with miso was developed by an advice from one guest, thus Sapporo Ramen is soup based with miso today.

Now there are many local ramens in Japan, also you can find some local ramens in Hokkaido as well.

Sapporo Ramen

Miso (fermented soybean paste) soup

Hakodate Ramen

Sio (salt) soup

Okhotsk Ramen

Salt soup with dried scallops

Asahikawa Ramen

Sho-yu (soy sauce) soup

Sweets

As the one of the main products in Hokkaido is milk, it makes butter, cheese and cream. Also wheat is grown with a big field in Hokkaido. Those products become ingredients of sweets products.

What to eat?

Spring

Horsehair crab /

Early Summer

Sea urchin / Asparagus

Summer

Meron / Beer / Indian corn / Hanasaki crab

Autumn

Mushroom / Salmon & roe /

Winter

Hot pot / Oyster / Scallop / Cod

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