Tanukikoji Covered Shopping Street in Sapporo

When you go shopping in Sapporo it can be something of an historic experience especially if you head for Tanukikoji.

The Tanukikoji is a one kilometre long covered arcade that has been one of this Japanese city’s main retail centres since the late 1870s. The arcade contains around two-hundred different boutique-style stores where they sell everything from shoes to traditional Japanese dolls and an almost endless variety of other tax-free souvenirs you could quite easily live without.

The best thing about going shopping in Tanukikoji is that when you get bored you can pick up a bowl of ramen noodles from a street vendor, eat them, then head to a bar for a quick sing on the karaoke. Now that definitely makes shopping more fun.