Japanese souvenir culture (omiyage) is deeply embedded in travel. You are expected to bring back edible gifts for colleagues, friends, and family. Hokkaido takes this seriously — the island produces some of Japan’s most sought-after food souvenirs, and the airport shops are designed to empty your wallet in the best possible way before you board your flight.
In This Article
This guide covers what is genuinely worth buying, what is overhyped, and where to get the best prices.
The Essential Buys
Royce Chocolate
The nama (fresh) chocolate is the flagship — ganache squares dusted with cocoa powder, made with Hokkaido cream. It melts at room temperature, which means it comes in insulated packaging with ice packs. Multiple flavours: original, matcha, champagne, whisky. Available everywhere but the airport shops keep it cold and package it for travel.
The Royce factory in Tobetsu (30 minutes from Sapporo) offers free tours and a shop. Worth visiting if you have a car. See our dairy guide.
Price: approximately 800-1,500 yen per box
Where: Airport, Sapporo Station, department stores, factory
Shiroi Koibito (White Lover)
Hokkaido’s most famous souvenir cookie. White chocolate sandwiched between thin butter cookies. It has been the number one Hokkaido omiyage for decades and remains the default gift for colleagues. A box of 12 costs about 800 yen — good value for the quantity.
The Shiroi Koibito Park factory in Sapporo offers tours and fresh-from-the-oven cookies that are noticeably better than the packaged version.
Price: 800-2,000 yen depending on box size
Where: Literally everywhere in Hokkaido
LeTAO Double Fromage
A two-layer cheesecake from Otaru that has achieved cult status. The bottom layer is baked cheesecake, the top is rare (unbaked) cheesecake. Sold frozen for travel, it thaws to a creamy, dense texture unlike any other cheesecake in Japan. Buy it fresh in Otaru or frozen at the airport.
Price: approximately 1,800 yen
Where: LeTAO shops in Otaru, Sapporo, and the airport
Rokkatei Marusei Butter Sandwich
From Obihiro in the Tokachi region. Butter cream with raisins sandwiched between biscuits. Less well-known internationally than Shiroi Koibito but equally beloved domestically. The butter is made from Tokachi dairy, which gives it a richness that standard butter cookies cannot match.
Price: approximately 650-1,300 yen
Where: Rokkatei shops, airport, Sapporo Station
Sapporo Classic Beer
Hokkaido-exclusive lager that is genuinely better than standard Sapporo Beer. Only sold within Hokkaido. Available in cans at every convenience store and the airport. Light, packs easily, and makes a unique gift for beer drinkers — they cannot buy this anywhere else in Japan.
Price: approximately 230 yen per can
Where: Convenience stores, airport shops
Food and Drink
- Hokkaido milk caramels — soft, creamy caramels from multiple makers. Morinaga and Hanabatake Bokujo are the most popular.
- Yubari melon products — melon jelly, melon Kit-Kats, melon caramels. The actual melons are too expensive and fragile for souvenirs, but the products capture the flavour.
- Dried seafood — dried scallops, salmon jerky, and crab snacks from Hokkaido waters. Good bar snacks that travel well.
- Hokkaido sake — Otokoyama from Asahikawa is the most famous. Small bottles (300ml) pack easily. See our Asahikawa guide.
- Lavender products — Farm Tomita sells lavender sachets, essential oil, soap, and cosmetics. Best bought at the farm. See our Furano guide.
- Hokkaido whisky — Nikka Yoichi single malt, available at the distillery and airport. See our Yoichi guide.
Where to Shop
New Chitose Airport
The best single location for souvenir shopping. Every major brand has a shop here, prices are the same as in-town, and the staff pack everything for carry-on. Buy refrigerated items (Royce, LeTAO) here rather than carrying them around Hokkaido. See our airport guide.
Sapporo Station
Daimaru and Stellar Place department stores in the station complex have extensive food souvenir floors. Good for last-minute shopping if you are catching the airport train.
Tanukikoji Arcade (Sapporo)
A 1-kilometre covered shopping arcade with a mix of tourist shops and local stores. Prices are occasionally lower than the airport for non-perishable items.
What to Skip
- Generic “Hokkaido” branded cookies — the ones that are not Shiroi Koibito, Royce, LeTAO, or Rokkatei. They exist to fill shelves, not to be good.
- Overpriced fresh seafood for travel — some shops sell fresh crab “packed for travel” at enormous markups. The logistics of keeping seafood fresh during a flight are not worth the cost unless you are going direct home.
- Wooden bear carvings — once iconic, now mostly mass-produced. The genuine Ainu-crafted ones at Lake Akan are worth buying; the factory-made airport versions are not.
Tips
- Buy at the airport last. Refrigerated items stay cold in the airport shops and are packaged with ice packs. Carrying Royce chocolate around Sapporo in July is a recipe for melted disaster.
- Tax-free shopping is available at department stores and many shops for purchases over 5,000 yen. Bring your passport.
- Luggage delivery (takkyubin): if you buy too much, convenience stores and hotel front desks can ship boxes to your next hotel or the airport. Costs 1,500-2,500 yen per box.
For more food: food guide, dairy guide. For trip planning: first time guide, airport guide.
