Hokkaido Winter Trip: Shoes & Packing List [2026] – 2,060 Sapporo Fall Transports and a Pre-Departure Checklist

According to the Sapporo City Fire Bureau, 2,060 people were taken to hospital by ambulance after falling on their own on snowy roads in Sapporo during the 2025-26 winter (November to March).

Of these, 868 were in December alone (Sapporo City Fire Bureau, FY2025 "Falls on Snowy Roads" ambulance transport summary, preliminary figures, checked 2026-10-05). Visitors from regions without snow often start walking without knowing how slippery winter streets are, so the shoes you choose make a real difference.

The short answer first. Ordinary sneakers slip on sidewalks covered in snow or ice. For a trip of a few days, adding one removable traction attachment to the shoes you already own is the cheapest and lightest option.

If you will be walking a lot, buying winter shoes after you arrive is another option. This article follows the questions people search for most, from shoes and traction attachments to a packing checklist and what to add if you travel by car.

How slippery are winter roads in Hokkaido? In Sapporo, 2,060 people were taken to hospital after falling in a single winter

Every fiscal year, the Sapporo City Fire Bureau publishes a monthly breakdown of ambulance transports caused by people falling on snowy roads.

For FY2025, the monthly figures were 43 in November, 868 in December, 472 in January, 599 in February, and 78 in March, for a total of 2,060 (FY2025 transport summary, preliminary figures as of March 31, 2026, checked 2026-10-05).

Month	People transported (FY2025)
November	43
December	868
January	472
February	599
March	78
Total	2,060

By location, roads (including crosswalks, intersections, sidewalks, and pedestrian bridges) accounted for 1,641 people, or 79.7% of the total. Of these, 63.2% were minor injuries, 35.2% were moderate, and 1.6% were serious, with 0 deaths (same transport summary, checked 2026-10-05).

In other words, most falls happen on ordinary sidewalks that tourists also walk on, and even when an injury is not serious enough to stop you walking, it can still wreck your travel plans.

The numbers vary from year to year. FY2024 had 1,869 and FY2023 had 1,887 (Sapporo City Fire Bureau transport summaries for FY2024 and FY2023, checked 2026-10-05). Whichever year you look at, the cases cluster from December to February.

Are ordinary sneakers okay? Even a short walk around town leaves reason to worry

The Winter Life Promotion Council, which publishes winter walking advice on its site “Tips to Avoid Falling” (Korobanai Kotsu Oshiemasu), says: “Sneakers and leather-soled shoes are not suitable for snowy roads.” Unstable high heels are also described as dangerous (the council, how to choose winter shoes, checked 2026-10-05).

Even on a day when you just take the train from the airport and walk a short way in front of Sapporo Station, a packed-down sidewalk can be as slippery as ice. If you go in sneakers, be sure to add the traction attachment described in the next section.

What makes it hard for visitors is that icy spots are difficult to spot by eye.

The council explains that a thin film of ice formed from frozen rain makes the road surface look blackish, which is why it is called “black ice” (the council, when is it slippery?, checked 2026-10-05). Do not walk on a road that merely looks wet at the same speed as on a dry road.

What kind of shoes can you walk in? Three conditions for winter shoes and four types of slip-resistant soles

The Sapporo City Fire Bureau leaflet lists three conditions for shoes suited to snowy roads: slip resistance (the sole does not slip easily), waterproofing (water does not soak in), and warmth (the inside stays warm) (Sapporo City Fire Bureau, leaflet on preventing falls on snowy roads, checked 2026-10-05).

The Winter Life Promotion Council also calls shoes that meet the same three conditions “winter shoes” and says they are sold at shoe shops and similar stores in Hokkaido (the council, checked 2026-10-05).

Soles are explained in four types. Each is good on different surfaces and has different cautions, so here they are in a table.

Sole type	Features	Cautions
Pins or metal studs	Sharp metal tips dig into hard ice	Catch on carpet. Slippery on tiled floors in underground malls and inside buildings
Deep-groove sole	Deep, jagged grooves grip the surface	Slips when the grooves pack with snow. A stiff sole like that of trekking shoes can slip on slick surfaces even with deep grooves
Soft rubber sole	Sticks closely to the surface and resists slipping	The council says it is effective on a variety of surfaces
Rubber sole with anti-slip material	The mixed-in material scratches the surface like a file	The council says it is effective on a variety of surfaces

The same page says, “There is no non-slip shoe that works on every surface,” and recommends that when buying, you tell the store staff about the surfaces you will walk on and ask for advice (same page, checked 2026-10-05).

The council summarizes it this way: soles with pins or metal studs or deep grooves suit slick surfaces, while rubber soles can be used on a wide range of surfaces.

You are only travelling for a few days: buy winter shoes, or add traction to the shoes you have?

In its guidance for travellers, the council writes that for people who do not live in snow country, what worries them most when travelling in Hokkaido in winter is “preparing their feet.”

You can buy winter shoes as soon as you arrive in Hokkaido, but for a trip of a few days the council recommends a removable “shoe attachment” that fits onto your own shoes (the council, shoe attachments, checked 2026-10-05).

Most attachments fasten to the sole with rubber bands or hook-and-loop straps, and you can carry them in a bag. There are two kinds: the “toe type,” which covers only the toe, and the “full-sole type,” which covers the whole sole.

Item	Toe type	Full-sole type
Area covered	Toe section	Entire sole
Suited to	Shoes with a narrow heel, such as women’s shoes	Sneakers and men’s shoes with a wide, flat sole

Both kinds come with or without metal pins. Walking indoors with pinned attachments on is actually slippery, so you need to take them off before going inside. When you walk through hotel lobbies, station floors, and shopping facilities, choose with the knowledge that you will have to remove them each time.

As a guide when choosing, the council lists five points: easy to put on and take off, easy to store, easy to carry, comfortable to wear, and durable (same page, checked 2026-10-05).

On the other hand, winter shoes bought locally are an option if your trip has many days of long walks in snow. Winter shoes give peace of mind on snowy roads, but they add to your luggage. If your itinerary centers on walking around Sapporo and onsen, an attachment is often enough; if you will walk across snowfields or on mountain trails, winter shoes or winter boots are worth considering.

Where can you buy traction attachments? Can you rent them? There was a rental at the 2026 Sapporo Snow Festival

At the Sapporo Snow Festival in February 2026, the Winter Life Promotion Council set up “Non-Slip Experience! Snow Festival” at the J:COM Plaza (Block 1) in the Odori site and rented out attachments that go on the soles of shoes.

It ran on Saturday, February 7 and Sunday, February 8, from 10:00 to 16:00. The stated purpose was to prevent falls among people who come from regions without snow (Hokkaido Development Engineering Center, press release for Winter Life Campaign 2026, checked 2026-10-05).

We have not been able to confirm any announcement on whether the same rental will be offered at the 2027 Snow Festival. If you are going, check the latest notices on the council’s site “Tips to Avoid Falling“. Snow Festival dates and parking conditions at the venues are collected in our date calendar of 14 winter events.

For buying, the council writes, “Large stores sell attachments in a variety of shapes” (the council, shoe attachments, checked 2026-10-05).

As far as we could confirm, we did not find any counter that rents them year-round. If you set out counting on renting, you may be disappointed, so it is safer to decide beforehand whether to bring them or buy them after you arrive.

Even if you already own winter shoes, whether to add pinned attachments depends on where you are going. If you will spend many days going back and forth through Sapporo’s underground malls, pinless attachments are easier to handle.

When and on what kind of days is it slippery? Take special care in December and on mornings after temperatures swing up and down

The Winter Life Promotion Council explains that in Sapporo, across the whole winter, December tends to have the most people injured in falls.

It gives two reasons: many days have temperatures around 0°C, which makes it hard to judge whether the ground is frozen, and it is early winter, so residents are not yet used to icy roads (the council, when is it slippery?, checked 2026-10-05). This also fits the FY2025 December figure of 868.

Days named as ones when more people fall are days when the temperature rose above zero where there is plenty of snow cover and then dropped below zero, and days in midwinter when it rained and then the temperature dropped below zero (same page, checked 2026-10-05).

If the weather forecast says “temperatures rising” or “rain,” shorten your stride the next morning more than usual.

According to Sapporo City, there are three points on how to walk: take small steps, keep your weight forward and put the whole sole of your shoe on the surface, and walk without rushing, leaving yourself time.

Putting the whole sole down is like a shuffle (“suriashi”), but dragging your feet completely can make you trip, so lift your feet slightly (Sapporo City Fire Bureau, page on falls on snowy roads, checked 2026-10-05).

The same page says that from about 7:00 a.m. to noon, many people are out commuting to work and school, and ambulance transports for falls tend to be higher as well. Sapporo also has the “Tsurutsuru Forecast,” which predicts in three levels how slippery the sidewalks will be from 7:00 to 10:00 the next morning, and you can check it the night before.

Rethink how you use your hands too. The council warns that if both hands are full with luggage you cannot protect yourself by reflex, that walking with your hands in your pockets leads to injuries, and that rushing makes you more likely to fall (the council, who falls easily, checked 2026-10-05).

For travellers, the preparation is a backpack you can carry on your back and gloves to keep your hands warm.

For clothing, see the monthly temperature articles. Around footwear, settle on socks and gloves

What you wear depends on the month you travel.

The Japan Meteorological Agency’s normals (a typical-year guide, not a forecast for the day) give Sapporo an average daily high of 2.0°C and low of -4.0°C in December, and a high of -0.4°C and low of -6.4°C in January (Japan Meteorological Agency 1991-2020 normals, verified data, checked 2026-09-24; Japan Meteorological Agency, monthly normals for Sapporo).

For ten-day temperatures and clothing by region, we leave it to temperatures and clothing in November and November-to-February temperatures and gear for overnight parking. In this article, we only settle the footwear side first.

Two or more pairs of thick socks, and two kinds of gloves, a thin pair that makes it easy to hold luggage and a warm pair, give you a replacement when things get wet. The council also writes that if you neglect to keep warm, your body stiffens from the cold and moves more slowly (the council, checked 2026-10-05).

Packing checklist for a Hokkaido winter trip: shoes, footwear accessories, and carry-on items

We have gathered everything above in the order you need to prepare it. The big clothing items are decided by the monthly articles; here we list footwear and the small items travellers tend to forget.

Category	Item	What to look for
Shoes	Winter shoes, or waterproof shoes with a slip-resistant sole	The three conditions: slip resistance, waterproofing, and warmth (Sapporo City Fire Bureau leaflet)
Footwear accessories	Shoe attachment (toe type or full-sole type)	Match the shape of the sole of your own shoes. Take pinned ones off indoors
Footwear accessories	Two or more pairs of thick socks	Spares for when they get wet
Hands	Two kinds of gloves, a backpack you can carry on your back	Walk with both hands free
Small items	A storage bag for the attachments	To put them in when you take them off indoors
Information	Sapporo’s Tsurutsuru Forecast	Check the next morning’s road conditions the night before

• I chose shoes by checking the three conditions: slip resistance, waterproofing, and warmth
• I have a shoe attachment (if pinned, I have decided to take it off indoors)
• I packed two or more pairs of thick socks
• I have gloves and a backpack that leaves both hands free
• I checked clothing in the temperature article for the month I am travelling
• I scheduled a check of Sapporo’s “Tsurutsuru Forecast” the night before departure
• If I am going to the Snow Festival, I checked the council’s rental announcement

If you travel by car, what else should you add besides shoes? Go to the driving and overnight-parking articles

Even on a trip by rental car or campervan, the story about shoes does not change. The walk from the parking lot to a shop or an observation deck is on the same icy surface as the sidewalk.

In the Sapporo City Fire Bureau’s FY2025 statistics, 35 people also fell in parking lots (excluding residential premises) (FY2025 transport summary, checked 2026-10-05).

What people who travel by car add to their packing is covered in the driving and overnight-parking articles. For how to drive on snow and keeping warm, see the complete guide to winter campervan driving in Hokkaido; for worries about snowy roads, ice, and heating, see easing your worries before a winter campervan trip in Hokkaido; and for the cold at night, see what to check to sleep warm while overnight parking in winter.

For when to change tires, see when to switch to studless tires, and for roads you cannot use in winter, see winter road closures and detour routes. If your departure is close to November, also look at Hokkaido’s first-snow normals, which collects when the first snow falls, and you can decide when to switch to winter footwear.

Pages to read next

• Hokkaido in November: temperatures and clothing
• Hokkaido winter temperatures: November-to-February lows and gear for overnight parking
• Complete guide to winter campervan driving in Hokkaido
• Overnight parking in winter: what to check to sleep warm
• Date calendar of 14 winter events in Hokkaido

Featured photo: daita saru, “Sidewalk Snow, Susukino, Sapporo – Jan 23, 2014” (CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons)