---
node: spot_sapporo_susukino
type: spot
slug: susukino
destination: dest_sapporo
title: "Susukino"
lead: "Susukino is the largest nightlife district north of Tokyo, several thousand bars and restaurants packed into a dozen blocks south of Odori. Its ramen alley has been selling miso ramen since the 1950s."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_sapporo_susukino.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Susukino_Intersection,_Sapporo_-_Mar_5,_2024.jpg"
image_author: "MIKI Yoshihito"
image_license: "CC BY 2.0"
---

## Overview

The district grew from a licensed quarter established in 1871 to keep the colonisation workforce in one place, and it kept the concentration long after the licence ended. Miso ramen was invented in Sapporo in the mid-1950s and Ramen Yokochō is where it became a local institution — a narrow lane of counter shops seating eight or ten each. The Nikka whisky sign at the main crossing has been the meeting point since 1969.

## Highlights

Eat at the counter, in a shop where the queue is locals in work clothes rather than a tour group. Genghis Khan, grilled mutton on a domed iron plate, is the other Sapporo dish and is best in a smoky basement place. Bars that display no prices at the door are best avoided; the ones with a written charge are straightforward.