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Asahikawa

Asahiyama Zoo, shoyu ramen and sake

Asahikawa is the second-largest city in Hokkaido and is in a river basin in the middle of the island. Visitors can watch polar bears and penguins at close range at Asahiyama Zoo or try shoyu ramen in the shops around the station. You can also visit two sake brewers that use the local water the region is known for. Beyond town Daisetsuzan National Park has peaks up to Asahidake at 2,290 m. The centre is small enough to cover on foot, but the zoo and the ramen village need a bus or taxi. It suits a night or two on a Hokkaido road trip.

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City in Japan

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Safety: 8.6

General Safety:	9
Health & medical:	8
Accessibility:	6
Tap water:	10

Read details

3/5

English is spoken at major hotels, museums and tourist centres, but less so in small shops or restaurants. Signage is improving, but a translation app is helpful for smooth travel.

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Last update: 20 Oct 2026

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Asahikawa Summary

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Good for wildlife attractions and winter culture. Visit the famous zoo, enjoy local ramen, explore nearby mountains and experience snowy festivals and winter scenery.

Place score

7.8

Best at:

Snow

Spotless

Zoos

Winter activities

Walkable

Personal score

Suited for

👶 9

Families

🧓 7

Seniors

🛡️ 7

Travel Beginners

👩 7

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Japan – Quick facts

Guide Etiquette Holidays Other

Power Grid:	100 V, 50 Hz Plug: Type A Type A: Read about power adapters
Currency:	Japanese Yen (JPY) £1 ≈ JP¥210
Cashless info:	Rating 4/5 Cashless payments are becoming more common, especially in cities, with some shops still preferring cash. Be prepared for occasional cash-only situations in rural areas. Save with a travel credit card
eSIM providers:	Best value: Saily Flexibility: Airalo Read our in-depth comparison

Tipping:	Tipping is not customary in Japan and can be considered rude. Excellent service is the norm, and tipping is unnecessary in most places.
Public drinking:	Public drinking is legal and commonly accepted, particularly during festivals and events.
Public smoking:	Smoking is prohibited in indoor public places but allowed in designated outdoor areas. Some restaurants may have smoking sections.

New Year (January)	One of the most important holidays, expect crowded temples and high prices. Plan ahead.
Golden Week (April-May)	The busiest travel time, expect high demand for accommodation and transport.
Obon (August)	A time to honour ancestors, many businesses close, and transport can be crowded.

Emergency contact:	Emergency Number: 110 (Police), 119 (Fire & Ambulance)
Taxi apps:	Uber, JapanTaxi, DiDi
Other:	Japan is a country of respect, so understanding local customs and etiquette is important. Public transport is efficient, but can be crowded during peak hours.

Best times to travel

The best times to travel section shows how the months compare for a visit, so you can find the time of year that fits what you want to do.

Background colours of the months:
The colour shows the typical temperature: yellow (hot), green (mild) and blue (cold). How strong the colour is shows the travel season: full colour means high season, soft colour means shoulder season and soft-striped means off season.

Weather symbols:
Each month has one symbol showing what the weather is typically like, such as hot and sunny, freezing or a rainy or snowy season. Use them to quickly spot months that match the weather you want, or to avoid the ones that don't.

Crowdedness:
The people icon shows how busy the place usually is. The more people, the more crowded it gets.

Additional notes:
The grey info boxes point out special things worth knowing, like recurring weather issues or seasonal events.

for Asahikawa, Japan

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Mar

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Apr

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May

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Jun

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Jul

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Dec

High season:	Feb., July - Aug.
Shoulder season:	Jan., March, May - June, Sep. - Oct., Dec.
Crowdedness:	4 (Moderate tourist numbers)

Tap on a month for more info Hover over a month for more info

Climate details

Asahikawa Winter Festival with giant snow and ice sculptures, early to mid February

Daisetsuzan hiking July to September, earliest autumn leaves in Japan late September

Asahiyama Zoo: winter penguin walk December to March, closed briefly in April and early November

Don't miss

🐧 Watch playful penguins during the winter march at Asahiyama Zoo
❄️ Admire winter ice sculptures at the famous Asahikawa Winter Festival
🍜 Sample Hokkaido’s rich miso ramen at local noodle shops
🏞️ Walk along the Ishikari River and enjoy seasonal scenery
🪵 Shop handcrafted goods at Asahikawa Design Center
⛰️ Take a day trip to nearby Daisetsuzan for mountain views

You've been here?

Why travel to Asahikawa?

Asahiyama Zoo is the city's best-known sight. The enclosures are built so you can watch polar bears, penguins, wolves and other animals from close range through viewing tunnels and underwater windows. The zoo also stays open in winter, which is when it feels most unusual. On a day trip from Sapporo you can see the zoo but have little time for anything else. Food and drink give the city a second reason. Asahikawa ramen has a soy sauce broth topped with a thin layer of oil and thin wavy noodles. It differs from the miso ramen Sapporo is known for. Sake is the other local speciality. The Otokoyama brewery has a small museum with ukiyo-e prints and the Takasago brewery is a short walk from the station. In February the Asahikawa Winter Festival brings snow sculptures to Heiwa-dori and Tokiwa Park. The city also has Ainu culture. The Kawamura Kaneto Ainu Memorial Hall is about 15 minutes by bus from the station. The Ainu festival Kotan Matsuri takes place in September. With two days you can fit in the zoo, the ramen and a brewery. With a third day you can add Asahidake (the highest peak in Hokkaido) or the flower fields and hills around Biei and Furano to the south.

🏯Places worth seeing

1 Asahiyama Zoo
2 Asahikawa Ramen Village
3 Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum
4 Ueno Farm
5 Asahikawa City Museum

🎡Places for activities

1 Science Museum

🏞️Natural landmarks

1 Daisetsuzan National Park
2 Ishikari River
3 Asahi
4 Tokiwa Park

🛍️Shopping

1 AEON Mall Asahikawa Station

🍽️Eat & Drink

1 Asahikawa Ramen Aoba Honten
Founded from a food stall in 1947, Aoba helped establish Asahikawa’s soy-sauce ramen style. Its signature double broth combines pork and chicken stock with seafood dashi, served with thin curly noodles in the 2-jo-dori shopping district.
2 Yakitori Senmon Ginneko
Established in 1950, Ginneko grills yakitori over charcoal and specialises in shinkoyaki, half a young chicken roasted with its wing attached. It stands in the 5-7 Koji Furari alley, about a 10-minute walk from Asahikawa Station.
3 Ramen Santoka Asahikawa Honten
Santoka began in Asahikawa in 1988 and became known for creamy tonkotsu shio ramen, traditionally topped with a pickled plum. Its original shop is in the city centre, a short walk from Asahikawa Station and Heiwa Shopping Street.
4 Baikohken Asahikawa Honten
Baikohken is an Asahikawa ramen specialist serving shoyu ramen made with a blended pork, chicken and seafood broth. Its main shop is in the central city and carries the local style’s medium-thin, wavy noodles and savoury soy seasoning.
5 Ramenya Tenkin Shijo Branch
Founded in 1952, Ramenya Tenkin serves the rich shoyu ramen style associated with Asahikawa. The 4-jo branch is in the Sanroku entertainment district, with a pork-and-seafood-based soup protected by a layer of aromatic lard.
6 Jingisukan Daikokuya Asahikawa Gochome
Daikokuya serves jingisukan: lamb grilled at the table on a domed metal pan with vegetables. The Asahikawa Gochome branch is in the Sanroku entertainment area, offering fresh lamb in a distinctly Hokkaido barbecue format.
7 Tontoro Ramen Baikohken Ramen Village Branch
Baikohken’s Ramen Village branch serves its Asahikawa-style shoyu ramen in Nagayama. Asahikawa Ramen Village opened in 1996 and brings together eight city ramen shops, around five kilometres northeast of Asahikawa Station.
8 Otokoyama Sake Brewery Museum Shop
Otokoyama’s brewery museum shop pours and sells sake from one of Asahikawa’s historic brewing names. The Nagayama site presents more than 350 years of sake-brewing history and includes exhibits, a tasting area and limited brewery releases.
9 Mizuno Ginger Ramen
Opened in 1967, Mizuno specialises in shoyu ramen scented with freshly grated ginger. The shop is near Tokiwa Park in central Asahikawa, serving a warming variation on the city’s soy-sauce ramen tradition.
10 Asahikawa Ramen Village
Asahikawa Ramen Village is a food complex founded in 1996 with eight local ramen shops under one roof. In Nagayama, it offers different versions of Asahikawa’s signature soy-sauce broth and medium-thin curly noodles.

🎈Events

Asahikawa Winter Festival (February)
Heiwa Dori Ice Sculpture Competition
Asahiyama Zoo Penguin Walk (winter)
Ueno Farm Flower Festival (summer)
Spring Cherry Blossom Festival
Autumn Harvest Festivals
Local Sake Festivals

Explore on map

Open map view

Knowledge before you go

Check the zoo's opening calendar, since it closes between seasons.
The zoo's winter penguin walk usually runs from December to March, with one morning walk in March.
Ramen Village is about 5 km from the station, so allow time for a bus or taxi.
The Takasago sake brewery is a 15-minute walk from the station and runs tours from about November to March.

How to travel to Asahikawa

The most common way to reach Asahikawa is a JR limited express from Sapporo, which takes about 1.5 hours. A highway bus from Sapporo takes around two hours and runs frequently. It's a useful backup when trains are disrupted in winter. Most visitors arriving from abroad land at New Chitose Airport (CTS) and continue through Sapporo. By car, the expressway from Sapporo is roughly 140 km and takes about 1 hour 40 minutes. Exit at Asahikawa Takasu Interchange, about 15 minutes from the station. National Route 275 is slower at around 2.5 hours but has several roadside stations along the way. Asahikawa Airport (AKJ) is about 10 km south of the city and has direct flights from Tokyo. A bus from the airport takes about 35 minutes to Asahikawa Station. Another bus runs to Biei and Furano in around an hour, so you can skip the city if those are your targets.

Access summary

From Asahikawa Airport (AKJ): Airport bus to central Asahikawa, about 35–45 minutes.
From Sapporo: JR Limited Express trains to Asahikawa, roughly 1.5 hours.
From New Chitose Airport: Train via Sapporo to Asahikawa, typically 2.5–3 hours.

Check your route from anywhere

Where to stay in Asahikawa

Most visitors stay around Asahikawa Station and along Heiwa-dori, where business hotels are within a short walk of trains, shops and restaurants. A few traditional ryokan and hotels with large public baths are also in town. Rooms are rarely hard to find except around the Winter Festival in February and in peak summer, when it pays to book ahead. Hikers and skiers can stay near Asahidake instead, in the hot spring area by the mountain. It makes mornings easier but takes you away from the city's restaurants and the zoo, so it fits best on a mountain-focused trip. Staying in Sapporo works if you only want a single day at the zoo, though the return trip by train or bus takes about three hours.

Hotel recommendations

*by rating and popularity. Commissions have no influence on the rankings.

JR Inn Asahikawa

9.3

HOTEL AMANEK Asahikawa

9.0

KOKO HOTEL Asahikawa Station

8.5

Hotel Route Inn Grand Asahikawa Ekimae

8.8

Court Hotel Asahikawa

8.4

Premier Hotel -CABIN- Asahikawa

8.1

Y's Hotel Asahikawa

9.0

Dormy Inn Asahikawa Natural Hot Spring

8.6

Art Hotel Asahikawa

8.1

Hotel WBF Grande Asahikawa

8.8

Explore more accommodations

How to get around Asahikawa

The centre of Asahikawa is small enough to walk, with Heiwa-dori, the main shopping street, beginning just outside Asahikawa Station. The zoo and Asahikawa Ramen Village are on the edge of the city, so you need a bus or taxi for those. Most routes start at the station, where the tourist information centre hands out maps in English.

Walking and bikes:
Heiwa-dori and the station area are easy on foot, with shops and restaurants close together. Bicycles are a pleasant option in summer.

Buses:
Two operators, Asahikawa Denkikido and Dohoku Bus, run the city network. Buses from the station reach Asahiyama Zoo in about 40 minutes. Between the summer and winter seasons the zoo closes for a few weeks, so check its calendar before planning the trip.

Taxis:
Taxis cost more but save time if you're short on a day. They're handy for the zoo or Ramen Village.

Car:
A hire car makes sense if you want to continue to Biei, Furano or the Asahidake area, where public transport is thinner. If you're staying in the city a car adds little. Winter roads turn icy and snowy, so anyone without winter driving experience is better off with trains and buses in those months.

Food in Asahikawa

Ramen is the food Asahikawa is best known for, while other menus lean on Hokkaido staples like seafood and dairy. Station buildings, department store food floors and convenience stores make easy meals when you're between sights.

Soy sauce ramen is the dish most linked with Asahikawa. The broth is dark and slightly oily and the noodles are thin and wavy, with toppings like pork, bamboo shoots and green onions. Ramen shops are spread across the centre and eight well-known ones have small branches together at Asahikawa Ramen Village on the edge of town.

The local water is also used for brewing sake, which you can taste at the breweries or in izakaya around the station.

Vegetarians may find ramen difficult, since the broth is usually based on pork or chicken, so ask before ordering.

Budget snapshot

Costs compared to home

We calculate the average costs when travelling to destinations and compare those with the living costs at your home. With this you can get an estimate of how expensive or cheap the destination is for you.

To customise this, you can set up which location and price level are used for the calculations in your account settings.

-45 %

Daily expenses in Asahikawa are around 45% lower than the average across United States. That means you'll spend a lot less on meals and getting around.

Exchange rate trend

The exchange rate price factor shows how expensive or cheap a currency currently is compared to its historical average. It's a quick way to see if a country is currently more or less affordable due to exchange rate changes.

-20 %

Your exchange rate (GBP to JPY) is 20% better than in recent years. That means travelling now is considerably cheaper compared to the past.

Travel costs

To help you plan your trip, we provide estimated daily costs per person (when travelling as a pair) for different travel styles. These numbers give you an idea of what you might spend each day at this destination, including accommodation, food, transport and activities.

Additionally, we also provide average hotel costs for different travel styles to give you an estimate for the accommodation only.

Please note that these are only estimates. The real costs depend on booking times, season and other factors.

Daily cost summary

Travel style categories explained:

Backpacker:
Staying in hostels or budget hotels, cooking your own meals or eating cheap and choosing low-cost activities.

Mid-range:
Staying in mid-range hotels, eating at a mix of restaurants and casual spots and enjoying a variety of activities.

Luxury:
Staying in luxury hotels, dining out at high-end restaurants and enjoying premium experiences without worrying about the price.

	Backpacker	Mid-range	Luxury
💵 Total costs per day, including accommodation	£49	£100	£255
🏨 Accommodation per night, per person	£26	£60	£120
🍝 Food per day	£17	£34	£109
🚕 Transportation per day	£5	£6	£26

Food & Drink

🍽️ Restaurant Dinner, per person	£12.50
🍛 Lunch Set, per person	£3.60
🍟 Fast food combo	£3.90
🍝 Preparing your own food, per day	£7
☕ Cappuccino	£2.50
🍺 Beer in a restaurant, 0.5 l	£3

Transportation

🚌 Public transport ticket	£1.20
🚕 Taxi Ride, 10 km / 6 mi	£16
⛽ Petrol, 1 l	£0.80

Other

🎞️ Cinema ticket	£9
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's consult	£20
🤧 Cold medication	£6.50
💇 Basic haircut	£14

Safety information overview

General safety

Asahikawa is very safe for visitors, with little street crime. The main risks come in winter, when snow and black ice make roads and pavements slippery. In the Daisetsuzan mountains the weather changes quickly and brown bears live along some trails.

Health & Medical

Asahikawa has several large hospitals including a university hospital plus clinics and pharmacies, though English-speaking staff are limited. Cold is the main health concern in winter. Foxes in Hokkaido can carry a tapeworm, so avoid touching them and don't drink untreated water from streams.

Accessibility

The city centre is flat and the station area is easy to move around in. Heavy snow and ice from late autumn to spring make pavements hard going for wheelchair users and older visitors. Asahiyama Zoo has slopes and long paths, so allow extra time.

Tap water

Tap water in Asahikawa is safe to drink, like elsewhere in Hokkaido. Bottled drinks are sold at convenience stores and vending machines in town. Mountain trails have few taps, so carry enough water for the whole hike.