38 Best Sights in Hokkaido, Japan

Quaint brick buildings adjacent to a giant shopping mall make up the public face of Sapporo's most famous export. Here you'll find a small museum with signage mostly in Japanese that reveals the development of bottle and label designs and depicts decades of cheesecake shots from advertising posters.

Pick up an English-language guide at the counter for explanations of all the different things on display in the museum.

For ¥300 you can taste any of the brews: Black Label is most popular, but the Classic and Kaitoku are only available in Hokkaido. Taste all three for ¥800. Also available are tea and soft drinks for ¥100.

In the evening the cavernous Sapporo Biergarten is filled with serious drinkers tackling the tabe-nomi-hodai (all-you-can-eat-and-drink) feast of lamb barbecue and beer (about ¥4,400 per person). The catch: You have to finish within 100 minutes. To get here, take a 15-minute Factory Line circular bus from the train station. It's a ¥1,000 taxi ride.

For millions of Japanese, this little white-clapboard Russian-style meetinghouse defines Sapporo. Built in 1878 as the drill hall for students of Sapporo Agricultural College (now Hokkaido University), it has become the city's symbol on souvenir packaging. A bit underwhelming, Tokeidai contains photographs and documents telling the region's history and a clock from Boston.

Leap off a ski jump into the freezing air and land like a pro—or not. In this museum at the base of the Olympic Okura Jump, a realistic simulator lets you comparing jump distances. The 1972 Winter Olympics and other Japanese sporting successes in skating, curling, and many forms of skiing are celebrated with displays interesting even to nonsporting types. Outside the museum, take the chairlift to the top of the real ski jump for a chilling view of what athletes face before takeoff. From the Maruyama Koen Subway Station it is a 10-minute taxi ride, or take Bus No. 14 from Maruyama Bus Terminal to Okurayama Kyogijyo Iriguchi bus stop (10 minutes) then walk a further 10 minutes. Sapporo hopes to host the 2030 Winter Olympics, which will bring more attention to the island's great resorts.

Mountains, forests, hot springs, caldera lakes, and volcanoes are virtually in Sapporo's backyard, less than an hour's drive away. Route 230 passes the large hot-spring village of Jozankei, then the mountains close in and the road climbs 2,742 feet to Nakayama Pass. On a clear day the view from the top is classic Hokkaido: farmland with the majestic Mt. Yotei in its midst, and on the southern horizon lie Lake Toya's volcanic crater and Noboribetsu hot springs, where the earth steams, rumbles, and erupts.

If you are unsure how to navigate Japan's bus system, rent a car to take this in.

During an earthquake in 1943, Showa Shinsan rose suddenly from a farmer's wheat field. Kept secret during the Pacific War as a potentially unlucky sign, it continued growing to its present height of 1,306 feet by 1945. It's on private land, but a cable-car ride (¥1,800 round-trip) up the eastern flank of Mt. Usu provides great views of the mountain, Lake Toya, and Funka Bay. Avoid the Showa Shinza Bear Ranch near the base—a depressing tourist attraction.

Running through a 15-mile-long ravine, Route 39 cuts through the northeast entrance of Daisetsuzan National Park. For 5 miles, sheer cliff walls rise on both sides of the canyon as the road drills into the mountains. In winter and early spring, forbidding stone spires loom as if in judgment; in other seasons they thrust through glorious foliage. On the way there are a couple of river-carved gorges called Obako and Kobako. Go see Momijidani (Maple Tree Valley) if you're here in autumn.

Sounkyo Onsen village is halfway through the ravine. In summer, the pedestrian-friendly main street is lined with flower boxes, and guesthouses and souvenir shops add charm to what is basically a concrete version of an alpine village. From Late January to March, the frozen river and its ice cliffs are illuminated for the Sounkyo Onsen Ice Fall Festival, which is breathtaking. If you're driving, watch your gas tank, as there is no gas station in town.

Gazing up at the town-sponsored fireworks from a rooftop hot spring after a relaxing soak in the thermal waters and a pleasant dinner of local specialties—this is why thousands of Japanese come to this small lakeside town throughout the year. From April 28 to October 31, the 20-minute fireworks display is likely to be the highlight of your stay. A waterside walk in front of the wall of hotels is relaxing before the bus tours arrive in late afternoon.

A rumbling sound track and shaking floors re-create the area's 1977 and 2000 volcanic eruptions in this small information center. Although there's a good explanation of the science involved in this place where eruptions happen roughly every 30 years, the museum is less useful in describing the impact on the lives of locals. This museum shares a building with the Toyako Onsen Visitor Center.