Kitakaro Sapporo Hankan is located near the Odori Station through which all lines of the Sapporo municipal subway pass. From this station, it is about a five-minute walk. Another route to take is a ten-minute walk from the JR Sapporo Station. The Red Brick Government Building (Hokkaido's Old Government Building) is just a few minutes from there, making it a comfortable visit while sightseeing.

"Wow, it's huge!"
Everyone surely feels the same as they enter the shop!

There is so much room on the floor! Here we find various sweet lined up, but trust us and head to the Hokkaido cream puff shop first before the line forms or they sell out.

These items are found only here in the Honkan!

This gives a crisp bite with a moist inside. What a great texture! The caramelized almonds make a great topping.

For those of you with a sweet tooth we have one more recommendation especially for cream lovers.

This is the product that triggered the Kitakaro brand, becoming a staple of Hokkaido souvenirs.
The northern candy store opened in 1991 in Sunagawa City, Hokkaido, which is known as the city of sweets.

This was furthered by the creation of the New Chitose Airport that opened a few years later. Pilots and cabin attendants would purchase several boxes of this northern dream dome as gifts. As this happened, the product's popularity grew from the resulting word of mouth advertising.

If you enjoyed the Hokkaido cream puffs, get ready for our next souvenir recommendation!
At the Kitakaro Sapporo Honkan, many varieties of Kitakaro products are available. Here we recommend two standard products to consider.
The first item is the classic dessert product you won't be able to overlook.

These rice crackers use sugar made in Hokkaido. As of spring 2018, there are seven kinds in total, and there are also limited-time "northern sea shrimp" that appear for short periods. Incidentally, Thisthis shrimp comes from the fountain between Shiretoko and Nemuro, which is the same area where north sea shrimp and scallops are produced.

These snacks are characterized by the rich taste that gets better the more that you chew. The secret is that the ingredients are kneaded in glutinous rice and are pestled together. After that, it takes about 7 days to complete the drying, aging, and deep-frying process.

This time I sampled the "Erimo kelp," "Esashi scallops," and "Mashike sweet shrimp." I could taste the flavors in each one. I could get stuck on these snacks!
Next is this popular classic!

Baumkuchen, using cotton flour, fresh cream from Hokkaido, and savory eggs, are hand-baked by craftsmen every time. These have been aged overnight after baking. While maintaining a fluffy texture, it is quite moist. This is a revolutionary taste!

Next, let's check out some of the limited items that can only be purchased here.

In bitter chocolate, the fragrance of fruity apricot can be sensed. It is a rich chocolate cake with a moist texture. Compatible with dark black coffee!
Here is one more.

This square chocolate with creamy caramel sauce paired with Lang de Chat Cookies has an exquisite caramel flavor. You may eat separately, or you can sandwich them together for a chocolate cookie, two eating styles available inside one box!

Smooth chocolate and crispy cookies that mix for one great taste!

Why is this called the "Hokkaido Hospital Library" using difficult kanji?

Read on to see!

The reason: The Kitakarou Sapporo Honkan was used as a part of the Hokkaido agency library commemoration in 1926.

After being used as a library for some time, it was used as an art museum. It was repurposed again and again until recently when it was changed into the Agency for the custodian of administrative documents for Hokkaido.

After that repairs and reinforcements of the walls of the south side and the west side and the old entrance hall were completed. Other parts were demolished from the problem of earthquake resistance, and were newly built with architect Tadao Ando's design. It opened in March 2016 as the Kitakaro Sapporo Honkan.

When going to the cafe on the second floor you can use the stairs in the former entrance hall that was made in the Taisho era! This is the perfect spot to get a taste of history!

After showing some appreciation for the building and getting the commemorative photograph, I went to the cafe on the second floor.

In this relaxing spacious cafe, you can enjoy a cake set and lunch menu giving a sense of luxury during the day.

All the lunch menu items are made using Hokkaido's ingredients. I will introduce three of them.

Number One!

This dish with its meat, mushrooms, eggs and rice, are all fresh local ingredients from Hokkaido. When ordering, you can choose how well you would like your eggs cooked.

Number Two!

A pie with wheat and butter from Hokkaido is so crispy! The contents of each differ with one baked with bacon & onion, the other containing asparagus and corn in spring and summer, or mushrooms during autumn and winter. It is a dish full of flavors while still being a light menu.

Spaghetti served with wild scallops. The scallops have a thick and rich umami flavor that works so well with the cream sauce!

Lastly, let’s look at two items off the dessert menu.

The selected cake in this picture is "Mr. Wagon's Mont Blanc" (350 yen a la carte). Chestnut wrapped in fresh cream creating a firm taste of Japanese chestnut paste, a must for chestnut lovers!

Served with bananas and chocolate ice cream on top of fresh cream and ice cream overlapping in many layers. This parfait is accented with the presence of the northern candy special, a coffee jelly, for a bitter but wonderful feeling!

While we have just introduced you to the charm of Kitakaro Sapporo Honkan in full bloom, there are lots of sweets and more we would love for you to see! When entering the shop, there is no doubt that these will be hard to resist. The Taisho era building is also a must-see with its fusion of modern design. Please drop in when you visit Sapporo!

KITAKARO L, the second store in Sapporo City, opened April 7, 2018! It is located in front of The Hokkaido Museum of Modern Art, and it can be reached by a three-minute walk after taking Exit 4 of the Tozai Line / Nishi 18 chome Subway Station.

The L of "KITAKARO L" stands for laboratory. Based on the technology and experiences cultivated thus far, they are exploring new ideas to give to the world. There is no cafe, but dine-in is available. You can enjoy shopping for these standard items as well limited time sales. After your visit to the Sapporo Honkan, be sure to stop by here as well!

※ All prices and fees in the articles are tax inclusive

Written by : Nobuhiro Kawashima