Tanukikoji Shopping Street - Hokkaido

Tanukikoji Shopping Street (狸小路商店街) is a kilometer-long covered arcade that stretches from Minami 3 Nishi 1-7 chome and Minami 2 Jonishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo City in Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It is one of the most popular shopping places for visitors and people in Sapporo City.

狸小路商店街
Tanukikoji Shopping Street

Tanukikoji Shopping Street details

Tanukikoji Shopping Street is one of the oldest shopping streets in Hokkaido. The development of the shopping arcade started sometime in 1869 after the Meiji Government established the Hokkaido Development Commission in Sapporo. The first restaurants and merchant houses opened in what is not Tanukikoji 2 and 3 chome. From there, the merchant community began to grow and slowly occupied more and more blocks. 

Tanukikoji Shopping Street - Sapporo City, Hokkaido

The tanuki (raccoon dog) is a part of Japanese folklore known to bring good fortune. While koji road dealer. At present, Tanukikoji Shopping Street runs east to west of downtown Sapporo. This covered arcade extends for 200 meters and is broken up into seven blocks. Currently, there are more or less 200 stores on Tanukikoji Shopping Street. This includes a plethora of restaurants, bars, and shops all catering to the various needs and wants of the thousands of local and foreign tourists that visit it daily. 

One of the entryways of Tanukikoji Shopping Street

Inside Tanukikoji Shopping Street

There are only a handful of people during my visit as it was almost New Year.

Check out the small shrine inside Tanukikoji Shopping Street

I'm happy to see the Tanukikoji Mascot is following health protocols

Tanukikoji Shopping Street

Tanukikoji Shopping Street at night
Tanukikoji Shopping Street at night

I got to visit Tanukikoji Shopping Street with my Filipino friends last December 31, 2021, which was my 9th week here in Japan. Although Tanukikoji Shopping Street was a popular shopping destination. It was actually not part of our itinerary. We happen to visit it in search of a restaurant to eat lunch. Ironically, we still ended up eating in Yoshinoya outside of the shopping arcade. Regardless, we returned to Tanukikoji Shopping Street after lunch and my friends did some shopping in one of the second-hand shops there. On the other hand, I took the opportunity to explore it and take photos.  

The Backpack Adventures visits Tanukikoji Shopping Street

Overall, had I brought extra cash, I would have bought some souvenirs in one of the shops there. There were numerous things that caught my eyes like food and some souvenir items. Well, that only means that I have an excuse to revisit this time with my family.

Tanukikoji Shopping Street Entrance Fee

It's FREE to enter and explore all 7 blocks of Tanukikoji Shopping Street.

Tanukikoji Shopping Street Operating Hours

Tanukikoji Shopping Street is open 24/7. However, the shops, restaurants, and bars have different operating hours.

Why visit Tanukikoji Shopping Street?

As mentioned, Tanukikoji Shopping Street has a plethora of shops and restaurants that cater to the different wants and needs of its visitors. It's a perfect place to go if you are fond of shopping. 

Getting to Tanukikoji Shopping Street


If you are in Sapporo City, Tanukikoji Shopping Street is near Susukino Station. 
From Sapporo Station, walk to the Sapporo Station of the Namboku Line and ride the subway going to Susukino Station. 
Fare: 210 yen
Travel time: 3 minutes
Once there, Tanukikoji is about 5-10 minutes on foot. 

Ratings 

Crowd

Cleanliness

Overall Rating

Comments

  1. Thank you for sharing this. I went here last week after reading your article.

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