Susukino & Ramen Yokocho Route

What Susukino is

Susukino spreads on the south side of central Sapporo, one of the largest entertainment districts in northern Japan. Restaurants, bars and izakaya are packed from the top of the buildings to the bottom, and the town comes into its own after dark. In one corner of it stands Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho, held to be the birthplace of miso ramen, where a dozen-odd ramen shops lean together along a narrow alley. In recent years, shops for the "shime parfait" — closing a night out with a parfait rather than ramen — have multiplied, widening the evening's choices. Quiet by day, the streets fill with people and light once night comes.

Miso ramen and the shime parfait

Say Sapporo and you say miso ramen. Spread from postwar street stalls, its basic form dissolves miso into a pork-bone soup, pairs it with yellow curly noodles, and tops it with stir-fried bean sprouts, minced meat and corn. In a cold land, a film of oil was used to keep the soup's heat from escaping. In the Yokocho you can taste a bowl close to that original. The shime parfait, by contrast, is a newer, distinctly Sapporo habit of closing the drinking with something cold and sweet. Hot ramen and a cold parfait — two opposite plates share the same city's night.

How to walk this route

Start at Susukino station. Enter Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho first for a bowl of miso ramen at Shirakaba Sanso or another shop. The alley is narrow, so you may wait a little for a seat. Around it, snack a few pork skewers at Kushidori and slip in a drink. Close at Sato, the night-parfait specialist, with a shime parfait. Susukino is a night town, so this route suits setting off in the evening. Many shops stay open late, but popular ones queue and fill quickly, so give yourself time as you go.