Hokkaido grilled lamb at a dome-shaped grill (the namesake helmet shape), served with raw vegetables and a soy-and-fruit dipping sauce, eaten Sapporo-style by dipping after grilling.
Jingisukan came to Hokkaido in the 1930s as the Japanese government tried to encourage wool production by promoting lamb-eating. By the 1950s, Sapporo Brewery was serving the dish at its company picnics. Daruma opened in 1954 with the Sapporo atozuke (dip-after-grill) style; Matsuo Jingisukan, founded 1956 in Takikawa, runs the marinade-first style. The Sapporo Beer Garden opened to the public 1976, marrying jingisukan with the brewery's draft as the city's defining group meal. The two styles still split Sapporo: Daruma's plain-cut atozuke versus Matsuo's pre-marinated aizome.
4 editor picks for Jingisukan (Genghis Khan Lamb) in Sapporo, ranked by editorial score. All Sapporo signature dishes · Jingisukan (Genghis Khan Lamb) across every city.
Jingisukan Daruma Honten ★ 4.5
susukino · Chuo-ku, Sapporo 064-0805, Japan
The Susukino jingisukan room since 1954, with dome grills at every seat and a one-cut lamb menu. Atozuke-style dipping sets Daruma apart in the city.
Sapporo Beer Garden ★ 4.4
higashi-ku · Higashi-ku, Sapporo 065-0007, Japan
The brewery's flagship hall and Genghis Khan grill in an 1890 brick brewing house. Five halls, dome-grills and Sapporo draft from the source.
Jingisukan Daruma 4-4 Ten ★ 4.3
susukino · Chuo-ku, Sapporo 064-0804, Japan
Daruma's 2009 spillover branch behind COCONO Susukino, one minute from Susukino subway. Same single-cut lamb, same dome grills, slightly fewer queues.
Matsuo Jingisukan Kita 19-jo Higashi ★ 4.3
higashi-ku · Higashi-ku, Sapporo 065-0019, Japan
The Matsuo chain's flagship east-side branch in Sapporo, 10 minutes from Higashi-Kuyakushomae. Marinated lamb is the house style, opposite Daruma's atozuke.