Cafeography
Sapporo · Sōsei East & Nijō Market

Cafés in Sōsei East & Nijō Market

East of the Sōsei River: Nijō Market, the old brewery at Sapporo Factory and new cafés among the apartment blocks.

Photo: Ran Hua, Pexels License

Sapporo is said to have begun on the east side of Sōsei Bridge in 1869, and the blocks east of the Sōsei River, now called Sōsei East (創成イースト), still hold the soft-stone warehouses, churches and brewery buildings of the settlement years.1 The river is the base line of the grid, so every address here counts higashi (東, east) chōme away from it.2

The area has no official boundary, but the city's Sōsei-higashi district covers about 134 ha between the river, Kita 8-jō-dōri, Higashi 8-chōme-dōri and Route 36. Its population rose from 6,623 in 2000 to 20,143 in 2022 as apartment floor space grew two and a half times; Sōsei Cross, an office building at Kita 4-jō Higashi 4-chōme, was due to open in fiscal 2024.3

Local tip: Have breakfast in Nijō Market, whose restaurant street opened at 06:00 as of March 2024, then walk two rows north to 喫茶ドロシー at Minami 1-jō Higashi 1-chōme when it opens at 08:00; it closes on Mondays.1

At a glance

55Cafés listed
8With opening hours
08:00Earliest opening
23:00Latest closing
  • Opens earliest: 喫茶ドロシー, from 08:00 (Tue–Sun 08:00–17:00).
  • Closes latest: 喫茶 流れ星, until 23:00 (Mon–Tue 12:00–18:00, 20:00–23:00 · Thu–Sat 12:00–18:00, 20:00–23:00).
  • Most common features: open late (4%), specialty (4%), bakery café (2%).

Nothing matches those filters here. See all cafés in Sapporo.

Coffee chains in Sōsei East & Nijō Market

Getting to Sōsei East

The city's walking handbook starts its routes here at Bus Center-mae Station on the Tōzai subway line,1 and Nijō Market is about seven minutes on foot from Odori Station. The market has no parking, so come by subway or on foot.4 A Hokkaido Shinkansen station is planned for the district when the line reaches Sapporo.3

Nijō Market and the brewery

Nijō Market (二条市場), at Minami 3-jō Higashi 1- and 2-chōme, is said to have started early in the Meiji era with fishermen from Ishikari Beach selling fish door to door. About 25 seafood dealers and fishmongers and about 10 restaurants trade there, generally 07:00–17:00, varying by shop.4 The city's walking handbook names Daruma-ken inside it as Sapporo's oldest ramen shop.1

Further north, Sapporo Factory stands on the site of the Kaitakushi Brewery, which opened in 1876 as Japan's first government-run beer plant. Its red-brick factory dates from 1892, and the shopping complex was completed in 1993.5

Where the cafés are

Most cafés here are within four blocks of the river. 喫茶ドロシー (Kissa Dorothy) at Minami 1-jō Higashi 1-chōme opens at 08:00, Tuesday to Sunday, and 札幌茶楼 茶譜 (cha-pu), a tea house, is a row south at Minami 2-jō Higashi 1-chōme. 紙ひこうき (Kamihikōki) at Minami 1-jō Higashi 2-chōme is a jazz café with a full food menu and coffee it roasts itself.1

NELD COFFEE CLUB at Minami 2-jō Higashi 3-chōme is open 12:00–22:00 daily, and 喫茶 流れ星 (Nagareboshi) at Minami 4-jō Higashi 3-chōme opens 12:00–18:00 and again 20:00–23:00, closed Wednesdays and Sundays. North of Odori, かたちコーヒー is at Kita 3-jō Higashi 3-chōme and Lilas Coffee at Kita 4-jō Higashi 4-chōme. A second group sits around Higashi 9- to 11-chōme: CAFE MOONA, Flutter, CAFE Hatiware& and guupee.

Opening hours here

Mornings start at 08:00. 喫茶こともし (Kotomoshi) opens then Tuesday to Friday and stays open until 20:00, while Dorothy closes at 17:00. tete's kitchen at Kita 1-jō Higashi 5-chōme serves 11:00–18:00 and closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and guupee, at Kita 1-jō Higashi 11-chōme, opens 11:00–18:00, Wednesday to Sunday.

The market eats earlier than the cafés: as of March 2024 the city's handbook gave Nijō Market's restaurant street hours of 06:00–21:00.1

Sources

  1. Sapporo Burari Techo: Soseigawa East Area (store information as of March 2024), City of Sapporo, Sapporo Concierge, accessed October 2026
  2. 極北に咲く虹：札幌レインボープライド紀行, Nippon.com (Li Kotomi, May 28, 2023), accessed October 2026
  3. ＜ディープに歩こう 創成イースト＞①20年で人口3倍 札幌「第3のエリア」 マンション建設 相次ぐ再開発, Hokkaido Shimbun (May 15, 2023), accessed October 2026
  4. 二条市場, Hokkaido Tourism Organization (visit-hokkaido.jp), accessed October 2026
  5. ＜ディープに歩こう 創成イースト＞③ 昔も今も続く札幌のビール造り, Hokkaido Shimbun (Itō Shun, May 23, 2023), accessed October 2026
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FAQ

Sōsei East & Nijō Market cafés: questions

What is Sōsei East in Sapporo?

Sōsei East is the area east of the Sōsei River in central Sapporo, where the city is said to have begun in 1869. It has no official boundary, but the city's Sōsei-higashi district covers about 134 hectares. Its population tripled in about 20 years, from 6,623 in 2000 to 20,143 in 2022, as apartment blocks went up.

How do you get to Nijō Market in Sapporo?

Nijō Market is at Minami 3-jō Higashi 1- and 2-chōme, about seven minutes on foot from Odori subway station, and it has no parking. About 25 seafood dealers and fishmongers and about 10 restaurants trade there, generally from 07:00 to 17:00, with hours varying by shop.

Which cafés in Sōsei East, Sapporo open early or stay open late?

喫茶ドロシー at Minami 1-jō Higashi 1-chōme opens at 08:00 Tuesday to Sunday, and 喫茶こともし opens at 08:00 Tuesday to Friday. For the evening, NELD COFFEE CLUB at Minami 2-jō Higashi 3-chōme is open until 22:00 daily, and 喫茶 流れ星 at Minami 4-jō Higashi 3-chōme reopens 20:00–23:00 on the days it trades.

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