Travel Guide
Shiroi Koibito Park (White Lovers Park) is a theme park by Ishiya, a local chocolate company. The company's flagship product is the Shiroi Koibito cookie, two thin butter cookies with white chocolate in between, a mandatory item on the souvenir shopping list of most visitors to Hokkaido.
The park consists of various Disneyland style buildings housing shops, a cafe to allow visitors to savor Ishiya’s original sweets, various chocolate related exhibits and, most interestingly, a chocolate factory, a few large windows through which visitors can observe the cookie production process in the factory. The park also offers a range of hands-on programs for visitors to make their own Shiroi Koibito cookies. The things visitors see, taste and experience here will make for truly “sweet” memories! Another part of the Shiroi Koibito Park is a soccer field that serves as the practice ground for Consadole Sapporo, the local J-League soccer team.
Chocolate (or cocoa) is produced since thousands of years. It has been used in religious events, as a currency and even a medicine. Early cultures in South America called it the food of god. While considerably shorter, chocolate has a history in Japan too. The Shiroi Koibito Park is the place where you can learn more about the history of chocolate, make your own cookies and take a look at the Ishiya factory.
Shiroi Koibito Park is not only about chocolate. Visitors can see an extensive collection of old record players. Even in the age of phonographs/gramophones and long before the members of Spinal Tap were born, some photographs went to 11 – at least in their speaker designs. Some of those speakers were huge. Part of the nostalgia collections were old toys and records from the Meiji to Showa era (1868-1989). This is a well-sorted collection and of course included Doraemon, Hello Kitty and Ultraman. In the history part were memorabilia from Marilyn Monroe, John F. Kennedy and Elvis Presley.
Shiroi Koibito Park is a great place for sweets lovers and families. It’s not large enough to warrant a day trip, but can make for a very pleasant afternoon, especially if you visit at tea time!
Travel Advice
Sightseeing
- Not only the most popular souvenir Shiroi Koibito cookies, baumkuchen and original candy are also the must buy souvenir which are the recommendation of the park.
- The must eat in the park is shiroi koibito flavored soft serve ice cream. This is made with white Shiroi Koibito chocolate. The added unpasteurized milk produces a light, refreshing taste.
- The practice field of Japanese professional soccer team Consadole Sapporo is right in front of Consadole Sapporo Exhibition House. You can see players practicing if you are lucky.
Story about Shiroi Koibito
- The mountain on the Shiroi Koibito cookie box is Mt. Rishiri, one of the most beautiful mountains in Hokkaido? When the then-president of Ishiya visited Rishiri Island, he was impressed by the massive Mt. Rishiri, which looked to him like a Swiss mountain. At the time, he was planning to make European-style cookies, so he decided to put a drawing of Mt. Rishiri on the box
- The origin of the name “Shiroi Koibito” is romantic. 1976, Ishiya Seika Co., was struggling to think about the name for their new product, two thin butter cookies with white chocolate in between. At a snowy night, when Yukiyasu Ishimizu, the founder and the president of Ishiya Seika, finished his exercise at park and on the way home, unconsciously said “white lovers are coming down from the sky”. Inspired by the word “white lovers”, the new product was named after.
- It is also called Chocolat Blanc et Langue de Chat as the package is written with this wording. This means White Chocolate and filbert in French.
Hands-on experience
Visitors can make their own shiroi koibito cookies or to make cookie using bake mold in the hadns-on programs which are held at Cookiecraft Studio. Duration 30 minutes+, fee 1,050 yen+.
Please make advance reservation at 011-666-1481.
Visit
Address | 2-2-11-36 Miyanosawa Nishi-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido | |
Phone | 011-666-1481 | |
Admission | Shiroi Koibito Park Free Factory tour of Shiroi Koibito Adult: 600 yen (Groups 500 yen) Student: 200 yen (Groups 150 yen) |
Adult: over 15 Students ages 4 to 15 Groups: over 20 |
Hours | 09:00 to 18:00 Factory tour of shiroi koibito 09:00 to 19:00 Shop 09:00 to 19:00 Candy Labo 09:00 to 17:00 Consadole Sapporo Exhibition House 10:00 to 18:00 Restaurant |
Entry until 1 hour before closing |
Closed | Open 7 Days a Week | |
Duration | 30 minutes | |
Getting There | By Train 7 minute walk from Miyanozawa Station on subway. By Car Take Sasson Expressway to the Sapporo-nishi exit. It is approximately 1 minute from exit. |
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Parking | Paid parking available |