Hokkaido Ice Cream: 10 Unique Flavors Tasted & Rated

Hokkaido is Japan’s milk kingdom. If you visit here, you can’t skip ice creams.

You’ll find it everywhere from roadside stations, mountain lookouts, museums, and of course convenience stores.

Growing up in Hokkaido, I’ve had more ice creams than I can count, so I like to think I can make good judgements when I taste them. And trust me, Hokkaido takes ice creams seriously.

So here, I’m sharing my honest reviews of 7 unique soft serves you can only find here, from camembert cheese to watermelon, and even onsen egg (yes, really). Plus 3 that didn’t quite live up to the hype.

Whether you’re planning your first Hokkaido trip or just love weird ice cream, here’s what to try!

1. Onsen Egg Soft Serve, Mount Io

• My Rating: 7/10
• Price: ¥450
• Where: Mount Io Rest House MOKMOK Base

Mount Io is a living volcano near Lake Kussharo in Eastern Hokkaido, where you can see the steaming vents really up close.

When I first saw “onsen egg soft serve” on the menu, I wasn’t sure if it would actually taste good. An egg on ice cream!? That sounded a bit weird… but it was better than expected.

They say once you mix in the soft-boiled onsen egg, it tastes like custard pudding. To me it didn’t taste like it too much, but close enough! The caramel sauce on top tied it nicely all together.

I liked the setting a lot though. The rest house is stylish and cozy, with a big window looking straight out to the steaming volcano.

And if you’re here, the onsen eggs themselves are a must-try. They have a light sulfur scent and a flavor unique to Mount Io. Something you won’t find anywhere else!

There are also many other fun nature spots to see around Lake Kussharo.

2. Drift Ice Soft Serve, Abashiri

• My Rating: 9/10
• Price: ¥400
• Where: Okhotsk Ryuhyo (drift ice) Museum

Abashiri is a coastal city in Eastern Hokkaido, known for winter drift ice (ryuhyo). Every year from February to March, massive sheets of ice from Siberia drift down and cover the coast here.

You can experience it with drift ice cruises and a museum, where you can also have this drift ice–themed soft serve!

I’ll be honest, the blue salt on top didn’t look super appealing to me at first. But this was a hit!

It’s a caramel ice cream that is super creamy, smooth, and so flavorful. It’s made by Rimo, Abashiri’s famous gelato shop that locals love.

And the Okhotsk sea salt adds just the right punch to bring out the sweetness.

I enjoyed mine at the rooftop observatory with a view. My husband took a bite of mine and instantly ran off to buy his own… that’s how good it was!

And the museum is pretty fun too. It’s small but unique. You can see real clione (tiny sea angels) that live under drift ice, learn about drift ice, and even touch the ice in a –15°C cold room! A perfect addition to a summer trip in Abashiri.

3. Camembert Cheese Soft Serve, Niseko

• My Rating: 10/10
• Price: ¥350
• Where: Niseko Cheese Factory

Niseko is a world-famous ski resort, but in summer it’s a quiet rural town with lots of local charms.

I found this family-run cheese factory during my summer trip, and just fell in love with their Camembert cheese soft serve…

I couldn’t imagine how it would taste, but it blew me away! The rich camembert flavor and the sweetness of the ice cream matched so well.

The flavor is cheesy enough to stand out but not overwhelming. I could have easily gone for one more cone! Highly recommended for any cheese lovers.

It’s available from late April to early October only.

4. Watermelon Soft Serve, Toma

• My Rating: 7/10
• Price: ¥450
• Where: Roadside Station Toma (Michi-no-Eki Toma)

Toma is a small town neat Asahikawa in North Hokkaido, famous for its premium Densuke watermelon. These huge melons are so sweet that locals often buy as gifts.

At the town’s roadside station, you can try watermelon soft serve.

I expected something like a watermelon sorbet, but this was a proper creamy soft serve with a clear watermelon flavor. The mix of watermelon and vanilla was new to me, and surprisingly, it was good!

The roadside station also has lots of local vegetables and souvenirs. It was a great spot for a quick stop on the way to Sounkyo from Asahikawa.

5. White Bean Soft Serve, Onneyu

• My Rating: 8/10
• Price: ¥350
• Where: Roadside Station Onneyu (Michi-no-Eki Onneyu)

Onneyu is a small hot spring town near my hometown Kitami. They grow a premium white kidney bean, called shirohana mame (白花豆) in Japanese.

I have this white bean soft serve every time I visit Onneyu. The flavor is smooth with no bean’s grainy texture, but you can definitely taste the natural sweetness of the beans. It’s a unique local flavor you won’t find anywhere else in Hokkaido!

The roadside station itself is one of my favorites for a quick half-day trip from Kitami. It has a giant wooden cuckoo clock, a small aquarium, a wooden toy play area, and a souvenir shop. Perfect if you’re traveling with kids!

6. Creamy Soft Serve, Seicomart

• My Rating: 7/10
• Price: ¥258
• Where: Seicomart convenience stores across Hokkaido

Seicomart is Hokkaido’s very own convenience store chain, and it’s beloved by locals for its affordable food and unique products you won’t find at 7-Eleven or Lawson. One of their most popular items is this Creamy Soft Serve.

At first glance, it looks like a regular soft serve. But one bite, and the milkiness is so rich it almost tastes like butter or heavy cream. Don’t worry though — it’s not too heavy, and the aftertaste is surprisingly refreshing. The waffle cone adds the perfect crunch.

It’s not the same as farm-fresh soft serve, but for something you can grab at a convenience store for under 300 yen, the quality is impressive!

7. Azuki Ice Cream, Seicomart

• My Rating: 9/10
• Price: I don’t remember but I’m use it’s less than ¥200
• Where: Seicomart convenience stores across Hokkaido

The creamy soft is nice, but I like this azuki (red bean) ice cream way better. This is by far my favorite at Seicomart.

Instead of being just a frozen azuki bean bar (like the simple sorbet-style ones we often see at conbini), Seicomart makes a creamy ice cream with Hokkaido milk.

It’s rich and sweet with a lot of soft chunks of locally-grown azuki beans inside. The beans add nice texture and balance the sweetness of the ice cream perfectly.

If you love anko (red bean paste), you’ll love this!

My Honest Talk: 3 That Didn’t Impress Me

Not every soft serve I tried was amazing… To keep things real, here are three that didn’t quite live up to the hype for me:

• Melon Soft Serve, Roadside Station Yubari — 5/10 Just tasted like any other melon-flavored snack… Nothing special.
• Shiroi Koibito Soft Serve, Mombetsu Airport — 5/10 Branded as Shiroi Koibito, but honestly it was just regular vanilla & chocolate soft serve.
• “Ushi no Tsuno (cow’s horn)” Soft Serve, Jersey Brown, New Chitose Airport — 4/10 Served in soft bread instead of a cone, which made it hard to eat. The azuki topping was nice, but the ice cream itself was pretty ordinary.

Your Next Steps

Ice cream in Hokkaido is more than a treat. It’s a little taste of what each region represents. I hope you get to taste as many of them as possible on your trip!

If you’re starting to plan your own Hokkaido trip, I have lots of resources for you.

• Things to do in summer? I have a list of my favorite activities.
• Want to discover where to go? Start with my itineraries here.
• Want to know more local food? Here my recommendations.
• Need my expert help to plan your trip? Book my trip planning service.

Happy trip planning!