It's quite a surprise to see a working chocolate factory in an airport, and Chitose Airport in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, has one: the Royce' Chocolate Factory. You can view the process from finish to end along the stretch of the terminal. They have recently renovated the terminal and it looks like a small amusement park. Aside from the chocolate factory, they even have a Doraemon Park.
Royce' was founded in Sapporo and they're known for making very good quality chocolates. I first encountered Royce during a visit to Hong Kong, and I've always managed to bring some home. They're popular in Asia. But since then, branches have also opened up back home in the Philippines. In fact, they have also very recently opened their 1st US store in New York and a second shop in Russia.
My favorite is still their Classic Bitter Nama Chocolate made with dark chocolate. Each box comes with a small spatula used to lift each piece of chocolate from it's casing. The chocolate pieces are also sprinkled with powdered chocolate on top. Aside from the usual milk chocolate and white chocolate flavors, they also have Maccha or Green Tea flavor. Their Nama chocolates are also available in chocolate liquor versions.
Some other unique items included their chocolate covered potato chips or some with strawberry or lemon fillings.
This may look like a typical outlet mall in the US, but this photo of a mini food truck was actually taken in Chitose, near the international airport in Sapporo, Japan.
Most of the shops are actually Western brands and thus the look of the US outlet malls: Lego, North Face, Columbia, Samsonite, Gap, Claire's and so on. Prices are actually quite good, considering they're imported.
There are only a handful of shops that are local, one of which is a big one-stop shop for Hokkaido souvenir and food items, great for some last minute shopping before you head out to the airport, which is just 10 minutes away, and serviced by a regular shuttle bus.
Another shop worth visiting is the puzzle shop which sells good quality unique miniature piece puzzles that are only made in Japan. Aside from them being postcard size puzzles, they also use the petit pieces that are sized like half of your fingertip. Most of the designs are Disney, but they also offer other ones like a Mona Lisa. Another unique find there are the stained art puzzles, which looks like small stained glass windows.
This winter, the outlet grounds had a small snow covered slide where kids can do some sledding. Christmas trees and igloos were also set up.
There was one amazing exhibit where a working maze was set up using empty cardboard boxes, courtesy of one of the shops called The Box Outlet. Kids can crawl in and enjoy.
If you have a few hours to spare while waiting for your flight, it's worth a visit.
