Hokkaido is the large island in northern Japan and one of the country's most visited regions. Thanks to its cold climate and snow that covers the ground for about four to six months each year, it is one of the most popular destinations for travelers who want to experience pure white snow. Beyond the snow and cold, Hokkaido has an atmosphere quite different from the major cities of central Japan, from its attractions to its food and its regional specialties, many of which cannot be found anywhere else.
Although Hokkaido is cold for much of the year, crops grow there just as well as in other regions of Japan. This makes its products and souvenirs varied and perfect for bringing home—dried seafood, dairy products made from Hokkaido milk, widely recognized as some of the highest quality in the world, and Hokkaido's famous sweets in boxes of all sizes with cute packaging, which are among the top items on any souvenir list. Here are 22 popular snack and souvenir ideas from Hokkaido:
Le TAO is one of Hokkaido's long-established cheesecake shops, open for more than 15 years. It is one of the most popular and well-known shops in Japan, and travelers visiting Hokkaido should not miss trying its fresh cheesecake. The shop is well known for being featured on TV programs, in magazines, and in cookbooks many times.
Double Fromage is a two-layer cheesecake and Le TAO's signature masterpiece. Its texture is smooth and light, full of delicious flavor. From the first bite, you will taste something as soft as snow, made mainly from high-quality Hokkaido milk with just the right amount of sweetness, topped with a smooth milk cream.
Besides the popular Double Fromage, Le TAO also offers other items to try, such as Royale Montagne, Chocolate Double, Biscuit au Fromage, and many more.
Price: 12 cm size, ¥1,728
Where to find: Le TAO shops throughout Otaru. Opening hours vary by branch.
Photo from Official www.letao.jp
Hokkaido milk is famous and used to make many dairy products. Here at the source, don't miss the unique assorted caramel candies, available in both classic flavors and unusual ones such as curry caramel, Genghis Khan caramel, ramen caramel, miso soup caramel, and various fruit flavors.
Photo from Official site
Photo from Official site
Price: ¥130–150 per piece
Where to find: Shops throughout Hokkaido
One of Hokkaido's most famous souvenirs, this chocolate bar comes in white and milk chocolate, coated with crunchy sweet corn for extra texture and a distinctive flavor. The classic flavors are sold year-round, while seasonal fruit flavors—such as strawberry, melon, and milk—are only available at certain times.
Price: 10 pieces, ¥710
Where to find: Most retail shops, department stores, New Chitose Airport, and other airports in Hokkaido
This souvenir comes from the famous old museum in Otaru, which not only holds exhibitions explaining how music boxes are made but also sells music boxes in various shapes, such as clocks, animals, dolls, and other cute designs, all playing beautiful music. Prices range from a few thousand yen to tens of thousands, depending on the design and size, making it a great gift for a close friend or a nice decoration to bring home.
Photo from Official Site
Price: Starting from a few thousand yen
Where to find: Otaru Orgel Music Box Museum
These are traditional Japanese-style rice crackers, popular enough to rank second in sales at Ana Festa, the well-known souvenir shop at Narita Airport. They come in 8 seafood-based flavors: Erimo Konbu (seaweed flavor), Shibetsu Aki Shake (autumn salmon flavor), Esashi Hotate (scallop flavor), Mashike Amaebi (sweet shrimp flavor), Shiranuka Yanagidako (giant octopus flavor), Shiraoi Kojohama Tarako (cod roe flavor), Matsumae Ika (squid flavor), and Notsuke Hokkai Shimaebi (Hokkaido shrimp flavor). The crackers are made mainly from glutinous mochi rice, kneaded into a sticky dough, cut into small pieces, and baked until the surface turns golden brown. All the ingredients come from Hokkaido.
Price: 170 g size, ¥410
Where to find: Most retail shops, department stores, and New Chitose Airport
Shiroi Koibito is a European-style chocolate-filled cookie and one of Hokkaido's most popular souvenirs, loved not only in Japan but internationally as well. With just one bite, you'll taste the crispness of the outer butter cookie and the richness of real chocolate, filling your mouth with a sweet aroma.
The secret to Shiroi Koibito is its high-quality production process and the use of only Hokkaido ingredients. The result is a fresh, delicious treat that is also affordable, compact, and lightweight—perfect as a souvenir.
Price: ¥576–3,806 depending on size
Where to find: Souvenir shops in Hokkaido and Tokyo International Airport
photos by Yusuke Kawasaki from flickr.com/photos/u-suke/2186836577( cc by 2.0)
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Besides its famous giant crab, Hokkaido is also known as Japan's beer capital, especially Sapporo, home to the first brewery, founded in 1876. Thanks to this long history, Hokkaido today offers many beer brands and styles, from draft and craft beer to canned beer, plus beer gardens where you can experience Hokkaido's beer culture. This is especially enjoyable in summer, when clear skies make it perfect for sipping a cool beer, and beer also makes a great souvenir. Popular brands include Suntory, known for unique flavors such as its collagen beer "SUNTORY PRECIOUS," a smooth beer said to enhance the drinker's beauty (Suntory was the world's first brewer to add collagen to beer); Yebisu Beer, originally German-style with a smooth, deep flavor; Kirin Ichiban Shibori, brewed with fruit juice for a sweet-and-bitter taste; the dark Sapporo Nama Beer Black Label, ideal for those who enjoy a distinctive flavor; and Asahi.
Where to find: Most retail shops, department stores, and New Chitose Airport
The name Jaga Pokkuru may not sound familiar at first, but mention the brand Calbee and most people will recognize it right away. Jaga Pokkuru is one of the standout products of Calbee, the major company behind some of Japan's best-known snacks.
Jaga Pokkuru is a crispy fried potato stick and one of Hokkaido's most popular souvenirs. With a crispy outside and a soft inside, it tastes like real potato. It is made entirely from carefully grown and harvested Hokkaido potatoes, combined with roasted salt from Okhotsk for extra flavor.
Price: ¥840
Where to find: General stores or airports in Hokkaido only
photos by あばさー from commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jaga_Pokkuru_01.JPG( cc by public domain)
Another famous Hokkaido souvenir made from corn: popcorn coated in rich chocolate and topped with crunchy almonds, giving a well-balanced sweet and salty taste.
Price: ¥864 per box
Where to find: Most retail shops, department stores, and New Chitose Airport
Another famous Hokkaido handicraft souvenir, well known for its beautiful patterns and fine craftsmanship, perfect as a gift for someone special or for yourself. Choices include glasses, ashtrays, plates and bowls, lamps, jewelry, glass flowers, and more. The most famous glassware comes from Otaru, at the well-known Kitaichi shop on Sakaimachi Street, and the nearby Venetian Glass Museum, which displays glassware and also sells souvenirs. There is also the Otaru Canalside Glass Factory, where you can watch glassmaking demonstrations and buy glass products, or Glass Forest in Furano, where visitors can make their own glass piece to take home.
Where to find: Kitaichi shop and Otaru Canalside Glass Factory in Otaru, and Glass Forest in Furano
Crispy ridged potato chips coated in chocolate from Royce'. The sweetness of real chocolate blends perfectly with the saltiness of the potato chips, almost melting in your mouth the moment you taste it.
Besides its famous original chocolate flavor, Royce' also offers many other flavors to try, such as rich cocoa, white chocolate, caramel, and cheese, with options ranging from less sweet to sweeter.
Price: 190 g, ¥778
Where to find: ROYCE' shops throughout Sapporo or souvenir shops in Hokkaido
photos by jenny cu from flickr.com/photos/jennycu/8719649686/in/photolist-ehwu4G( cc by 2.0)
This is a local Hokkaido product widely known in Japan, used by the Japanese since ancient times. It helps treat burns, scalds, and hemorrhoids, eliminates foot odor, and can even be used by people with skin conditions or allergies without side effects. It is made from 100% natural fat taken from the base of the horse's tail and mane, which absorbs easily, helps prevent inflammation, and provides natural moisture—making it ideal for daily skincare on both the face and body.
Price: 40 g size, ¥2,700
Where to find: Drugstores and souvenir shops in production areas in Hokkaido and Kumamoto
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White cookies in cute packaging, made from fiber-rich cereal, coated in rich white chocolate, and topped with dried raspberries for a refreshing tart flavor.
Price: ¥1,080 per box (15 pieces)
Where to find: Most retail shops, department stores, New Chitose Airport, and other airports in Hokkaido
A famous grilled corn snack from Sapporo, this authentic Japanese rice cracker is made from crispy glutinous rice flour combined with dried grilled corn, seasoned with a special soy sauce blend for a savory, addictive crunch.
Price: ¥648 per box (6 pieces) / ¥1,029 per box (10 pieces)
Where to find: Shops at New Chitose Airport
Besides Hokkaido's famous sweets, cosmetics and perfumes made with various flowers, Hokkaido seaweed, or other natural ingredients also make interesting souvenirs. Japanese cosmetics are well known for their quality and effectiveness, with both popular brands and region-specific seasonal products available, such as SK-II, Hada Labo, Tofu Moritaya tofu mask, SHISEIDO, and LAUREL—one of Hokkaido's companies specializing in natural extract products—plus honey-based skin creams, horse oil bath products, and supplements like DHC or Meiji Amino Collagen.
Where to find: General drugstores, shops, department stores, and the Domestic 2F floor at the airport
Clothes, shoes, and bags are also easy souvenirs to find. Production quality is reliable, and shopping for seasonal fashion is especially rewarding, since designs suited to Japan's summer can also be worn back home. Popular brands include MISCH MASCH, Uniqlo, Play Comme des Garçons, Onitsuka Tiger, Asics, Vans, and New Balance, while bag brands include Saori, Bao Bao Issey Miyake, and Pleats Please, along with various accessories and other small items. Some items are available only in Japan.
Where to find: General shops and department stores
Hokkaido has colorful flower fields spread across the region, earning it the nickname "City of Flowers." If you visit these gardens for photos, don't miss buying flower-based products from each farm to bring home, such as lavender seed pillows, lavender perfume, lavender oil soap, and lavender flower sweets, along with souvenirs made from other flowers.
Where to find: Souvenir shops at each farm and general department stores
Yubari is a melon variety from Hokkaido, famous throughout Japan. The large, orange-fleshed melon has a sweet, fragrant, juicy taste, and is the main ingredient in Yubari Melon Pure Jelly. Eating it feels just like eating a fresh melon.
Yubari Melon Pure Jelly has also been served on Japanese airline flights for 10 years. Its sweet, smooth flavor, which almost melts in the mouth, earned it the Monde Selection award for five consecutive years, from 2003 to 2007.
Price: ¥540–5,400 depending on size
Where to find: Most retail shops, department stores, and airports in Hokkaido
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Being an island region, Hokkaido is one of Japan's most famous seafood sources, guaranteed fresh and clean. Processed and dried seafood products make great souvenirs, and frozen seafood is also widely available, such as dried squid, rice-stuffed seasoned squid, frozen Alaskan king crab, dried scallops, Ruibe salmon by Sato Suisan (thinly sliced fresh salmon marinated with wheat and soy sauce, mixed with salmon roe), Sumibiya Sanma Donburi by Kinkai Shokuhin (grilled saury cooked over natural charcoal for a fragrant flavor), and Ika Dosanko Meishi by Marumo Shokuhin.
Where to find: Supermarkets, department stores, and the International 3F floor at the airport
These are souvenirs not to miss in a country full of unique art, culture, and history, since some items are sold only in the area you visit and cannot be found elsewhere. Examples include paintings, fans, scarves, handkerchiefs, carvings, lamps, and figurines, most designed with references to the Edo period and largely handmade. Lucky charms from local shrines also make meaningful and auspicious gifts.
Where to find: Shrines or local shops in each town
Sanpouroku is a type of Baumkuchen, a German-style layered cake resembling the rings of a tree trunk. It is one of Hokkaido's most famous sweets, sold since 1965. Its design recalls the tree-felling of the region's pioneer era, and in Japan tree rings are seen as a symbol of growth, stability, and lasting prosperity.
Ryugetsu Sanpouroku comes in three flavors: original, maple, and chocolate, available in both regular size and small cut pieces. The best-selling flavor is chocolate, made with milk chocolate and white chocolate. The cake resembles white birch bark, made with flour from Tokachi and using butter, sugar, and eggs from Hokkaido as the main ingredients.
What makes Ryugetsu's Sanpouroku special is its crispy chocolate-coated outer layer paired with a soft, fluffy interior and a rich, sweet flavor.
Photo from www.ryugetsu.co.jp
Price: ¥1,385 for 2 pieces of Sanpouroku
Where to find:
- Main branch: 8-15 Odoriminami, Obihiro-shi, Hokkaido
- Sweetpia Garden Shop branch: 18-2 Nishi 9-sen Shimo-otofuke Kita, Kato-gun,Otofuke-cho, Hokkaido
One of the ultimate Hokkaido snacks and souvenirs, Shiroi Black Thunder is a chocolate bar made from chocolate cookie pieces mixed with puffed rice, double-coated with rich white chocolate. It's a long-famous treat known by children across Japan, sold for more than 20 years.
Both the white and black versions of Black Thunder are made at a factory in Sapporo and sold only in Hokkaido. They're popular among travelers as souvenirs since they're affordable and lightweight.
Price: ¥648 per box (12 pieces)
Where to find: Supermarkets and convenience stores throughout Hokkaido only
