Category: Tabemono in Hokkaido

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Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 9-10 – Hakodate

The port town of Hakodate, which is Hokkaido’s third largest city, wraps up our final destination of Japan’s northern most island.   Hakodate was Japan’s first port city that was opened to foreign trade in 1854, after years of Japan’s era of isolation.  As such the city has experienced multiple foreign influences that shaped its town landscape, food, and culture.  Many of the buildings stayed intact since the 1800s and are some of the primary attractions of the city. Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 9-10 – Hakodate”

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Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 8 – Zaborin Ryokan in Niseko Part 1

After finishing our hike along the beautiful and scenic coastline of Cape Kamui, we drove about an hour and half to the highlight of our trip, Zaborin Ryokan.  Nestled in a quiet forest in Hanazono of Niseko, the ryokan is deliberately remote and secluded to provide a refuge of serenity and tranquility. In fact, per the ryokan’s website the name Zaborin (坐 忘 林) is a combination of zabo (坐 忘 – to sit and forget) and rin(林 – in the woods or forests)  which combined together translates “to sit and forget amongst the woods”, which is an accurate description of our experience here as time seemed to slow down and allowed to appreciate the surrounding nature and simply unwind and be at peace with ourselves. Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 8 – Zaborin Ryokan in Niseko Part 1”

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Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 8 – Wakadori Jidai Naruto Honten – Otaru’s Famous Fried Chicken

Being in Hokkaido, you would ask why would anyone think of eating fried chicken, when you can have some of the freshest seafood in the world. Otaru in particular, has a famous Sushi sweet with over 25 shops.  But, if you are in Otaru, you have to visit Wakadori Jidai Naruto Honten to find out why this fried chicken is so special.

I visited the Naruto Honten (main branch) to try what some consider Otaru’s treasure, as they have been part of the city’s community for a long time.  They are known for serving a hanashinage chicken, which is a whole half of a perfectly cooked, golden-colored fried chicken.

Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 8 – Wakadori Jidai Naruto Honten – Otaru’s Famous Fried Chicken”

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Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 8 – Otaru – LeTao Cheesecake and Squid Ink and Uni Ice Cream

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We checked out of the Sapporo Grand hotel in the morning and all got on our car.  Our plan was to drive to our ryokan in Niseko called Zaborin, which was a three and a half hour drive away.  We planned to make stops at Otaru and Shatokan along the way to break up the trip and enjoy the coastal towns and key attractions along the shores of the Sea of Japan.

First up is Otaru which is a 30 minute drive northwest of Sapporo.  It is a small port town famous for its beautifully preserved canal and the many old converted warehouses that are transformed into restaurants and shops.  It is also known for its glasswork, music boxes, and sake distilleries.

Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 8 – Otaru – LeTao Cheesecake and Squid Ink and Uni Ice Cream”

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Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 7 – Miso Ramen at Ramen Yokocho , Kinotoya Bake Cheese Tart, and Sapporo Night Scenery

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After Yoichi, we headed back to Sapporo to rest up back at our hotel.  Our plan for dinner was to visit one of the several ramen areas to have miso ramen.  Miso ramen is a specialty of Sapporo.  The typical soup is rich and oily and usually made with pork bones and flavored with a miso tare.  What is also unique about Sapporo miso ramen is that they would use a wok to first stir fry some vegetables in lard, then add hot stock, which deglazes the wok and adds a nice caramelization flavor profile to the soup.

There are over 1000 ramen shops in Sapporo, but there are two famous ramen streets where over 17 ramen shops are concentrated.  One is called Ganso Ramen Yokocho (original alley) and another is called Shin Ramen Yokocho (new ramen alley).  They are both a few blocks of each other.  Our target for dinner was Ganso Ramen Yokocho.

However, prior to going to one of the ramen alleys, we stopped by Kinotoya Bake shop which is famous in Sapporo for their cheese tarts at the JR Sapporo Station.  Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 7 – Miso Ramen at Ramen Yokocho , Kinotoya Bake Cheese Tart, and Sapporo Night Scenery”

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