Did you know that Susukino (すすきの) in Sapporo, Hokkaido is Japan’s largest entertainment district north of Tokyo? 🍻🌈👫
I have never been to Hokkaido in Autumn and have always thought that Hokkaid is just a powdery snow-covered wonderland famous for ski slopes and Hokkaido milk icecream. Turns out Hokkaido in Autumn is gorgeous as well, with perfect aircon weather. So I was chuffed to partner up with Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel to explore downtown Susukino and all the attractions Sapporo has to offer! Let’s go 👉🏼
I’ve always heard about the Tokyu brand of hotels since my first visit to Japan. Founded in 2001, the Tokyu Hotel group has 46 urban residences comprising over 12,400 guestrooms in the whole of Japan!
In April 2015, they consolidated their five brands into three tiers – Tokyu Hotel, Excel Hotel Tokyu, and Tokyu REI Hotel (respectively 5 stars, 4 stars and 3 stars) to cater to travellers with different budgets.
After a particularly hectic month at work & an uncomfortable 10 hour flight, I was looking forward to checking in to Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel – even though it’s their 3 star brand, I was pleasantly surprised by the fantastic location, our comfy room & the plush amenities! Can’t wait to stay at their 4 and 5 star brands 😀
Most Tokyu hotels are situated near the train station for great accessibility, which is great for me! My personal mantra when travelling is “I already flew 5,000 miles here, I’m not going to travel to the city centre every single day.” Spoilt yes but it makes soooo much sense. So I always find accommodation that is smack in the middle of all the places I wanna check out or in the city centre near the shopping district. Additional perks: you can rest your feet with an impromptu midday nap back in the hotel, and dump your heavy shopping as well! Best 👏🏻 idea 👏🏻 ever 👏🏻
Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel fulfills all this convenience requirement like a dream!! It is literally a stone’s throw (I may or may not have thrown a stone in the streets of Susukino to prove that point to my mum) away from Susukino Exit 4. You don’t want to be lugging your luggage around after you land searching for an obscure hotel!!
Its proximity to the train station means I can sleep in every morning yay (please don’t travel with me if you are a morning traveller I have to 自然醒) because nearly everything we wanted to see in downtown Sapporo is just 1-2 mins away on foot or by train! Score 💪🏻
In researching our trip, I know the main attractions are centred around Sapporo Station and Susukino Station, with the famous Tanukikoji Shopping Street (it’s a really long sheltered shopping street) at Susukino, just 1 min walk from Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel!
Here is the list of all the attractions we managed to hit in just 2 days and their proximity to Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel!
- Tanukikoji Shopping Street – 1 min walk from Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel
- Uniqlo/ Daiso – 1 min walk from Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel
- Soup Curry Suage+ – Opposite Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel
- Odori Park & Sapporo Autumn Festival – 5 minutes walk from Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel
- Nijo Fish Market – 5 mins walk from Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel
- Sapporo Beer Museum & Garden – 5 mins cab ride from Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel
- Don Don Donki – 3 minutes walk from Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel
- Sapporo TV Tower – 8 minutes walk from Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel
- Ganso Ramen Yokocho Ramen Alley – 2 minutes walk from Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel
- Budget Car Rental – 2 mins train + 5 mins walk from Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel
And look at this cutie little map Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel prepared on their website on how to get to the hotel from New Chitose Airport. I love hotels that put themselves in the shoes of their guests. Furthermore, there was a wealth of information on their website, available in legit English unlike a lot of other Japanese hotels! Thumbs-up for being foreigner friendly 👍🏻
The room was pretty standard of Japanese chain hotels – they provided an extra bed for us and basically spammed us with complimentary toiletries such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb/ hairbrush, cotton pads and buds, shower caps, shaver/ razor set and even a mini sewing kit. There are also bathrobes or yukata and thick towels!
Everything that you need – a pet peeve of mine is when I am trying to Google if a hotel provides toiletries, it’s usually difficult to find out. So you end up without a razor or comb or toothpaste – but Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel has pretty much all the toiletries I need, for the rest of my life. Beds were warm and welcoming after a long day exploring sweater weather Sapporo – but the TV channel selection wasn’t the best for couch potatoes. All the more reason to head out, yay!
I was also pleasantly surprised by the view from our hotel because I already thought we got super lucky with the insanely good location and are smack in the middle of the city. Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel amazingly managed to squeeze out a picturesque Ferris Wheel with blue skies view in the midst of Sapporo city from our room on the 12th floor!
Susukino has quite the exuberant nightlight and it was endlessly entertaining to people watch from our window. Some nights we found ourselves caught up in all the bustle when we popped downstairs for a late night bite at Matsuya or 7-Eleven – I am officially addicted to the accessibility to the city centre, need to move to The Orchard Residences back in Singapore.
No trip to Hokkaido is complete without a road trip!!!! We booked a car to self-drive around Hokkaido’s main scenic attractions in Furano just 2-3 hours away from Sapporo and hence, was relieved to find out that Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel has parking available for a very affordable price of 1500 yen per night! We were all very suaku and amazed by the underground automatic parking system which whisked our car up and away into its ‘hotel room’ for the night, but the kind security guard even motioned for us to come closer to video and see the inner workings of the parking lift mechanism. Like never see car park before…
Breakfast is served at the hotel lobby restaurant Southwest everyday! They serve up a hearty Japanese & intercontinental buffet-style breakfast, with salmon, mackerel, porridge, sunny sideups, salads, fruits and a variety of pastries.
I particularly loved their porridge station where you can help yourself to piping hot congee and add on a selection of savoury treats. I wasn’t very sure what each of the side dishes were (some form of marinated seafood) but they were all incredibly yummy and a refreshing twist to my usual morning congee!
All in all, Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel REI-ally stole my heart for being one of the most convenient hotels in Sapporo, Japan, located right in the heart of Susukino! ❤ As I said, when I travel, location is ALWAYS my number one factor in choosing a hotel 🏨 because I love just being able to pop downstairs for all the shopping, food & attractions🚦⛩🏙 the district is packed with staple Japanese stores such as Don Don Donki, Uniqlo, Daiso, famous restaurants, karaoke bars and pachinko parlours📍🍜🍣 Follow me on my journey on Instagram Highlights as I explore downtown Sapporo! 🌃
Check out Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel’s website to book this amazing stay on your next trip to Hokkaido, Japan!
Sapporo Tokyu REI Hotel
Website: https://www.tokyuhotelsjapan.com/global/sapporo-r/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SapporoTokyuInn/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sapporo_tokyurei/
Tokyu Hotels Global
Website: https://www.tokyuhotelsjapan.com/global/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TokyuHotelsGlobal/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tokyuhotels_global/