Hokkaido: The Things We Ate, Found and Didn’t Expect

2–3 October 2026 | Sendai

Our first two days in Sendai were deliberately quiet. After travelling through Hokkaido for more than two weeks, there was not much of an itinerary left to follow, so rather than forcing another sightseeing list into the trip, this feels like a good point to look back at Hokkaido as a whole.

There were plenty of things we expected to find in Hokkaido, but also quite a few small discoveries that only became obvious after travelling across the island.

The wildlife we saw — and the bear we didn’t

One of the amusing records from the trip is the list of animals we encountered.

We saw a fox, red-crowned cranes, horses, deer and cows. We also saw several unfortunate roadkills along the way. But despite travelling through areas where bears are very much part of the wildlife conversation, we did not see a bear.

The red-crowned crane was probably the most memorable. The tancho is one of Hokkaido’s best-known symbols and is particularly associated with eastern Hokkaido around Kushiro and the wetlands. It is also a Special Natural Monument of Japan. Hokkaido is home to wildlife that is difficult to encounter elsewhere in Japan, including Ezo deer, Ezo red foxes and brown bears.

Of course, seeing wildlife from a car is very different from deliberately going wildlife watching, but that is part of the experience of driving around Hokkaido. The island is huge, roads stretch through farmland and forests, and sometimes an animal simply appears beside the road.

As for the bear, perhaps it was better that we didn’t meet one.

One very good milk tea machine

Another completely random discovery was the milk tea machine at 7-Eleven.

We found it in Hakodate and thought it was great. The problem was that after that first encounter, we hardly saw it again. Most of the machines we came across were coffee machines.

Naturally, we went online to investigate, only to discover that the milk tea machine is not something available at every 7-Eleven across Japan. The availability is regional, including selected areas such as Hokkaido and Tokyo, and even within those regions it is not necessarily found everywhere.

Which is a shame, because one really cannot drink that much coffee.

It became one of those tiny travel discoveries that we kept looking for after the first one.

Hokkaido is very serious about food

If there is one thing that Hokkaido consistently delivered, it was food.

We tried sashimi, snow crab, uni and squid, and the general impression was simply that seafood is incredibly fresh and abundant. That makes sense geographically: Hokkaido is surrounded by the Sea of Japan, the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk, with major fishing areas around places such as Hakodate, Kushiro, Nemuro and the eastern coast. (Hokkaido Digital Museum)

But it wasn’t only seafood.

The sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn and even the small cherry tomatoes were excellent. Hokkaido’s agricultural strength is not accidental either. Its large land area and relatively cool climate have made it Japan’s major agricultural region, with potatoes, wheat, onions, corn and dairy among its important products. Hokkaido is particularly dominant in potatoes, producing roughly 80 percent of Japan’s crop. (Hokkaido Prefecture)

Potatoes have an interesting place in Hokkaido’s history. During the development of the island in the Meiji period, potatoes were valued partly because they could withstand conditions in which other crops were more difficult to grow. They became an important food source, and dishes such as imomochi — potato cakes made partly as a substitute for rice-based mochi — grew from this history.

So when a simple potato tasted unusually good during the trip, there was actually quite a lot of history behind it.

Curry that feels more familiar

I also noticed that some of the curry dishes in Hokkaido felt closer to Indian-style curry than the Japanese curry I normally associate with Japan.

Coming from Malaysia, where Indian curry is already very familiar to us, that naturally meant we liked it.

Sapporo’s soup curry is particularly interesting. Unlike the thick, roux-based Japanese curry rice, soup curry is lighter and heavily spiced, usually with large pieces of vegetables and meat. Its roots are generally traced to Sapporo in the 1970s, and it has since become one of the city’s signature foods, with more than 200 specialist restaurants today.

It is one of those dishes that feels distinctly Hokkaido rather than simply being another version of something found throughout Japan.

Sapporo is big, but Obihiro surprised us

Sapporo was exactly what we expected from a major Japanese city: lively, busy, plenty of shopping, department stores, restaurants and enough things happening to keep us occupied.

But interestingly, our most enjoyable shopping experience was actually in Obihiro.

That was a good reminder that smaller cities sometimes have treasures that are easier to discover. There is less choice, but also less overwhelming competition between shops. Everything feels more compact, and sometimes it is simply easier to wander around and find something interesting.

For this trip, Obihiro ended up being one of those places that exceeded expectations precisely because we did not expect very much from it.

The restaurants we found

One of my favourite parts of travelling is hunting for small restaurants.

That produced some particularly pleasant surprises in Hokkaido.

There was the pasta restaurant in Hakodate that we found thanks to a Reddit recommendation. In Otaru, we found a one-man Italian restaurant, although it was a little away from the main tourist attractions. In Obihiro, we had the French restaurant run by essentially one chef.

These were all relatively small establishments, but highly reviewed and very personal in character.

At the same time, some of the more popular restaurants were genuinely good too. We enjoyed Gyosanko in Hakodate, Tarafuku in Obihiro and Robata in Kushiro, among others.

So I would not say that small restaurants are necessarily better than famous ones. It is more that the small ones can sometimes give you the feeling that you have discovered something for yourself.

And occasionally, you also discover that the restaurant you wanted to try is completely booked.

Rokkatei and LeTAO: two Hokkaido discoveries

Rokkatei and LeTAO were two names I knew before coming to Hokkaido.

LeTAO was familiar mainly because of its chocolate-covered strawberries. I did not realise how good its cheesecake could be until trying the Fromage Double. The original LeTAO shop opened in Otaru in 1998, at the Marchen Crossroads, and the Fromage Double became one of the brand’s signature products. (LeTAO)

Rokkatei was a different story.

It is everywhere in Hokkaido, so perhaps because of that, I did not pay much attention to it at first. We even went to the Rokkatei tea house without thinking that we should buy its snacks as souvenirs.

Then, on our last day in Hokkaido, I finally bought some just to sample them.

And oh my god, they were nice.

Naturally, by then we were heading for the ferry, so I could not buy more.

Rokkatei was founded in Obihiro in 1933, so there is actually a strong connection between the brand and the Tokachi region we had just travelled through. Its famous Marusei Butter Sandwich dates back to 1977.

It was quite fitting that one of my favourite souvenir discoveries came almost at the end of the Hokkaido journey.

Late September was a good time to go

The weather in late September was another pleasant surprise.

It was generally good travelling weather: cool enough to be comfortable, but without the severe cold of winter. Driving was also pleasant, especially through the open countryside.

The only disappointment was that we did not really get the red autumn leaves.

Had we caught Hokkaido at the right point in the autumn transition, some of the landscapes we drove through would probably have looked completely different. Hokkaido’s northern climate means autumn arrives earlier than in many parts of Japan, but timing varies considerably by elevation and region.

Still, with rain affecting other parts of Japan while Malaysia was dealing with serious haze, it was difficult to complain.

What I would remember most

Looking back, Hokkaido was not really about one particular attraction.

It was the combination of things.

The enormous distances between towns. The farms and open roads. Seafood markets in Hakodate and Kushiro. The very different character of Sapporo, Otaru, Obihiro and the smaller towns. Finding an unexpectedly good restaurant. Seeing a fox beside the road. Discovering how good a simple potato or corn could taste. Hunting down another milk tea machine that probably wasn’t there.

And perhaps most importantly, Hokkaido reminded us that travelling does not always get better by following the biggest attractions.

Sometimes the more interesting memories come from the smaller towns, the little restaurants, the supermarket finds and the completely unplanned discoveries along the road.

That is probably what I will remember most from this Hokkaido trip.

Transport and practical tips

For a Hokkaido road trip, a rental car makes a big difference once you leave Sapporo, particularly for places such as Obihiro, Lake Akan and Kushiro where attractions and restaurants can be spread out. Allow more time than the map distance suggests, especially when driving non-toll routes.

For food, markets such as Hakodate Morning Market and Kushiro Washo Market are good places to try local seafood, while regional supermarkets can be surprisingly useful for seeing what Hokkaido actually produces rather than only what is marketed to tourists. Hokkaido’s major food regions are spread across the island, so travelling between them is part of the experience. (Japan Guide)

For autumn colours, check regional forecasts rather than assuming that the whole of Hokkaido changes colour at the same time. Likewise, wildlife sightings are never guaranteed — especially the bear we never saw.

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