Everyday lunch break bliss.

3 Great Lunch Sushi Spots in Sapporo

Beyond the window lies the soft, fresh greenery of the Old Hokkaido Government Office. Right in the heart of the city, the space still lets you feel Hokkaido's nature. “Sushi Natsume” is one of the most popular restaurants in Susukino, known since its 2011 opening as a must-book destination. In 2014, Sushi Natsume opened a second location at Akarenga Terrace. Behind the counter stand Mr. Natori, a craftsman with 30 years of experience, and Mr. Yosoe, with 10 years in the trade. Natori set his sights on becoming a sushi chef back in elementary school, training in Osaka before moving to Sapporo. Yosoe grew up in a port town, where sushi was always part of everyday life. Even as they work the nigiri with light, careful hands, they never stop chatting and attending to their guests.

For lunch, choose from a nigiri set, a chirashi set, or the day's omakase course featuring seasonal ingredients. From 1pm, there's also a Ladies' Set limited to 20 servings a day. The nigiri sets come in three varieties: Natsume, Aoi, and Kusunoki. The Aoi set includes nine pieces such as medium fatty tuna, spot prawn, sea urchin, and salmon roe. The small, delicate rice melts in your mouth, letting the flavor of each topping shine. It comes with a mini salad and your choice of miso soup or chawanmushi, making for a truly satisfying meal.
By evening, baskets of seasonal vegetables and mushrooms appear beside the glass case at the counter. The omakase course and sushi are, of course, essential, but pairing a few à la carte dishes with your drinks is highly recommended too. Savoring the very best of both the sea and the mountains — that's what makes an evening here feel truly blissful.

From June, the menu features Lake Shikotsu chip (kokanee salmon) as well as sea urchin and abalone from the Sea of Japan. Beyond Hokkaido staples like halfbeak and striped jack, they also stock fish from Kanto and Kyushu sourced independently through their fish dealer connections. They say they're always on the hunt for something new, because serving the same ingredients over and over would bore both customers and themselves.
“Natsume” takes its name from “Natsume,” a small izakaya once run in Rumoi by the grandmother of owner Mr. Osaka. That origin says it all: there's nothing intimidating or stiff about this place. Whether you're a first-timer or dining solo, you'll never feel out of place. Both chefs at the counter share the same motto: “aim high, keep the threshold low.” They simply want guests to relax and enjoy the very best ingredients of the season — a spirit that runs through everything this restaurant does.

Right in the heart of Sapporo, “Sushi-gokoro Nakamura” sits on the basement floor of the Shikishima Building, directly connected to the Chi-Ka-Ho underground walkway. With about 30 years of history, the restaurant spent its first three years in Minami 3-jo before 15 years in Susukino, and it's now been at its current location for 13 years. Many regulars from the Susukino days still follow the restaurant to this day. In an area packed with restaurants, this is a place whose customers stick around no matter where it moves. That said, you don't need to be a regular to feel welcome — and lunch makes it even easier to walk in. Seats fill up fast around midday, but a reservation will secure your spot.

The lunch menu features a limited daily bento, a tuna tekka-don, and three types of nigiri-and-roll sets. Especially recommended is the great-value “C Set,” which comes with a tekka maki roll. Lunch prices are reasonable, but the ingredients are exactly the same as what's served in the evening — genuine sushi made with aged vinegared rice and seasonal seafood. All the ingredients are, of course, carefully selected at the market every morning. According to the restaurant, offering lunch means they can use up their ingredients quickly, so they're always able to serve only the freshest catch.

The sets also come with a handmade dessert that changes daily — mousse, crêpes, brown sugar kanten jelly, and more, which is unusual for a sushi restaurant. It's said to be a recipe straight from the head chef, who has a sweet tooth. Each one is elegantly, subtly sweet, and it's easy to see why some customers come just for this finishing touch.
If you still have room, don't miss the crab shumai. Piping hot dumplings packed with snow crab, topped with mustard and grated daikon with chili, dipped in ponzu — it's a world apart from what you'd get at a Chinese restaurant, fluffy yet rich with a hint of Japanese flavor. You can also order nigiri or sashimi at lunch, so treating yourself to an extra piece or two beyond the set is entirely possible. Saturdays in particular tend to draw customers who linger over their meal. Why not start building your list of go-to sushi spots with lunch here?

Streetcars glide leisurely past on Minami 1-jo Street, and down in the basement of a building along this street you'll find “Sushi no Fukuya.” Thanks to its prime location right in the middle of Sapporo's Odori area, the restaurant draws both locals and tourists, day and night, with its lively, welcoming atmosphere. A bright, easy-to-enter counter sits alongside tatami seating. When a departing customer tosses out a joke, a witty reply comes right back over the counter. Ask the affable sushi chef Mr. Yoshikawa, and he'll tell you, “Plenty of women come in alone, too.” Sure enough, just past the lunch rush, a woman was sitting solo at the counter, enjoying her nigiri.

We were served the lunch “A Set.” The lineup changes day to day, but on this occasion it included amberjack, tuna, scallop, salmon, squid, sweet shrimp, cured mackerel, salmon roe, and flying fish roe. Nine pieces of nigiri, plus chawanmushi, salad, and soup — all for under 1,000 yen. That price alone is a pleasant shock, but there's an even more affordable “Tokutoku Set” too. The chirashi-style “B Set” and the “C Set” — eight pieces of nigiri plus a negitoro roll — are also popular. It's easy to understand why picky businessmen who care about flavor, freshness, and speedy service rely on this shop. Lunch is mostly set menus, but the chefs will happily make nigiri to order as well. During our visit, mantis shrimp carrying roe stood out in the glass case. Sea urchin from Shakotan is said to arrive in June.

The name, which sounds auspicious and friendly, comes from the surname of the president — himself a sushi chef — “Fukuya” (literally “House of Fortune”). Four craftsmen work here, and though the restaurant is now in its 15th year, the same team has been together since it opened. Their brisk, practiced movements are a pleasure to watch. For the chefs, always being watched brings a good kind of tension that keeps them sharp. For sushi here, the counter is definitely the place to sit. The lunch sets are affordable, but this is, at heart, an authentic sushi and Japanese restaurant. In the evening, it's used every which way — solo diners, banquets, families. Why not fully enjoy an omakase nigiri course alongside grilled fish, tempura, and other Japanese dishes?