Since Hokkaido has the best dairy, seafood, and produce in the country of Japan, it only makes sense to have a festival centering around all of it in the harvest season! From September 9th-30th there’s the Sapporo Autumn Food Festival that happens every year in Hokkaido’s capital city of Sapporo. It takes place in Odori Park, the heart of Sapporo city centre. At this food festival, you could sample many of Hokkaido’s specialty dishes, such as soup curry, ramen, soba, as well as dishes from other parts of the globe. You could also buy some fresh seafood caught in the many rivers in Hokkaido. As for drinks, there are stands specializing in craft beer, sake, and wine sourced within and outside the region. There are tents and chairs set up beside each of the unique festival venues, making it easy to sit down and enjoy your food while watching the live music and dance performances.
If you’re planning to attend this festival in 2019, you might as well sit and watch the Rugby World Cup, which is happening at the same time as the Sapporo Autumn Food Festival!
With now two major events marked down in your calendars, you probably need a budget for your trip and a place to stay for that September next year (for the sake of simplicity, I’m going to be referring to the cost of one person). Well, if you live in Ottawa, Canada, a flight to Sapporo lasts 19 hours and 15 minutes, and costs $2,286.00 for an adult. Now once you get there, you need a place to stay, and preferably close to downtown when you’re going to be walking down there to sample the large variety of local and international food at the Autumn Food Festival. There is the Karaska Hotel Sapporo which is C$181 a night (down from C$241 a night) and 0.62 kilometers from downtown. You can click here to reserve a room if your mind is set on this hotel. But if you want a less expensive option that is closer to downtown, then you could stay at the APA Hotel TKP Sapporo Ekimae, which is C$100 a night and only 0.31 kilometers away from downtown. If this is the hotel for you, click here to reserve a room.
Congratulations! Now you might have something interesting planned for next year!
Hokkaido, Japan - A Food Blog 