Best in Japan Best Ramen in Sapporo: Top Miso Ramen Shops
As of September 2026, the top ramen shops in Sapporo remain Menya Saimi, Sumire, Aji no Sanpei, Junren, and Keyaki. Sapporo is the city where miso ramen was created around 1955, and these five shops represent the style's origin and its most refined modern execution, ranked here on broth quality, historical significance, and critical recognition.
Best Ramen in Sapporo: Top Miso Ramen Shops, ranked
Menya Saimi
Menya Saimi, opened in Toyohira Ward in 1998, pairs a combined pork and seafood broth with a miso tare and a wonton topping. It is one of the most consistently high-scoring ramen shops in Hokkaido on Tabelog's user rankings, and it draws lines before its opening despite operating without reservations.
Visitor note (Google Maps) "Rich soup, perfectly cooked noodles, and very satisfying portions."
Best for: Most acclaimed modern miso ramen
Official website See full factsSumire
Sumire, founded in 1964 by Hideo Aoyagi in Toyohira Ward, popularized the technique of topping miso broth with a thick layer of seasoned pork fat to keep the soup hot in Hokkaido's cold winters. The brand has since licensed branches outside Japan, including in Singapore, extending Sapporo-style miso ramen to overseas diners who cannot easily reach Hokkaido.
Best for: Classic Sapporo-style miso ramen experience
Official website See full factsAji no Sanpei
Aji no Sanpei, opened in the Tanukikoji shopping arcade around 1955 by founder Morito Omiya, is the shop most consistently credited with creating miso ramen. Its broth uses the original-style pork bone and miso combination that later Sapporo shops adapted, making it a reference point rather than a trend-following newcomer.
Visitor note (Google Maps) "The miso ramen is very delicious and the staff are very helpful and kind."
Best for: Ramen history and the original miso bowl
Official website See full factsJunren
Junren, located near Nakajima Park in Chuo Ward, is known for kotteri, a thick, emulsified pork bone broth that goes heavier than the original Sanpei style. It is frequently named alongside Sumire and Aji no Sanpei in Sapporo ramen guides as one of the shops that defined the city's postwar miso ramen identity.
Visitor note (Google Maps) "Sapporo Junren left a good impression on me for a one-time visit."
Best for: Rich, thick kotteri-style miso broth
Official website See full factsKeyaki
Keyaki, based in the Susukino district, serves an especially thick, long-simmered pork bone broth blended with miso tare, a style regularly described in ramen guidebooks as one of the richest in the city. Licensed branches have operated in other Asian markets including Singapore, which has made Keyaki one of the more internationally recognized names among Sapporo's miso ramen shops.
Visitor note (Google Maps) "Awesome tasting but queue can be quite long"
Best for: Overseas visitors wanting a familiar name
Official website See full factsWhat makes Sapporo ramen different from other regional styles?
Sapporo ramen refers to a miso-based style that emerged in Hokkaido around 1955, distinct from Tokyo's soy sauce (shoyu) broth and Hakata's pork bone (tonkotsu) broth further south. The style typically pairs a pork bone and miso broth with thick, curly noodles, and toppings such as butter, sweet corn, and bean sprouts that reflect Hokkaido's dairy and corn farming. Alongside Hakata tonkotsu and Kitakata shoyu ramen, Sapporo miso ramen is often described as one of Japan's three most influential regional ramen styles.
Several Sapporo shops layer flavored pork fat on the surface of the broth to keep the soup hot in the region's cold climate, a technique associated with shops such as Sumire. A typical bowl in the city costs roughly 800 to 1,300 yen, depending on toppings and shop.
Which shop is credited with inventing Sapporo's miso ramen?
Aji no Sanpei, opened in Sapporo's Tanukikoji shopping arcade, is widely credited by ramen historians as the shop where founder Morito Omiya first served miso ramen around 1955. The dish combined an existing pork bone broth with a miso-based tare at a customer's request, according to the origin story repeated across Japanese ramen literature.
The style spread through the city over the following decade. Hideo Aoyagi, who later opened Sumire in Sapporo's Toyohira Ward in 1964, is described in ramen guides as having studied miso ramen preparation before starting his own shop, illustrating how Sanpei's approach shaped the generation of shops that followed it.
How do Sapporo's top ramen shops compare on style and location?
| Menya Saimi | Sumire | Aji no Sanpei | Junren | Keyaki | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neighborhood | Toyohira Ward | Toyohira Ward | Tanukikoji, Chuo Ward | Near Nakajima Park, Chuo Ward | Susukino district |
| Broth style | Pork and seafood double soup with miso tare | Pork bone broth with a surface layer of seasoned fat | Pork bone broth with original-style miso tare | Thick, emulsified pork bone broth | Very thick, long-simmered pork bone broth |
| Signature dish | Miso ramen with wonton topping | Miso ramen with fat-layer topping | Original-style miso ramen | Kotteri (thick) miso ramen | Extra-rich miso ramen |
Is Susukino's Ramen Yokocho alley worth visiting?
Ganso Sapporo Ramen Yokocho, a narrow alley in the Susukino entertainment district, brings together a cluster of small, independent ramen counters that developed from postwar food stalls dating to around 1951. It functions differently from a single destination shop: visitors can compare several styles of miso, shoyu, and shio ramen within a two or three minute walk.
The alley sits a short walk from Susukino Station on the Sapporo Municipal Subway Namboku Line, and most counters stay open into the late evening, which makes it a practical stop after visiting the individually ranked shops in this guide.
How should first-time visitors choose and order ramen in Sapporo?
Decide on a broth style first
Sapporo is best known for miso ramen, so first-time visitors should try at least one miso bowl before branching into shio (salt) or shoyu (soy sauce) versions. Shops such as Aji no Sanpei and Sumire represent the classic style, while Menya Saimi shows a more modern, seafood-inflected take on the same miso base.
Expect a ticket machine or queue system
Many of Sapporo's most popular ramen shops, including Menya Saimi, use a ticket vending machine at the entrance and do not take phone reservations. Arriving 15 to 30 minutes before the 11:00 or 11:30 lunch opening reduces wait times at shops that regularly draw lines of 10 or more people.
Ask about the fat layer if you prefer a lighter bowl
Shops descended from the Sumire style add a thick layer of seasoned pork fat on top of the broth. Visitors who prefer a lighter finish can ask staff for less oil (abura sukuname), a request commonly accommodated at Sapporo miso ramen counters.
How is this ranking computed?
- Historical significance and originality: 20%
- Broth craftsmanship and flavor reputation: 30%
- Critical and public recognition: 25%
- Visitor accessibility: 15%
- Value for price: 10%
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