Higher prices for food during New Year?

I will be going to Sapporo in late December. I understand from the information on this website that there are some shops/restaurenats which are open even on New Year. Do they usually charge a higer price so as to make a bigger profit during public holidays? If so, what is the average price increase to expect? Please advise.

Thank you!

Basiclly, no.
Maybe some high-class restaurenats will serve only special course.
But I can't think they do without notice.
BTW, if you concretely point some restaurenats, I think I can ask them by mail.

I do not have any specific restaurants to go. It is more likely a case of which restaurants happen to be nearby when I am hungry. Heh heh. I hope resturants don't omit their usual menu & serve up 'mecha takai' New Year set because I am not rich!

In my opinion, Sapporo is the city of Ramen and Soup curry. According to this site, many Ramen shops are open through the end of the year/new year.

http://sapporobowler.blog101.fc2.com/blog-entry-325.html

On the contrary, many Soup curry shops are closed in these days.

http://spice-beach.jp/news/?p=19

I think fast food shops in the central region such as around JR Sapporo station should be open. As for the "special new year price" you do not need to worry about these inexpensive places.

Hey thanks guys! You have been very helpful. Now I can travel to Sapporo in peace. I asked that question because in the country where I am from, people take the opportunity to charge higher prices for food since many stores are closed. My country is a materialistic country. -.-

Julie,

Japan is also materialistic country :-). Actually, Sapporo is not touristic place in winter (except for the snow festival week in Feb.), so even though many restaurants are closed in 31th Dec and 1st Jan, there are not so many needs for food in town. Most of the people in Sapporo stay at home.

The customer of the ramen shops are usually local people in Sapporo, that means they are "regular customer" so the shops can not change their price.

In Japan, fancy restaurants tend to serve "Christmas special dinner" for couples. It is somewhat expensive, but nevertheless couples seem to want to reserve it :-).

Julie,

You say "late December" but I hope you are aware that there is a huge difference between Dec 24th, Dec 31st and the first few days of January.

On Dec 24th, the majority of restaurants serving European cuisine (which is very common in Japan) only serves a set Christmas course which is expensive and usually not really tasty. Reservations tend to get full early as well. Look for less romantic places.

The 31st is a holiday for schools and offices but people are very busy getting ready for New Years. It's a tradition to eat soba noodles, so most soba restaurants are already full with reservations. Other restaurants may either be opened til late for the drunk people or close earlier than usual.

Once the year is over, people traditionally are supposed to stay at home in peace during the first three days of January. So many small restaurants will be closed. But most chain restaurants are opened. The prices in January are not especially high, but keep in mind that the wholesalers are closed for the holidays, so you can't expect the ingredients to be as fresh as usual.

But I've traveled to Sapporo before on the first week of January. I had plenty of alternatives to eat out at, and the food was gorgeous enough.

In fact, unlike places like Otaru, Sapporo is indeed quite a touristical city. You can have lots of fun any time in the year.

Bon Appetite!

Hey Uco san,

Thanks so much for your details. I will be reaching Sapporo on the 28th, so I don't care about Christmas set breakfast/ dinner/lunch/supper. :p I hope I can find places to eat, especially from 30th onwards.

Since most soba restaurants will be full, I guess I will eat udon. The noodles are still long, so it should symbolize longevity. Heh heh...