IHG Hotels & Resorts operates 19 hotel brands with more than 6,300 hotels in over 100 countries. In Japan, IHG Hotels & Resorts currently operates about 47 hotels under seven brands from Hokkaido to Okinawa (as of March 2024). For this interview, we asked Takanori Maeda, general manager of ANA Holiday Inn Sapporo Susukino, about the attractions of the Sapporo area.
Name: ANA Holiday Inn Sapporo Susukino
Location: 3-7, Minami 5-jo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
–How did you come to work at ANA Holiday Inn Sapporo Susukino?
I started my career at the ANA Sapporo Hotel (now ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel Sapporo), and after the Great East Japan Earthquake, I was appointed as the General Manager of ANA Holiday Inn Sendai, and then as the General Manager of ANA Holiday Inn Sapporo Susukino from 2018. I am originally from Sapporo, so I guess you could say I am back.
–What kind of hotel is it?
This April marks the 10th anniversary since its rebranding on April 21, 2014, and ANA Holiday Inn Sapporo Susukino has been well received by customers for its location in the center of Susukino, a busy shopping district with a variety of restaurants and bars. We welcome our customers every day, aiming to be a comfortable place.
–What is the unique experience of ANA Holiday Inn Sapporo Susukino?
As a Hokkaido hotel, you can enjoy the flavors of Hokkaido at breakfast. The daily specialties include “Sapporo Miso Ramen”, “Hakodate Shio Ramen”, and “Asahikawa Shoyu Ramen”, which are the three major ramen of Hokkaido, “Stewed Jingisukan”, “Obihiro Pork Bowl”, “Kaisen Barazushi”, which is a specialty of the northern sea, and “Soup Curry”, a specialty of Sapporo.
–please let me know if you have any personal favorites tourist spots or restaurants in the vicinity of the hotel.
I personally love baseball and recommend ESCON Field in Kitahiroshima, the new home of the Nippon Ham Fighters professional baseball team, which opened in 2023. In addition to baseball, the facility has a wide variety of restaurants, hot springs, and saunas, and is fully enjoyable even in the off-season. Last year, it was so popular that it was included in the itinerary of many groups staying at our hotel.
In addition, Sapporo City is also undergoing active urban development in anticipation of the opening of the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line between Shin-Hakodate (tentative name) and Sapporo in 2030, and the InterContinental Sapporo, a member of the IHG Hotels & Resorts group, is scheduled to open in 2025, making it an even more popular area. In the vicinity of our hotel, “cocono SUSUKINO” opened this year adjacent to the Susukino intersection. It is a shopping complex that includes restaurants, a movie theater, and an amusement facility with a darts bar and a casino bar.
–What restaurant menu do you recommend?
The lunch buffet is highly recommended. The live kitchen menu, which changes daily, is highly recommended, offering a variety of Japanese and Western delicacies such as “Eel Hitsumabushi”, “Hokkaido Beef Steak”, “Kaisen Don”, “Salmon Sushi”, and “Kaisen Ankake Fried Noodles”. In addition, a total of 67 dishes using a variety of Hokkaido ingredients are available for an all-you-can-eat 90-minute buffet.
–What souvenirs do you recommend?
Shiroi Koibito” is the best choice. Since the Corona disaster, this is one of Hokkaido’s most popular sweets that customers from outside of Hokkaido and overseas are sure to purchase. I am sure there are many people who do not know about it. I also go on business trips several times a year, and when I bring it as a souvenir to the places I visit, it is usually well received. It is a standard item among the standard items.
© Source travel watch
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