To kickstart your time in Sapporo at night, let’s eat some Japanese food first.

Hakodate Western Kitchen, which has an exterior that stands out in the alley, inherited the flavor of a famous motsunabe (tripe and offal hot pot) restaurant and opened in Hakodate.

They improved the flavor by adding ingredients from Hakodate and then opened an izakaya pub in Sapporo. Of course their popular dish is the hotpot, but they also have dishes such as seafood and skewered food.

The sukiyaki uses Hokkaido wagyu, and the ingredients are stewed with Kyushu soy sauce, which is sweeter than normal soy sauce. It is a perfect dish to warm you up. The beef offal is hidden under the heaping portion of vegetables and creates a great broth that seeps into the vegetables.

After you finish the meat and vegetables, we recommend adding udon noodles (310 yen per portion, sold separately) into the soup.

The most recommend seafood dish is the natural tuna caught at Toi Fishing Harbor, which is knowns as the “Treasure Chest of Seafood” among the fishing harbors in Hakodate. Thickly sliced akami [lean tuna] is offered at a reasonable price starting from 550 yen.

Manager Satoru Obuchi said, “I am from Hakodate and have a friend at the fishing harbor, so I can get good quality whole tuna.”

They offer various types of drinks, but a drink that matches Japanese food is sake. They always have ten brands and 2 - 3 types of Hokkaido brand sake, such as Asahikawa’s “Kamikawa Taisetsu” and Kutchan’s “Niseko.”

Manager Obush told us, “We offer glasses of sake at a set price, but we also offer bottles since foreign visitors prefer it.” (bottle starts at 4,000 yen) Their reasonable all you can drink plan is also popular (1,070 yen 90 minutes, plan with keg draft beer 1,620 yen).

If you need an English menu, ask the staff. The store is open until 7:00 a.m., so it is a perfect place to visit when you need more to drink or get hungry.

After your meal at the first shop, let’s watch some sports at a lively sports bar!

“TK36 International Bar & Grill” mainly highlights overseas soccer, but also shows Japanese professional sports and other major sporting events on seven monitors. You can check what kind of sporting events they will be showing on their website or SNS beforehand.

The bar has foreign staff, and for that reason, there are many foreign guests in this famous Sapporo nightlife spot. Watching exciting sports games with a drink, you might make an unexpected friend.

The menu has a variety of drinks such as beer, whiskey, wine, cocktails to Japanese sake, and shochu. The cocktails are popular, and they have original drinks such as the “TK Dragon Mojito.” They also have non-alcoholic cocktails and drinks, tea and coffee.

They have a full food menu that matches drinks such as tacos, fish & chips, and the standard Japanese snack edamame beans. If you get hungry watching the exciting sports events, how about a thick juicy burger? You can choose your toppings to make a burger to your liking.

In Sapporo, there is a food culture called shime-parfait: this is when you have parfait late at night or to finish off your Sapporo night out drinking with a parfait. To have something sweet when you are drinking is quite a rare culture in Japan. However, it is common in Hokkaido and has become a staple culture that originated from Sapporo.

There are many parfait specialty shops and bars that boast their parfaits that remain open until late at night. However, SWEETS CAFE and BAR ROJIURA CAFE is open until 4:00 a.m., which allows you to enjoy parfaits after you are done going out.

The key ingredient to the delicious parfait is the homemade soft-serve ice cream. It is made with Hokkaido Tokachi milk, and it has a refreshing taste and melts in your mouth.

You can combine amazing sweets such as coffee jelly made from carefully selected coffee beans by a barista or fruit and chocolate mousse, with soft-serve ice cream. They have four standard and one seasonal parfait.

For people who want something sweeter, they have pancakes and French toast. Since the owner of the shop Mr. Sato used to work as a pastry chef at a popular pastry shop in the city, you can have authentic sweets at the cafe.

You can enjoy a Sapporo nightlife cafe experience or get a few more drinks. The cafe offers a calm atmosphere different from Susukino.

If you go south to Minami Nana Jo from Ekimae-Dori and take a right at Toyuokawa Inari Shrine, you will come across a building with an exterior like an old ruin. It is Japan’s first theme park style dance club “KINGXMHU.”

This might just be the best club in Sapporo. The building interior is like the outside and gives you a feeling as if you are on an adventure exploring old ruins. Not only do they offer an interesting interior, but they have the latest sound and lighting equipment that provides a great Sapporo club experience.

The 1st and 2nd floor plays different music, and they also have the 3rd floor which is the special area. You can stay on a floor that you enjoy or go-between floors and do as you please.

On the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month, they have the “DISCO ATTACK” event where they play various disco songs from the 1970s to the 2000s, which attracts all types of people.

There are many foreigners who visit the club, and you may find a new encounter. Enjoy the music and dance with your friends until your heart's content.

Text by: Minano Kotoba Sha