Tag Archives: Japan

Travel

EXPLORING HAKODATE MORNING MARKET (HOKKAIDO)

If there’s one thing you can’t miss when visiting Hokkaido, it’s their seafood! The whole Hokkaido region is famous for its abundance of seafood and there’s one great place to experience that in Hakodate, the Hakodate Asaichi.

Hakodate Asaichi is the city’s famous morning seafood market with an array of delectable fresh seafood, fruits and vegetables and many other delicious things. The market opens daily from 5am (6am during winter) until noon and is conveniently located close to JR Hakodate Station. The narrow lanes, congested alleys, vast sheds and crowded stalls are bustling with activity.

I’d recommend getting up early to enjoy the bustling morning atmosphere and try the mouth-watering kaisen don (seafood rice bowl) to start your day. Seafood rice bowl is a bowl of steaming rice topped with freshly-caught seafood.

Kikuyo Shokudo Honten（きくよ食堂)

Kikuyo Shokudo (きくよ食堂) is a long established restaurant at Hakodate morning market. The menu offers a vast variety of different seafood combinations for kaisen don and come in two sizes, full portion or half portion. We tried the kaisen don in half portion with four types of seafood consisting of uni (sea urchin), ikura (salmon roe), crab and hotate (scallop) for 1680 yen and two types of seafood with hotate and amaebi (shrimp) for 1380 yen. The set comes with pickles and miso soup. The ingredients used for the kaisen don were fresh but the taste of the seafood was just average. The uni had a nice fragrance to it and the scallop were sweet. However, the crab meat didn’t have much taste in them.

Gano Katsu Ika Tsuribori (元祖活いか釣り堀)

Hakodate is famous for its fresh, delicious seafood, and squid in particular, and it doesn’t get any fresher than squid you catch yourself. One of the famous activities in the market is fishing for live squid. Experience the thrill of squid fishing from the fish tank in the market and enjoy your freshly caught squid a few minutes later served as sashimi. Fresh squid sashimi is tender and has a chewy texture. The natural sweetness of the beautifully transparent flesh is a real taste sensation.

Uni Murakami

Uni Murakami is a restaurant that specialize in uni. It is operated directly by a uni processing plant and the key selling point is their preservative free uni. This restaurant was one of the two restaurants we tried at the Hakodate morning market. We tried the small size uni bowl trio with uni, salmon and ikura for 2160 yen. The prices here is more expensive than Kikuyo Shokudo, however the seafood served is definitely of higher quality. The uni was creamy, sweet, and melt in mouth with no foul aftertaste. The fresh quality of it can be seen by its plump shape and vibrant color. Definitely the best uni we tried at the market.  

HAKODATE MORNING MARKET
Address: Japan, 〒040-0063 Hokkaido Prefecture, Hakodate, 若松町9−19
Website: www.hakodate-asaichi.com

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Travel

LOCAL CAFES IN SAPPORO (HOKKAIDO)

ATELIER Morihiko

  • Sandwich and Coffee Set (680 yen)

Address: 12-4-182 Minami 1 Jonishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-0061, Hokkaido

The Morihiko coffee company has several cafes located throughout Sapporo, all with a different decor. Atelier Morihiko is located in a quiet neighborhood close to Odori Park. The interior features high ceiling, white walls and vintage furnitures. The atmosphere is calm and relaxing with warm soft lighting. You can choose to be seated at the window side tables, the large communal table in the centre, or the counter to watch the coffee being brewed.

We were seated at the window side table facing the street where the only tram line in the city runs through. The menu consists of cakes and coffee as well as sandwiches for breakfast. We ordered two sandwich and coffee set (one sweet and one savory) available from 8:00am-11:00am. The sweet sandwich and coffee set for 680 yen is a popular menu item because of its pretty presentation. It is wrapped in wax paper and topped with savory roasted pistachios and raspberry. The bread is both moist and sweet and matches well with the richness of the fresh cream inside.

In the morning, only hand drip coffee is served. Don’t expect to get cappuccino or latte. Coffee beans are freshly grind to order and use Nel drip brewing method with cotton flannel filters. You can order different types of coffee such as MORI no SHIZUKU, Morihiko French blend, and Morihiko mild blend. We ordered the Morihiko mild blend and liked that it does not have astringent taste and is pleasant on the tongue and palate.

Baristart

Address: 4-8 Minami 1-Jo Nishi, Chuo-ku | 1F Freeden Bldg, 060-0061, Hokkaido

Baristart Coffee is a tiny coffee shop best for a to-go coffee. Seating is limited to a small counter with four seats or an outdoor bench. What makes this place unique is that they serve lattes made with milk from various regions of Hokkaido each with their own flavour profile. There are three kind of milk to choose from, Hakodate Holstein, Tokachi Jersey and Biei Jersey milk. The lattes vary in the level of richness and taste depending on the kind of milk used. I highly recommend the Tokachi Jersey cow as it was sweet and rich. The milk was dense but I could still taste various flavours of coffee inside. Lattes are quite pricey but you are paying for their specialty milk. Great spot to drop in for a morning coffee or mid-day caffeine fix.

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Travel

SUMMER IN FURANO & BIEI (HOKKAIDO)

Last summer, I checked off Hokkaido on my bucket list. Since forever, i’ve wanting to visit Hokkaido which is famed for its beautiful pristine countryside. Furano is a town located in the central area of Hokkaido, known for its picturesque rural landscape. The city is rich in nature, and there are many colorful flower fields which blooms beautifully during summer. It’s best known for the lavender fields which is a spectacle of color best enjoyed in July when they’re in full bloom. The neighboring town of Biei is also known for its beautiful rural landscape of rolling hills and vast fields. As these two areas are close to each other, we were able to drive to the various attractions of both areas relatively easy.

Farm Tomita

  • Colorful flower fields
  • Lavender Field
  • Lavender Ice Cream
Farm Tomita

Address: 15 Kisenkita, Nakafurano-cho, Sorachi-gun 071-0704, Hokkaido 
Map Code: 349 277 672

There are numerous flower fields of various sizes across Furano. The best spot to view lavender fields that grow as far as the eye can see is Farm Tomita. The farm is covered in breathtaking rows of bright purple lavenders during the summer months. In pictures, it looks too beautiful to be real. It is a scenery everyone should see at least once in their lifetime. The farm is free to enter and besides the flower fields, there are also cafes and shops that sell a wide range of lavender related products. Don’t forget to try the lavender soft serve before you leave. The rich lavender flavour has a refreshing taste and is particularly delightful on a hot summer day.

Kumagera

  • Local Wagyu Beef Shabu Shabu
  • Wagyu Beef Sashimi over rice

Address: 3-22 Hinodemachi, Furano, Hokkaido
Map Code: 349 032 102

Kumagera is a restaurant that focuses on local Furano style cuisine. The restaurant offers a wide range of dishes using locally sourced ingredients. We ordered the wagyu sashimi over rice and Shabu Shabu. The beef used in both dishes are local wagyu. Wagyu is a supreme variety of beef in which the fat content is much higher than usual, giving the meat it’s signature high marbling. The fat also has a very low melting point which is why it feels like it melts in your mouth. The wagyu sashimi was very tender and juicy and taste like a piece of heaven in your mouth. You will regret it if you don’t order this dish. The restaurant is very popular so be sure to make a reservation or come early to avoid long lineups.

Shikisai no oka

  • Shikisai no oka
Lines of colorful flowers

Address: Dai 3 Shinsei, Biei-cho, Kamikawa-gun 071-0473, Hokkaido
Map Code: 349 701 160

Another popular tourist attraction is Shikisai no Oka. The flower field is carpeted with different kinds of flowers on the grounds of gently rolling hills from April to October. This feast for the eye features a wide range of seasonal flowers that include tulips, lupine, lavender, sunflowers and more. The sight of the rainbow colored flowers, blue sky and mountain range is storybook picturesque. There is also a alpaca farm which offers you a chance to feed and touch cute fluffy alpacas.

Popura Farm

Melon with soft serve

Address: 18 Higashi1senkita, Nakafurano-cho, Sorachi-gun 071-0771, Hokkaido
Map Code: 349 309 690

Two things you can’t miss when visiting Hokkaido is the various dairy products and melon. A local specialty in Furano is melon topped with soft serve. It is a refreshing treat in the summer and an Instagram worthy dessert. Popura Farm is a quaint roadside cafe with indoor and outdoor seating. We drove by this place on our way to Biei and ordered a quarter melon with original milk soft serve. Furano melon is very juicy and doesn’t have a sugary taste but a mild fruity sweetness that’s very satisfying. The milk soft serve complimented very well with the sweetness of the melon. Another must eat when visiting Furano.

Blue Pond

Blue Pond

Address: Shirogane, Biei-cho, Kamikawa-gun 071-0235, Hokkaido
Map Code: 349 568 888

Blue Pond is a mysterious, shining blue pond that rests in the mountainous countryside of Biei. The pond displays various hues of blue depending on the season and the weather. During the summer months, it displays a captivating shade of turquoise that conveys peace and tranquillity.

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