Sapporo’s Must-Visit Guide to Tanuki Koji Shopping Street 1-7 Chome: Pharmacies, Souvenirs, and Dining

Located between the "Odori Station" and "Susukino Station" of the Sapporo subway, the "Tanukikoji Shopping Street" is a covered shopping street that is approximately 1 kilometer long from 1st to 7th block, and it is home to 200 shops. What are the highlights and must-buy items in Tanukikoji? This shopping guide will share them with you.

Ashley Chuang

If you love shopping in Osaka Shinsaibashi, then when you come to Sapporo, you must not miss the holy shopping street of Hokkaido, “Tanukikoji Shopping Street“. It is only a 5-minute walk from the subway stations “Odori” or “Susukino”. This giant arcade shopping street gathers about 200 shops, including drugstores, izakayas, ramen shops, souvenir shops, and hotels. Whether it’s windy, rainy, or sunny, you can come here to enjoy shopping.

This article is here to share with you the must-buy cosmetics, good shopping stores, recommended food, and conveniently located hotels in Susukino Shopping Street. Just bookmark this article and it will be super convenient to refer to while shopping.

Affected by the epidemic, many drugstores and electronics stores on Sapporo’s Susukino Shopping Street have closed. The businesses listed in this article are the ones that still exist after the pandemic. In fact, they have almost recovered, and many drugstores have simply reopened in a different location.

Relative Location of Shirokane Shopping Street

Susukino Shopping Street is located between Odori Station and Susukino Station on the Sapporo Municipal Subway Namboku Line. It is an east-west street from 1-chome to 7-chome, between Odori Station and Susukino Station. Its starting point is at “Nijo Market”, and you can choose to stroll from “1-chome” where Nijo Market is located to “7-chome” in the west, with a total length of about 1 kilometer. You can also choose to walk from the subway, whether it’s Odori Station or Susukino Station, it takes 5 minutes to arrive at “4-chome”, which is the busiest area of Susukino, where the drugstores are concentrated.

Main Shopping Stores on Lixiaolu

If you rarely come to Japan and are not familiar with Japanese brands, or don’t have time to read the entire article, then just look at the summary of must-visit shops in this area by Piao Er. I have listed the most essential and popular stores according to “chome” and linked them to their Google Maps location. If you don’t have much time, I highly recommend starting from the nearest “4~5 chome” and walking from the subway station. Daikoku Drug, Sapporo Drug, Matsumoto Kiyoshi, and KoKuMiN are all concentrated in this area.

Shopping Tips for Lilu Road

The Shiroi Koibito Park is actually divided into morning and evening shops. The 1-3 chome near the East 2nd Market has shops that open early, close early, and sell daily necessities, household items, market-related products, and sports equipment for local residents. The 4-7 chome near the West side, on the other hand, opens later. Many izakayas in the 6-7 chome only open in the afternoon, serving as a place for locals to gather and have a drink after work. When planning your shopping time, it is important to consider this to avoid coming at the wrong time and finding nothing to browse.

About the Tanukikoji Shopping Street Cuisine

The main focus of Tanukikoji Shopping Street is the merchandise shops. Although there are some ramen shops, izakayas, and cafes, the number is really small, and they are not well-known recommended shops. It is more of a place for locals to find food. However, if you walk north or south from Tanukikoji Shopping Street for a street (2 minutes away), famous curry and ramen shops will appear before your eyes. These gourmet restaurants will also be written in various sections for everyone’s reference.

Start exploring from Nijo Market

The eastern end of Tanukikoji Shopping Street is connected to Sapporo people’s kitchen, “Nijo Market”. This place is not big, you can walk through it in 10 minutes, and it gathers a lot of fresh seafood, fruits, and dry goods.

Strongly recommend the must-eat is definitely cantaloupe, you can order a plate, eat it standing on the spot, it is sweet and juicy, delicious!

Tourists’ favorite “seafood donburi” also has many restaurant choices, where you can enjoy Matsuba crab, king crab, hairy crab, flower crab, sea urchin, and sashimi all in one bowl. The following two are the highly recommended restaurants by Piao’er. Alternatively, Don Chaya’s “Maru Seafood Donburi” is also highly recommended as it includes four types of sea urchin toppings.

Lixiaolu 1st Avenue

Lilijiao 1st Avenue is close to Nijo Market, so there are more morning markets. Most of the shops close at 18:00 and there are fewer shops that tourists would visit. However, there are two affordable and delicious soup curry restaurants, as well as a large national drugstore.

Da Guo Pharmacy

After the epidemic, the original 4th Avenue’s Da Guo Pharmacy closed down. Although Piao Er believes that it will reopen one day, for now, let me introduce the existing 1st Avenue store. Here, you can buy He Li Ta Ming EX, EVE, and more.

Tang Curry Yellow

  • Address: 1F, Elm Building, 12-19 Nishi 1-chome, Minami 3-jo, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
  • Opening Hours: 11:30~21:00

Lilu Road’s highly rated curry soup is mostly eaten by locals because it was selected as the top curry shop in Hokkaido by the Japanese community news magazine “Town Information”. Therefore, there is always a long queue for dining! We highly recommend their signature dish, “Chicken and Vegetable Curry (チキン野菜)”. The chicken is incredibly tender and the soup is rich and flavorful.

DELHI Curry Soup

It is also a famous curry shop on Tanukikoji Street, with Indian curry flavor. But if you want to eat here, you must come in the morning, because it is easy to sell out and you won’t be able to eat it! Highly recommend trying the lamb, their lamb meat is as good as Genghis Khan! But for the curry flavor, I suggest trying this place if you like Indian curry, because the taste is very unique.

Parfait, coffee, liquor, Sato（パフェ、珈琲、酒、佐藤）

Hokkaido has a culture of “late-night snacks,” but personally, I think the late-night snacks here are just okay. It’s just a way to experience the local customs. Therefore, Piao’er recommends this place called “Sato” on Tanukikoji Street. They have a modern bar atmosphere, and I highly recommend their “Salted Caramel Pistachio” flavor.

Lixiaolu 2nd Avenue

2nd Avenue is similar to 1st Avenue, with hot curry shops and drugstores, and there is also a busy supermarket.

Sun Drug

Sun Drug is usually the cheapest in drugstores, and this Sun Drug has thousands of products, and the staff can speak Chinese!

GARAKU Hot Curry

It is also a famous curry shop on Tanukikoji Street. The tender chicken leg and the extremely appetizing soup are its highlights. The only downside is that you have to wait in line for a long time!

Food Review: 【Recommended Soup Curry】Soup Curry GARAKU: Savor the Delicious Soup Curry in Sapporo, Hokkaido

Yewu Super Susukino Tanukikoji Store

If you want to replenish Japanese snacks, drinks, and fresh food, there is a “business supermarket” here on Tanukikoji Street. The prices are ridiculously cheap, about half the price of regular supermarkets. You can buy many products that local housewives love, but the downside is that the portions are relatively large.

Lixiaolu 3rd Avenue

There are also drugstores in 3rd Avenue, and there are quite a few grocery stores and clothing stores nearby that you can browse. It becomes lively here, and most of the shops are open until 20:00.

AOAO SAPPORO

The “AOAO SAPPORO Aquarium” which opened on July 20, 2023 is located on the 4th to 6th floors of the commercial facility in Tanukikoji 3-chome. If you have children, you can see king penguins and little blue penguins here. Although it is not large in scale, it is very convenient.

Kokumin

The drugstore that I love to visit the most in Japan is because it caters more towards women. The store’s decoration and the products it sells are more focused on women’s needs. There are also many skincare and beauty products available. Of course, there are also plenty of options for health food and masks!

Song Benqing

In Japanese drugstores, the prices are relatively high, but the decoration is brighter and more comfortable. Moreover, the products are usually the most complete, so there is no need to go to other stores. This store sells cosmetics, medicines, electronics, and souvenirs.

▼ There is not only one Matsumoto Kiyoshi in 3-chome, but they are all tax-free!

Taste of Sanping

Miso ramen originated from the founder Omiya Morito in 1950, and it is thanks to his creativity that we have the Sapporo miso ramen we know today. Miso Sanpei still preserves the traditional method from the old days. This place is not a must-try because the taste does not suit the Taiwanese palate, but it is suitable for those who, like Piao Er, enjoy trying traditional flavors.

Food Review: [Sapporo] Aji no Sanpei: Super mysterious Sapporo miso ramen shop located inside a stationery store

MALAIKA

Piao Er previously recommended a ethnic-style grocery store in Kobe day trip. It is now a chain store in Japan, and its presence can be seen in major cities. It mainly sells clothing and groceries imported from India, Africa, and Central and South America. They have a good eye for selecting products. Although the prices are not cheap, if you don’t often go to these places but want to buy Bohemian or ethnic-style accessories, handmade woven hats, woven bags, I highly recommend coming here for a visit.

Li Xiaolu 4th Avenue

It takes 5 minutes to get to “4th Avenue” from the south of the subway station “Datong” and from the north of the subway station “Banye”. It is also the busiest and most popular place in the entire Tanukikoji, with stores like Don Quijote and drugstores. It is a good place to buy souvenirs.

MEGA Don Quixote Tanukikoji Store

The “MEGA Don Quixote” is open 24 hours a day and has six floors from B1 to 5F. You can find snacks, drinks, instant noodles, souvenirs, cosmetics, daily necessities, household goods, clothing, stationery, electrical products, shoes, bags, and office supplies. It is a great place to go shopping after finishing your itinerary in the evening. However, please note that the tax refund counter is only open from 9:00 to 26:00.

Tanukiya

A souvenir shop established in 1916, if you want to buy popular souvenirs like Shiroi Koibito, Rokkatei, Royce, HORI, etc., then this is the place to go.

▼ White Lover

▼ HORI Honeydew Jelly, but I find the taste quite horrifying, not highly recommended

▼ Rokkatei must-buy grape cream-filled cookies

▼ Royce Chocolate related products

▼ LeTAO

Lixiaolu 5th Avenue

Starting from Lilikoji 5-chome, there will be more food options, gradually creating a nightlife atmosphere. Izakayas also become more abundant, and of course, there are still drugstores to visit here.

SAPPORO DRUG STORE

The dominating drugstore in Hokkaido, Sapporo, also follows a clean and bright style. The store is comfortable and tidy to browse, and it sells many Hokkaido-exclusive products, such as lavender beauty products that everyone loves.

There used to be a Calbee+ at 5 Chome Susukino, but it has closed down after the pandemic!

Lixiaolu 6th Avenue

From Lilu Street 6th Avenue onwards, there are fewer shops, but there are some restaurants and izakayas in this area, which is more of a place for local office workers to relax at night.

musica hall cafe（ムジカ ホール カフェ）

This place is more for locals to enjoy life, similar to some Taipei hipster cafes, so it may not be suitable for tourists. But if you are familiar with Japanese life and interested in art and music, I highly recommend you to come in. Here, live concerts by musicians from both inside and outside Hokkaido are held every month, making it a place for local artists to exchange ideas.

Xilai Dun Ramen

Tabelog ranked this restaurant in the 6th place in the Banye District. The dining environment has a strong Showa era style, and many Japanese celebrities have dined here. The restaurant only sells three types of ramen: miso, soy sauce, and salt. The “Miso Ramen (みそラーメン)” is highly recommended. On top of the ramen, there is a pile of shredded green onions that resembles a mountain. The restaurant adds stir-fried cabbage with pork fat into the ramen, making it very flavorful but not as heavy as imagined. It has a refreshing soup base that is enjoyable to eat.

Lixiaolu 7th Avenue

Enter Tanuki Alley 7-chome, where the arched roof is old-fashioned and there are many Showa-style izakayas and modern bars. It is a lively nightlife spot that only comes alive at night.

Ramen Sapporo Akaboshi

It is also a famous shop where locals queue up, and it is ranked second in Da Tong Park. They sell various types of ramen, such as soy sauce, salt, miso, and char siu ramen. The prices are cheap, but the meals are not casual. It is highly recommended to add the “Akagyu” for an extra cost, which has a great texture and taste. Don’t forget to also add the homemade “さばにんにく粉 (saba ninniku ko – mackerel garlic seasoning powder)” from the shop when you eat towards the end.

Recommended Accommodation on Lixiaolu

【Business Hotel with Hot Springs】Dormy Inn annex

  • Location: On Lilac Street 6-chome, take the subway from Odori Station and walk along the underground street to Lilac Street 4, take the escalator up and it’s not far away.
  • Features: Free late-night ramen, hot springs available, very popular hotel, make sure to book early.

Price: Starting from NT$2,000｜Agoda Room Rates｜Booking Discounts｜Other Booking Website Discounts


關閉