Partying in Hokkaido?

[Tempura Baby]

Anyone here in Hokkaido? Where are the best nightspots? Any big, big clubs?
Thanks!!!

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

Hokkaido's a pretty big place.
You might want to try to onsen at Otaru....I hear they luuuuuuuuurve foreign visitors.
But Susukino in Sapporo is also fun to play in...

[Coligny]

Hokkaido's a pretty big place.
You might want to try to onsen at Otaru....I hear they luuuuuuuuurve foreign visitors.
But Susukino in Sapporo is also fun to play in...

Avoid the bears, the snakes, the wolves, the countryside locals (if you hear banjos, don't even run, it already too late). After that, avoid the volcano, sulfur lakes...

My definition of having fun the few days I spend there was to find a combini and stay alive until I reached it. Also if you start searching for a McDo, fill up your gas tank first as you really don't want to run out of fuel... there...

[Tempura Baby]

Hokkaido's a pretty big place.
You might want to try to onsen at Otaru....I hear they luuuuuuuuurve foreign visitors.
But Susukino in Sapporo is also fun to play in...

Ok, thanks, I will go check out the onsen at Otaru. Looking forward to making many new friends there. So is the disco upstairs? Or in another building, or...?

[Ikemen-of-d00m]

Although Hokkaido is awesome, there is really just one city where you can party: Sapporo. Young people in Hokkaido actually make their friends(who don't drink) drive them to Sapporo just to party, even if it's a 1-2 hour drive. That's how dead the party life is outside Sapporo.

If you live close enough to Sapporo, I'll give you a few suggestions.

Warm up/vorspiel:
There is a gaijin bar called TK6, located at the very end of Tanuki Koji, close to Susukino. The size of the bar is pretty decent, and two floors are always available on the busiest days. And even if it's a gaijin bar, the people who go there are usually pretty normal, meaning that Charisma Men and crazy gaijin hunters are quite rare. The last time I was there, the staff consisted of 1-2 Australians and 4-5 Japanese. They are all really nice people.

If I were to guess, I'd say the people who come to TK6 are 80% Japanese. It's slightly lower on weekends, but never(or extremely seldom) below 60%.

If you like sports, there are also several big screens that show the most important sport events. The age range is also pretty random. Sometimes you'll find 18 year old "rebels" with fake ID, other times you'll find old drinking veterans. On weekends, I'd guess the average age is around 28, but it's definitely higher on weekdays.

There are of course other places where you can start the party, but they are usually pretty bad, or lack people. Of the places I've visited, TK6 is by far the best.



Clubbing:
I think there are about 3 clubs in Sapporo that are worth mentioning. I have only visited 2 of them, so I can only introduce them. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the last one.

A-Life:
This is the most "famous" club in Sapporo, and probably the best. The music is good and the dance floor is lively, with a reasonable size. The only bad thing about this club, is the size in general. It's by no means a small club, but I prefer really big clubs, like WOMB and ageHa(Tokyo clubs). But even though A-Life lacks the size of the biggest Tokyo clubs, the atmosphere is really, really good! Since it's a mainstream club, the people who attend are usually normal people, and not "club rats" who ONLY want to dance. I'd say it's about 90-95% Japanese people, even on weekends.

The cover-charge is usually around 3000-3500 yen, but it's definitely worth it if you compare the club to


Booty:
Yes, that is actually the name of the club. They basically let everyone in, and there is not even a cover-charge, even on weekends(at least not when I went). They will only charge you 100 yen, if you want them to watch your coat/jacket. That's right, they don't even have coin lockers.

The music is pretty lame, the dance floor is small and boring, and the atmosphere is pretty much what you'd except from a cheap place called Booty. There are a lot of foreigners there, most of them hunting for Japanese girls. I'd say almost 50% of the people who come, are foreigners.

The only good thing about the club, is the chillout zone in the second floor. There are many comfortable couches, which makes it an ideal place to talk with people.

No matter what club you choose, go on Fridays or Saturdays. A-Life is pretty much dead on weekdays, unless there is a really big event, and Booty is usually only open 3 days a week.