It’s back! Big woop-woop!

My favorite festival is in full swing in Sapporo and I’m hoping this post will be timely for visitors to Hokkaido and to the city right now. I wasn’t able to go to the Beer Garden this summer because I couldn’t get my lazy ass out in the heat, but I am definitely here for the fall events.

This weekend, the Sapporo Autumn Fest kicked off and will continue to run until Saturday, September 30, 2023. Lots of time to go visit! Essentially, the festival is a celebration of local Hokkaido cuisine with emphasis on ingredients that are in season for the fall. Since Odori Park’s layout is in block format, each block features a different theme:

4-chome: Information and the “Festival Highlights”

5-chome: Ramen and Curry

6-chome: Food and Music

7-chome: BAR (think beer, sake, and lots of wine)

8-chome: Marketplace (the smaller Hokkaido towns and areas come to Sapporo)

9-chome: Nothing because this is the playground for kids

10-chome: MEAT and camping

11-chome: Precious Table (various types of restaurants featuring main dishes). This is a new block which features different famous chefs from established restaurants in Sapporo and Hokkaido. This used to be combined with 4-chome in previous years but this time around, it has its own dedicated block.

If you’re in the area, definitely go check out the festival. It’s a great place to go grab some food and drinks for lunch and/or dinner. However, if you’re limited in time and/or are not particularly interested in seeing the entire festival and walking all the way until the very end at 11-chome, I recommend visiting the area in Blocks 4 and 5. The 4-chome area is a smorgasbord and features main dishes, some shops for various goods, some bars, and some sweets. It’s basically the festival condensed in one area. You can also pick up the official guide and check it out to see if a particular shop or food from a particular block catches your fancy.

There are maps at each block outlining the different menus and shops/stalls, but the official guide definitely has more details. It also tells you the schedule of when the menus change. (You can also find the English version online so check out the link up top to the official page.)

Meanwhile, the 5-chome area features ramen booths, and starting from last year, they also had curry shops available. There’ll be announcements on how to order your food and where to go. Basically, before you get your food, you have to line up at a booth to get a ticket. All the ramen cost the same and you can use that ticket for any of the booths. Once you purchase your ticket, you then line up again for that particular ramen shop. Each shop is different, so I recommend doing a circuit first and check out what’s on offer before lining up.

Because there’s a full three weeks of the event at Odori Park, the food stalls and vendors do a rotation. For example, the ramen area in 5-chome (or Block 5) have various shops available only during the first week. From the second week, September 15-21, a new set of shops will set up in the same booths. Most of the blocks have the same system so technically each time you visit, the food and the shops will be different. Again, check the website for more details.

Some tips:

It gets really crowded during the weekends. Weekdays are better and I recommend going during lunch time when you are guaranteed to find a seat and table. During the evenings, you’ll see groups of workers sharing dinner and drinks before going home.

You can pay in cash, card, and e-money.

There’s alcohol everywhere, but they discourage you from dinking while walking.

Also, no smoking is allowed. If you do smoke, you can only do so in designated areas.

Weather reports say there’s rain ahead in the coming weeks, so bring an umbrella, but I recommend 6-chome and 7-chome because they have covered areas where you can sit and eat while staying dry.

You can also do take out and then bring the food back to the hotel. However, 6-chome has live jazz performances so being in the area gives you a better feel for the festival.

Be aware that there’s a last order, the time limit of when to place your order, which is at 8:20. The festival ends around 8:30pm, but you need to get your order in before that because they won’t serve you after that time.

Yesterday, I had a little bit of time to spend there. After I did my little walk through the entire event, I picked the place that was the least crowded, which was at 11-chome. I ordered myself a Susukino ale and some snack food, settled into a comfortable spot, and enjoyed my night drinking and taking in the sights in the cool September night.