Local Guide
5 recommended sushi restaurants in Sapporo, from upscale restaurants to conveyor belt sushi

Sapporo, the central city of Hokkaido where seafood from various regions gather, is a fierce battleground for sushi, with countless sushi restaurants, from upscale to conveyor-belt sushi, scattered throughout the city. While it is no surprise that all sushi restaurants offer excellent ingredients, we have carefully selected a few that are highly praised by local customers with discerning palates. Here are five highly recommended sushi restaurants from the city and suburbs of Sapporo, ranging from the best Edo-style sushi restaurants that put a lot of effort into their sushi to the most cost-effective and reasonably priced restaurants.

Enjoy omakase nigiri that transcends the boundaries of Edo-mae sushi.

Pickled egg mixed with rice
Pickled egg mixed with rice" was created by combining vinegared rice and eggs, inspired by the owner's bribe rice when he was in training.

This sushi restaurant is located in the Maruyama district of Sapporo, which is dotted with many fashionable restaurants. In addition to Japanese cuisine, you can enjoy original Edomae-style sushi inspired by the owner's own food experiences. The menu is limited to the omakase course (16,500 yen and up, depending on the ingredients available), which consists of about six snacks followed by about 10 nigiri pieces, and changes daily depending on the ingredients available. The most impressive dish often served with nigiri is the pickled egg mixed with rice. The rice is served in a small bowl several centimeters in diameter, mixed with a raw egg, and topped with chopped pickled red tuna using the Edo-mae sushi technique.

Watching the owner at work, you can't help but anticipate the next dish!

A hidden gem on the second floor of a building. There are only eight seats at the counter so that the owner can keep a close eye on the customers.
A hidden gem on the second floor of a building. There are only eight seats at the counter so that the owner can keep a close eye on the customers.

The rice is made from "Nanatsuboshi" and "Yumepirika" rice from Higashikawa Town, located at the foot of Mt. Asahidake in the Daisetsuzan mountain range, cooked with famous "Daisetsu Asahidake Gensui" water and finished with red vinegar produced in Tango, Kyoto. Seasonal ingredients purchased from various parts of Japan are salted, kombu-shime (kelp shime), nemakase (layered), seared, and other techniques are used to achieve a consistent consistency that harmonizes with the rice. The owner's careful workmanship can be seen up close and personal. You can enjoy Shinonohime's original flavors, such as ankimo with dried figs and ginkgo nuts mixed with paste oysters as monaka.

Local Guide Comment
Located on a back road in Maruyama, Sapporo, this restaurant is like a hideaway with a comfortable and relaxing atmosphere. You can enjoy unparalleled snacks and time-consuming sushi made with Edo-mae techniques at omakase.
Sushi Shinonomoto
  • Address 2F Season Bldg., 2-15, Minami 1-jo Nishi 22-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido MAP
  • Direction 5 minutes walk from Maruyama Koen Subway Station
  • Business Hours 17:00 - 20:00 (last entry)
  • Closed Thursdays
  • TEL 011-215-4144
  • Parking None
  • Memo Reservations required with specified entry time. Cancellation fee: 50% the day before/100% on the day. No one wearing perfume is allowed to enter the restaurant.

Enjoy seasonal seafood at a convenient location directly connected to Sapporo Station

Masashi
Masashi" (front) 6,050 yen, "Nama Chirashi Sushi" (back) 4,950 yen, junmai sake "Yukinohana" 1 gou 1,100 yen

Located on the 8th floor of the Daimaru Sapporo Store, directly connected to JR Sapporo Station, this sushi restaurant is a branch of Sushizen, a sushi restaurant with its main branch in the Maruyama area of Sapporo. You can enjoy seafood from all over Hokkaido, such as scallops, snow crabs, and Ezo abalone, in nigiri and chirashi sushi. The popular menu items are "Miyabi," which includes 12 pieces of nigiri, a bowl, salad, and dessert, and "Nama Chirashi Sushi," which comes with a bowl and salad. Both dishes use seasonal ingredients, so it is a pleasure to see what kind of fish you will be served that day. Sushizen's original junmai sake "Yukinohana" in a bamboo tube goes well with the sushi.

Enjoy the taste of a famous restaurant at a reasonable price. Take-out is also available.

The restaurant has 8 seats at the counter and 28 seats at tables, making it easy to come in alone or in a group.
The restaurant has 8 seats at the counter and 28 seats at tables, making it easy to come in alone or in a group.

Located in a department store, reservations are not required, so you can enjoy sushi without feeling intimidated by the famous restaurant. The seasonal set menu, which is not available at the main restaurant, is also available at a reasonable price. The best time to find available seats is generally between 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., but even during busy times such as lunchtime, you can get in if you wait in line. Both nigiri and chirashi are sold in folded packages, so you can take them out and eat them at your hotel or other places.

Local Guide Comment
Sushizen is known as one of the best sushi restaurants in Sapporo. You can enjoy the finest taste at this sophisticated and relaxed restaurant.
Sushizen Daimaru
  • Address Daimaru Sapporo 8th Floor Restaurant, Kita 5-jo Nishi 4-7, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido MAP
  • Direction Directly connected to JR and Subway Sapporo Sta.
  • Business Hours 11:00-22:00 (L.O. 21:00)
  • Closed January 1
  • TEL 011-828-1068 (direct line)
  • Parking Pay parking (450 yen for the first hour, 150 yen for every 20 minutes thereafter)
  • Memo Parking is free for 2 hours if you spend 2,000 yen or more in Daimaru Sapporo, and free for 3 hours if you spend 30,000 yen or more in Daimaru Sapporo.

Artistic Edomae Sushi Restaurant utilizing Hokkaido ingredients

Nigiri made with button shrimps from Haboro, Hokkaido. A gem of a course that is served relatively year-round.
Nigiri made with button shrimps from Haboro, Hokkaido. A gem of a course that is served relatively year-round.

The sushi restaurant is so impressive with its sophisticated design space that when you open the entrance door, you might think you have entered an art gallery. You can enjoy Edomae Sushi in a course in the restaurant that gives you a dignified appearance. The menu consists of only the 15,000 (tax included) and 20,000 yen (evening only, tax included) courses. Both courses consist of five or six snacks followed by nigiri (hand-rolled sushi). The rice is made from "Nanatsuboshi" rice produced in Hokkaido and only rice vinegar is used. The neta (neta) is made from seasonal ingredients produced in Hokkaido, so the menu changes depending on the time of year.

Tearoom-like space spun by various artists

The owner, who left his job as a salaried worker to train at sushi restaurants in Hokkaido and elsewhere before setting up his own restaurant.
The owner, who left his job as a salaried worker to train at sushi restaurants in Hokkaido and elsewhere before setting up his own restaurant.

This restaurant brings together the talents and taste of various artists and creators. The interior of the restaurant, which holds Asahikawa furniture, is a residential architecture.
The restaurant was built by a famous architect in the image of a tea room, and chairs from Asahikawa Furniture are neatly lined up in a row. The tableware is custom-made by local woodworkers and potters, and the background music is composed and provided by a local music creator who has created environmental sounds for commercial properties and TV commercials all over Japan. You can enjoy the finest Edo-mae sushi to your heart's content with all your senses while immersing yourself in the sophisticated space.

Local Guide Comment
You can enjoy the collaboration of art and sushi in an artistic atmosphere that overturns the image of a sushi restaurant. Don't miss the artist's work displayed at the entrance of the restaurant.
Sushi Isono
  • Address Minami 2-jo Bldg. 1F, 7-8-2 Minami 2-jo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido MAP
  • Direction 5 min. walk from Odori Subway Station
  • Business Hours 12:00-14:30 (last entry at 13:30), 18:00-22:00 (last entry at 20:30) *Open only at night on Tuesdays
  • Regular holiday Monday, Tuesday 12:00-14:30
  • TEL 011-272-2070
  • Parking None
  • Memo Reservations required

A long-established conveyor-belt sushi restaurant originating from Kushiro that focuses on freshness and quality of raw ingredients.

Tsubasa Saba
Tsubasa Saba" 506 yen, "Spilled Salmon Roe" 1,144 yen (tax included)

This conveyor-belt sushi restaurant is particular about freshness and is located in close proximity to Sapporo Dome. The restaurant has a more than 30-year relationship with fishermen in Kushiro, where the restaurant was founded, and directly delivers fresh seafood from all over Hokkaido and abroad. Scallops and whelks are purchased in their shells as much as possible and served freshly peeled in the restaurant.
Popular menu items include nigiri made with seasonal ingredients, the famous "spilled salmon roe," Nagoyakatei's brand mackerel with a fatty surface, and the "Shellfish Zukushi," which offers three kinds of fresh abalone, hokki (fresh whelk), and scallops. All of them are reasonably priced, despite their quality that cannot be underestimated for a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant.

Enjoy tasting the fresh and generous portions of fish

There are counter seats and box seats, and you can watch a sushi demonstration from either seat.
There are counter seats and box seats, and you can watch a sushi demonstration from either seat.

If you choose to have the salmon roe served with or without the demonstration, you will be served with Kushiro salmon roe poured so many times in front of your eyes that you cannot see the sushi rolls. The large amount of salmon roe that spills out of the gunkan onto the plate can be ordered separately and served over scallops, salmon or other ingredients.
The restaurant, which has table seating as well as counter seating, always has a lively and bright atmosphere. Especially on days when there are live concerts or other events at the Sapporo Dome, the restaurant is even more crowded with people full of anticipation and excitement.

Local Guide Comment
This conveyor-belt sushi restaurant is popular for the size and freshness of its neta (fish). It is also popular among Sapporo sightseers because of its proximity to the Sapporo Dome and the Hitsujigaoka Observation Hill. The entire restaurant gets excited when an order is placed for spilled ikurako (salmon roe), so you can enjoy taking a video of it.
Nagoyaka Tei Fukuzumi Store
  • Address 1-45, Fukuzumi 3jo 4-chome, Toyohira-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido MAP
  • Direction 10 minutes walk from Fukuzumi Subway Station.
  • Direction 1 min. walk from Fukuzumi 3-jo 5-chome bus stop from Fukuzumi Station.
  • Business Hours Open 11:00-22:00
  • Regular holiday January 1 and 2
  • TEL 0120-940-946
  • Parking Free of charge
  • Memo Take-out business only on December 31

MAP

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The information in this article is current as of the date of the update. Please check before visiting as they are subject to change.