Category: Tabemono in Hokkaido

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Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 7 – Yoichi Distillery

Continued from post here.

After the Curb Market, it was time for something I really wanted to do, and that was to visit the Yoichi Distillery. This was a real treat for me as I am a big fan of Japanese Whisky.   I have in my collection bottles from the popular Suntory (makers of Yamazaki, Hakushu, and Hibiki),  Nikka (Yoichi and Miyagakyo), and Ichiro’s Malt (including a bottle of Hanyu).  So visiting a distillery for the first time was a major treat of our vacation.

According to Stefan Van Eycken, author of “Whisky Risking”, Yoichi was founded by Masataka Taketsuru, who many recognize as one of the  founders of what is Japanese Whisky today.  If your are interested in the book, you can purchase it at amazon, which I linked here.   It is claimed that Taketsuru felt that Yoichi is the perfect place to set up a whisky distillery as the climate and terrain is similar to  Scotland.  Taketsuru based this on the fact that earlier in his career he worked in a Scotland and even married Rita (Jessie Roberta Cowan) who is from Scotland.  Rita is also notable in that she is recognized as the “mother of Japanese whisky” as there is a recent daily soap opera featuring Rita’s life that was won a large following in Japan.  I’m sure this soap opera also helped to popularize the branding of Yoichi’s whisky, as a bottle of Yoichi 20 year costed about $220US back in 2014, but now cost about 4-5x as much due to both it’s popularity and it being discontinued.   Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 7 – Yoichi Distillery”

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Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 7 – Breakfast Kaisen Don at Sapporo Central Wholesale Curbside Market

Continued from post here.

After a gluttony of crab from our dinner, we were ready the next morning for even more seafood.  Hokkaido is like a haven for travelers who love seafood.  Our plan was to have a kaisen don for breakfast at one of the street side market areas.  Kaisen don is a seafood donburi (food over rice), and is basically a chirashi bowl we have here in the states.  There are two fish markets in Sapporo, Nijo market and the Curb Market in the Central Wholesale area.

Nijo market is closer to our hotel, just a few minutes walk from Odori Station.  It is a block of different booths selling mainly local produce and a variety of seafood.  However, we decided to go venture to the Curb Market (about a 30 minute train ride) as it is bigger in size with a wider selection of produce and seafood.  It is like Tsukiji Market in that they have sections reserved for bidding of the local catch of the day to stores and restaurants, and have prices closer to wholesale.  Additionally Anthony Bourdain visited one of the restaurants there which we planned to visit for our breakfast. Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 7 – Breakfast Kaisen Don at Sapporo Central Wholesale Curbside Market”

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Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 6 – Sapporo and Kani Honke

Continued from post here.

From Furano to Sapporo, it is about a two-hour drive by the expressway.  Through the four days so far driving in Hokkaido, we have not used the express-ways and when we got to the toll booth, that took some figuring out of how to get the ticket as we did not sign up for an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) card, which would have automatically deducted any toll fairs and express lane usage.  Something to remember for next time if we decide to drive again as the convenience of not stopping and figuring tolls is a huge pus..  The drive itself was uneventful and we arrived at Sapporo.

Sapporo is Hokkaido’s capital and its largest city.  Overall, it’s the fifth largest population in Japan.   It is famous for its beer, skiing, and annual snow festival in the winter featuring large ice sculptures.  There is quite a bit to see and do in this city, but our itinerary included plans for a week in Tokyo at the tail end of our trip, and if you see one big city, you kind of see them all.  As such we planned on only staying 2 days in Sapporo.

The plan was to eat a big crab course, miso ramen, visit the Wholesale Curbside fish market, and do a little sight-seeing. Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 6 – Sapporo and Kani Honke”

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Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 6 – Furano and Biei Part 4 – Furano Wine, Jam Factory, Anpanman

Continued from post here. You can follow the start of our journey here.

After the ice-cream-making class at the Cheese Factory,  we headed to the Rokugou Village to visit the Furano Jam Garden and Anpanman Shop.  The jam store is actually called “Auntie Jam’s Gift Shop”.

Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 6 – Furano and Biei Part 4 – Furano Wine, Jam Factory, Anpanman”

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Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 6 – Furano and Biei Part 3 – Cheese Factory, Furano Marche, Soup Curry, Making Ice Cream

Continued from post here and you can view the start of the journey at this link.

The next morning, it was time to check out of Chalet Furuyi and wrap up our adventures in Furano.  The weather was perfect.   It was sunny and warm but not humid, nothing like the summers we experienced in Tokyo and Kyoto.  It was pretty much like our summer weather in California.  Being our last day in Furano, we really wanted to take advantage of the some of the remaining attractions it has to offer.  Our first visit was the Furano Cheese Factory. Continue reading “Tabemono Summer Vacation- Hokkaido/Tohoku 2016 Day 6 – Furano and Biei Part 3 – Cheese Factory, Furano Marche, Soup Curry, Making Ice Cream”

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