2 Nights Sapporo Itinerary

Here's our draft itinerary for visiting Sapporo in late January 2026. We haven't been to Sapporo before but have heard its name as a consequence of the Sapporo beer brand. We also expect it to be cold in January - potentially remaining below freezing for the duration of our visit. We only have 2 full days and 2 nights - and want to pack in as much as possible without packing in too much that we don't take time to use all our senses to soak up the experience to the full.

Day 1: Arrival and Dotonbori Exploration

Arrival in Sapporo

Welcome to Sapporo! After a short flight from Tokyo, we'll be landing at Chitose (Sapporo) Airport, at 13:10, collecting the bags, we'll be heading for the hotel, to make the most of our first day. We intend to take the Rapid Airport train to Sapporo Station (35mins), and then from there it's a manageable 10min walk to the ANA Crowne Plaza Sapporo hotel where we'll be staying for the 2 nights.

Remainder of Day 1

We may be fighting some jet lag as the result of our overnight flight from London - so we will be doing our best to adjust to Japanese time as soon as we can. I can't imagine the cold will help. We are centrally located in Sapporo so I'm expecting that there will be planty of distractions - even on a Sunday afternoon & evening.

We will try to cover off Odori Park, Clock Tower, and Red Brick Office whilst there is still light. We'll give the sea urchin a miss at Nijo Market, but will finish the evening by trying a ramen in Susukino.

Day 2: Cultural Immersion and Beer

Beer Museum

I've known of the beer too long to pass up the opportunity of a brewery / museum visit. It seems that the right thing to do is to also savour the regional specialty: grilled Genghis Khan (lamb barbecue) at the adjacent brewery restaurant. That sounds very much me.

Depending on weather - we may book a sushi making class for a couple of hours just outside the city. This will bring us in out of the cold, and would be an interesting diversion. The one available on Viator is highly rated and has the option to be picked up, and dropped off near our hotel.

Sticking with the beer theme, I think I'd like to try to enjoy an Izakaya evenings. We failed to do this on our last visit to Japan - so maybe we will get some recommendations from the hotel, before heading out as there seem to be a few options close to the hotel. Not having done it before - it appears to be a casual social atmosphere - ordering a variety of small, sharable dishes - which is a great way to try food that we might not immediately love - bit like tapas I imagine.

Day 3: Last-Minute Shopping and Departure

Morning Shopping at Shinsaibashi

We are bringing huge bags with us - so will spend time to get some shopping in. We'll take some time on the final morning to do some shopping close to the hotel. Grabbing a quick lunch before we finish.

Departure from Sapporo

After an early lunch, we'll grab our bags from the hotel around 14:00, and make our way back to the airport. Travelling back to the airport is an experience all of its own, and I don't want to be rushed.

That's it

It now feels like not a lot of time, but in late January, I'm not expecting there to be a lot of activity - so a perfect first stop to allow us to adjust to the time difference, and see the little that there is to see. As I have already said - I'd rather have too many options and leave some out if it gets too busy to enjoy. We'll commit or change the plans as we go - booking experiences as we go - buying local when we can, which will leave our itinerary nice and flexible.

Let me know what you think.

Happy travels!