There are shopping facilities in every part of the city, but the following two areas have the most to offer:
1: In front of Sapporo Station
2: The Odori area

Let’s first look at the area in front of Sapporo Station!

This is adjacent to the Sapporo Metro subway and JR Sapporo Station. It is within easy walking distance of the station, making last-minute shopping just before returning by expressway bus or train to the New Chitose Airport very convenient.

Here there are a few giant commercial complexes to take note of.

・Sapporo ESTA
A shopping complex housing large electrical appliance shops very popular with foreign visitors in front of Sapporo Station.

・Sapporo STELLAR PLACE
It is one of the largest shopping malls in Japan. Connected to Sapporo Station, it includes apparel shops, restaurants, cafes, bars, and a cinema complex.

・Paseo
A shopping zone in the large underpass beneath JR Sapporo Station with many cafes and apparel shops.

・APIA
An underground shopping area in Sapporo Station containing many places where you can enjoy leisurely meals.

・Daimaru Sapporo
A department store very popular with residents. Its Kikiyokocho floor offering beauty, food, and everyday items aimed at women is very popular.

・Tokyu Department Store Sapporo
A department store very popular with local residents. Offers a wide assortment of goods for daily life and also includes Tokyu Hands.

Closeup on Sapporo ESTA: Popular shopping center next to Sapporo Station

When you're looking where to shop in Sapporo, Sapporo ESTA is the perfect place to go when the weather isn't agreeable. There's no need for an umbrella on a rainy or snowy day because it is directly connected to Sapporo Station. It houses BicCamera, a top-class shop that offers one of the broadest selections of home electronics in Japan, the apparel shop UNIQLO, and the ramen theme park called Sapporo Ramen Republic.

Entrances are on the first and second floors, and the first and second basement floors are directly connected to the underground shopping areas and the subway station. All the levels from the second basement to the 10th floor offer a wide selection of goods, but I recommend you first visit the four following levels.

・Recommendation #1: Floors 1-4: Home electronics shop BicCamera

Here you will find cameras, watches, smartphones, personal computers, beauty appliances, cooking appliances, and many other types of electric devices. Many of the staff can speak foreign languages such as English and Chinese.

・Recommendation #2: 1st basement: Famous Hokkaido sweets, side dishes, box lunches, medical supplies, cosmetics

On this floor, there are corners selling famous Hokkaido confectionery and corners selling all kinds of side dishes and box lunches. There is also a drug store where you can purchase medical items and cosmetics.

・Recommendation #3: Floors 5-8: UNIQLO, fashion wear, general merchandise

Floors five through eight of Sapporo ESTA display fashions and sundries. UNIQLO occupies the greater part of the 5th floor. Many of the items displayed here are only offered in Hokkaido. Located exclusively on this floor, you can get all your clothing needs here without the need to visit other levels.

・Recommendation #4: 10th floor: Sapporo Ramen Republic

Finally, we recommend the Sapporo Ramen Republic on the 10th floor. Here there are eight shops offering a variety of Hokkaido ramen, such as miso ramen for which Sapporo is famous.

In addition to tourists, many residents also use the shopping facility, and aside from standard dishes on the menu, seasonal ramen dishes are also offered.

These shops have gained a reputation for their flavor, making them very popular. Some even have menus in foreign languages. This is the perfect place to get a bite to eat after shopping.

This refers to the area around Odori Station, one station on the Sapporo Metro Subway Namboku Line, and Toho Line from Sapporo Station. It has long been a center of commercial activity in Sapporo with many department stores and fashion buildings.

Odori is also a famous sightseeing spot having the Sapporo Clock Tower, Sapporo TV Tower, and Odori Park. It is also adjacent to the famous Susukino nightlife district.

Shopping spots in the Odori area

・Tanukikoji Shopping Street
It is a two or three-minute walk from the Nishi 4-chome tram stop. It has been a commercial district with long-established shops since 1872. It is an area that has been appreciated by residents for many years and, in recent years, has become a popular tourist spot visited by many foreign visitors.

・Marui Imai Sapporo Store
A department store facing Odori Park. Here you can find many food products only available in Hokkaido.

・AURORA TOWN
Underground shopping center beneath Odori Park running from Nishi 1-chome to 3-chome.

・POLE TOWN
An underground town between Odori Station to the Nishi 4-chome tram stop and continuing on to the Metro Namboku Line Susukino Station.

・4 Chome Plaza
Fashion building near the Nishi 4-chome tram stop and a one or two-minute walk from Odori Park.

・PIVOT
Next to 4 Chome Plaza, has a UNIQLO and a Tower Records music shop in it.

・Sapporo PARCO
Across from 4 Chome Plaza and has many apparel and dining shops in it.

・Sapporo Mitsukoshi
Across from 4 Chome Plaza, it is a long-established department store. Its senior section is popular.

Famous shopping spot in the Odori area: Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade hosts many old shops

Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade is famous among Sapporo residents for its shopping and leisure spots. In recent years a growing number of foreign tourists have been visiting it, and the number of shops having international exchanges has grown.

This long arcade stretching for about one kilometer east and west goes from 1-chome on the eastern edge to 7-chome on the western side.

Almost directly in the middle at 3-chome and 4-chome, there are the Tanukikoji tram stop of the Sapporo Streetcar Line and the entrance to the underground Pole Town. You can avoid the rain or snow if you come through Pole Town from Odori Station or Susukino Station.

Check out the video below for what else you can see in this area!

The "Hokkaido Tourist Information Center Sapporo" at the Don Quijote Tanukikoji in 4-chome provides sightseeing information for foreign visitors in English and Chinese.

There are about 200 shops between 1-chome and 7-chome of all sorts: Sapporo souvenir shops, restaurants, pharmacies, and many others. Gift shops selling Hokkaido pastries and other items are concentrated between 4-chome and 6-chome.

There are also many drug stores with about 13 located between 1-chome and 6-chome. Eating establishments are spread throughout the area between 1-chome and 7-chome: ramen shops, seafood pubs, kushiyaki [skewers of grilled food] shops, shops offering cuisine of many countries, and confectioneries.

■ Recommended gift shops between 4 and 6-chome

・Hokkaido Gifts Tanukiya
A gift shop located at Tanukikoji 4-chome. In addition to Hokkaido confections, it also offers character goods and wood carvings.

・Souvenir Shop Kobushiya
A gift shop located at Tanukikoji 4-chome. Sells famous Hokkaido sweets, ramen, seafood, sake, limited Hokkaido character goods, and other sundries.

・Souvenir Shop Shirakaba
A gift shop located at Tanukikoji 6-chome. It offers a wide selection of famous sweets and sundried items from Hokkaido. There is also another shop at Tanukikoji 5-chome.

■ Recommended drug stores between 3 and 6-chome

・Sapporo Drug Store
One store at Tanukikoji 4-chome, two at 5-chome, and one at 6-chome. They sell medicine, cosmetics, health food products, and various sweets. There is also a souvenir shop at 5-chome.

・Kokumin
Two stores at Tanukikoji 3-chome, one store at 5-chome. Drug stores selling medicine and cosmetics at reasonable prices.

・Matsumoto Kiyoshi
Drug store with two shops at Tanukikoji 3-chome. They sell medicine, cosmetics, health foods, and various other goods.

■ 4-chome discount store MEGA Don Quijote Flagship Store

MEGA Don Quijote is open late into the night which makes shopping easy. It offers a wide array of household goods, cosmetics, liquors, and many other things that you can take back to your hotel. Very lively at night.

If you walk from one end to the other of this shopping area, you will see a fantastic variety of shops, so many that it is hard to decide which ones to visit; it is a beautiful space for shopping and eating.

Some of the shops in the Tanukikoji Shopping Arcade, such as gift shops and drug stores, offer duty-free prices and accept payment by credit card and electronic money. Other shops, such as ramen shops and other eateries, only accept cash payment in Japanese yen. Most shops indicate within them whether they accept digital cash or credit cards, so be sure to verify that before you shop.