InterContinental Sapporo: You Do Not Need a High Floor

Let me start with the conclusion: you do not need to pay for a high floor at this hotel.

I stayed on the twelfth floor, roughly the middle of the guest room block. Even so, the Toyohira River ran across the foreground of my window, mountains layered up behind it, and far in the distance I could make out the outline of Sapporo Dome. What makes the view here is not the altitude. It is the window.

Scroll through the booking page and you will find high-floor plans sitting a notch above the standard rate for the same Classic Room. Plenty of people hesitate over that. I had the same thought at ANA InterContinental Tokyo, a hotel under the same brand. Here, my answer is that a middle floor is enough.

What the twelfth floor actually shows you

The first thing I thought when I opened the curtains was simply that the window was large.

The Toyohira River crosses the foreground. Mountains rise behind it, and further out, past the city, Sapporo Dome sits small on the horizon. River and mountains fit inside a single pane. You can see, in one frame, what Sapporo actually is: a city on a plain, with the hills pressed up right against its edge.

I do not usually reach for a phrase like it felt good. In this case there was nothing else to say.

Why the window matters more than the floor

If you are torn between a high floor and a middle one, here is the thing worth knowing: the view at this hotel is built out of the opening, not the elevation.

Guest rooms occupy floors nine through fourteen. That is a band of six floors. The gap between the top and the bottom is two or three storeys of a building, which is not enough to transform what you can see.

The window, meanwhile, runs almost the full width of the wall, from about waist height to near the ceiling. A round table and a chair sit beside it, with a long sofa next to them, so the outside is in frame wherever you sit. You never have to stand up. You never have to lean in. That is what does the work.

High-floor plans cost more for the same dates and the same room type. I would put that difference into the lounge or into dinner.

The bathroom separates the basin, the bath and the toilet

This is worth writing down. The vanity, the bathroom and the toilet are each their own compartment.

The basin is a standalone counter with a long mirror and a swing-arm magnifying mirror. The bathroom behind glass holds both the tub and a rain-shower washing area. The toilet is a separate room behind a sliding door, with its own small hand basin.

International brands often put the tub and the toilet in one space, or separate the bathroom from the bedroom with a single sheet of glass, and neither arrangement is restful. This hotel follows Japanese practice instead. Two people can stay here and one can wash at the basin while the other is in the bath. That ought to be unremarkable. It is not.

The small things in the room

Open the minibar cabinet and you find bottles and glassware, a coffee machine and a Japanese tea set, lit from inside so the moment you open it looks composed. Hotels that bother with this usually bother elsewhere too.

Every room is at least 42 square metres, so floor area is never the complaint. The smallest room at The Westin Tokyo is exactly 42 square metres, and that is a fair way to picture the floor here.

What happens if you arrive by car

We drove in.

After a word with the staff at the entrance, we were directed to a surface car park. I had been bracing for the usual routine at a city luxury hotel, descending into a basement and handing the car to a mechanical pallet. This is neither a multi-storey nor a mechanical system. You park on flat ground. Guests pay a flat nightly rate.

For anyone in a tall SUV or a minivan, or carrying a ski rack or a roof box, this matters a great deal. Mechanical car parks turn those vehicles away on height limits. It means this hotel slots straight into a Hokkaido road trip.

In Tokyo, The Westin Tokyo runs valet parking, where you hand over the key and stop thinking about it. That was good in its own way. Sapporo works differently, and being able to park on flat ground is a different kind of reassurance.

We drove to Sapporo Dome

One reason for the trip was a concert at Sapporo Dome, now also known as Daiwa House Premist Dome.

Not many hotels let you see the venue from your room. Opening the curtains in the morning and finding the place you are going already in frame does more than you would expect.

We went by car. A surface car park also means the car is easy to take in and out, which is exactly what you want when you are moving it either side of a show.

By subway, take the Namboku Line from Nakajima-koen to Odori, change to the Toho Line and ride to Fukuzumi, then walk about ten minutes. One change, roughly thirty minutes door to door.

People booking a hotel around a Dome concert tend to narrow it to Fukuzumi or Sapporo Station. Nakajima-koen is a third option, and it changes how you spend the hours either side of the show.

We took a taxi to Susukino

We went out to Susukino in the evening. It is not an impossible walk. The hotel is at Minami 10 Nishi 1, and the heart of Susukino is around Minami 4, so it is six blocks north, a little over ten minutes on foot.

We took a taxi anyway. A distance being walkable and you actually walking it are two different questions. A Sapporo night at the end of October is not strolling weather.

Which is another way of saying the hotel sits a few minutes from the nightlife by car. The noise of the entertainment district never reaches the room, and the entertainment district is minutes away. That gap is the point of this location. Mandarin Oriental Tokyo, sitting directly above Nihonbashi, keeps an entirely different distance from its city.

The lobby on the ninth floor

The lobby is on the ninth floor. Step out of the lift and a black water basin runs away from you in a straight line, edged with white gravel. One wall is a fine lattice screen. Behind it is a small planted garden with trees, and large sculpted flowers hanging in the air above it. Fabric stools sit around like rounded boulders.

Someone will tell you it abstracts the landscape of Hokkaido, and there is nothing here but water, stone, wood and lattice. What actually works is the sequence: you ride up nine floors from the street, the doors open, and this is the quiet you step into. The noise of the city is left physically below you.

What it costs

Note: these are not the rates I paid. They are published figures and live prices from travel booking sites. They move a great deal with season, day of the week and booking channel.

The 450,000 yen figure for the top Serenity Suite comes from press coverage at the time of opening.

There is only one thing I want from this table, and it is the gap between a standard-floor Classic and a high-floor Classic. Before you add that difference, go back to the top of this article. Twelve floors up, I could see the river, the mountains and the Dome.

Access and basics

• Address: 1-1-48 Minami 10-jo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido
• Nearest station: about 4 minutes on foot from Exit 1, Nakajima-koen Station, Namboku Line
• Building: floors 9 to 14 of the Lilac Square complex
• Opened: 1 October 2025
• Rooms: 149, including 13 suites, all at least 42 sqm
• Dining: Sawaka (12-seat omakase counter), AuBlanc (all-day dining and bakery, overlooking the Toyohira River), Norva Lounge & Bar
• Ninth floor: lobby lounge with fireplace and outdoor terrace, 20-metre indoor heated pool
• Top floor: Club InterContinental Lounge
• Fitness: 24 hours

In short

• Think before you pay for a high floor. On the twelfth, the Toyohira River, the mountains and Sapporo Dome all fit in one window. The view here is made of glass, not altitude
• Basin, bathroom and toilet are separate. Two people never get in each other way
• There is a surface car park. Tall vehicles fit, and guests pay a flat nightly rate. It slots into a Hokkaido road trip
• For a Dome concert, it is a third option beyond Fukuzumi and Sapporo Station, especially if you are driving
• Every room is at least 42 sqm. Floor area is never the complaint

Next time I will book a club floor. The view was already there on a middle floor, so I would rather put that difference towards the lounge upstairs.

Frequently asked questions

How far is the nearest station?

About four minutes on foot from Exit 1 of Nakajima-koen Station on the Namboku subway line.

Should I book a high floor?

Guest rooms span floors 9 to 14, so the difference between top and bottom is two or three storeys. I stayed around the twelfth and could see the Toyohira River, the mountains and Sapporo Dome in the distance. I would spend that difference on food or the lounge.

How is the bathroom arranged?

The vanity, the bathroom and the toilet are separate compartments. The bathroom is behind glass and contains both the tub and a rain-shower washing area. The toilet is a separate room behind a sliding door with its own hand basin.

Is there parking?

Yes. You speak with staff at the entrance and then park in a surface car park rather than a mechanical or multi-storey system. Guests pay a flat nightly rate, and tall vehicles fit.

Is it convenient for a concert at Sapporo Dome?

Yes. We drove both ways. By subway, take the Namboku Line from Nakajima-koen to Odori, change to the Toho Line for Fukuzumi, then walk about ten minutes: one change, around thirty minutes. Seeing the venue from your room is particular to this hotel.

Can I walk to Susukino?

It is a little over ten minutes on foot. We took a taxi. At the end of October, whether a distance is walkable and whether you walk it are separate questions.

How large are the rooms?

All rooms are at least 42 square metres. Of the 149 rooms, 13 are suites.

What does a night cost?

Roughly 60,000 to 90,000 yen per room for a Classic, and 140,000 to 180,000 yen for a Premium with club lounge access. The top Serenity Suite, about 160 sqm, has been reported at 450,000 yen. All of it moves with season and booking channel.

Related reading

• You Can See Tokyo Tower From the Pool: ANA InterContinental Tokyo
• Mandarin Oriental Tokyo: on the 38th floor, the air changes
• Drive to The Westin Tokyo: the valet parking is the point
• The Westin Tokyo: the smallest room in the house is 42 sqm

Sources

• Opening date and top suite rate: Hokkaido Shimbun, 1 October 2025
• Floors, room count, room size, dining, pool and lounge: Travel Watch and IHG announcements
• Sapporo Dome naming rights (Daiwa House Premist Dome): naming rights announcement, 19 July 2024
• Rate guidance: live prices on travel booking sites, as of October 2026