Best Burgers in Sapporo: Hokkaido Guide

The best burgers in Sapporo are found in the compact downtown between Sapporo Station and Susukino, along Ōdōri Park and the Tanukikōji covered arcade, with a café cluster in Maruyama to the west. Hokkaido produce is the reason to order a burger here: local beef, butter and cheese, and potatoes from Japan’s main growing region.

Hokkaido supplies a large share of Japan’s milk and potatoes, so the cheese, the butter and the fries are the details to ask about. The city’s own comfort foods are miso ramen, soup curry and Jingisukan, mutton grilled on a domed iron pan, which makes lamb a local alternative to beef. Hokkaido’s most famous burger chain, Lucky Pierrot, is not in Sapporo at all: every branch is in the Hakodate area, in the south of the island. In winter, heavy snow moves city life underground, into the walkways that link Sapporo Station, Ōdōri and Susukino.

Burgers in Sapporo: key facts

• Neighbourhoods to explore: Sapporo Station, Ōdōri, Tanukikōji, Susukino and Maruyama.
• Regional ingredients: Hokkaido beef, dairy and potatoes, plus lamb from the Jingisukan tradition.
• Not in Sapporo: Lucky Pierrot, the burger chain found only around Hakodate.
• In the snow: the Chi-Ka-Ho and Aurora Town underground passages keep downtown walkable in winter.
• Getting around: the Namboku, Tōzai and Tōhō subway lines and a downtown streetcar loop.
• Currency: yen (JPY), as on every price our guides publish for Japan.

Every guide we publish on Sapporo is dated and lists only venues, addresses, prices and ratings we could verify. Find other cities in our burger restaurant guides.