After a leisurely cruise around Lake Akan, we continued south to the next city. Kushiro is the third largest city on the island but once again it was deserted. The streets were empty and most of the shops were closed. It felt like a ghost town.
We headed to the Washoichiba Market (local seafood market) for lunch and half of the city’s population must have been there. The way to go about getting a meal in this market is to make your own chirashizushi (sashimi on sushi rice). All you have to do is buy a bowl of steamed rice and walk around to select your favourite toppings. Once you’ve found what you like, just point and smile and hand over your rice bowl. Easy.
At night we asked the hotel for some restaurant recommendations. Kushiro is famous for Robata Grills (Japanese barbeque) so we were glad the hotel recommended one nearby. We picked a selection of meat, shellfish and vegetables and cooked our own food over a charcoal grill, it was both fun and enjoyable.
Day 9 – Obihiro (帯広)
Our itinerary took us back inland to the city of Obihiro. The city is famous for its pork and there are many pork chop restaurants in town. It was 10:10 am, our chosen restaurant has been opened for 10 minutes and there was already a queue. After a short wait, we were seated and presented with a menu consisting of 5 offerings, the same pork chop rice in 5 different sizes. Our brunch came in a china bowl with a lid that could barely cover its contents. It was just a simple bowl of pork chop, steamed rice and a few peas as garnish. But looks can be deceiving. I can tell you the pork was tender and juicy and the rice is fragrant and sweet. No matter what I say, you really have to taste it to understand why locals queue up everyday.
After lunch, we headed to a caramel factory. The factory is located on a farm with other produce such as cheese, ice cream and potato chips. We tried the ice cream covered in their famous warm caramel sauce and it was heavenly. Contrasting cold and warm components is always a winning combination.
We drove back into town for dinner. Another planned meal stop in a family-run restaurant well regarded for its beef sashimi sushi. The beef sashimi was very different to the one in Furano, this was almost SPAM like. Yum!
Day 10 – Noboribetsu (登別)
The drive to our next stop is a good 4 hour journey. To break up the trip, we stopped by a port town called Tomakomai. By the port is a diner located in a shed well known to locals. The end of the queue was already out in the carpark by the time we arrived. The local produce is Surf Clam and that is the only thing this diner serves. You can get it with ramen or rice and as pizza, tofu and even ice cream. I took a quick look around and noticed half the diners had a plate of curry in front of them. I guess it’s always best to follow the locals.
It was a further short drive to Noboribetsu, a hot spring tourist town. A number of themed parks have also flourished from the local tourism industry. There is the Marine Park, Bear Park and the Edo Wonderland (Edo period in Japanese history is from 1600s – mid 1800s with ninjas and warriors). The day was once again cold and wet but we braved the rain to visit the Edo theme park.
We arrived at our hotel just before dark and headed to the dining hall for a buffet dinner. On offer were seafood, a selection of roasts and the usual buffet fare. I think I really am seafood-out, otherwise I would have been more excited to see the mountains of crab legs.
We spent the next day visiting the tourist hot spots, Hell Valley and surrounding natural hot springs. While admiring the hot springs, we accidently stumbled across a mountain trail with a sign that read ‘Foot Bath’ in Japanese. It took us down the mountain and into the forest plantations. After a 15 minute stroll we arrived at a miniature waterfall. The river was a natural hot spring and the water was warm and comforting. It felt like an oasis (minus the desert).
Sadly it was time to head off to our final stop, Hakodate. After a 3 hour drive, we checked-in and returned our Toyota. We walked around town and snacked on yakitori (skewered meat) and gelato.
Within the seafood market is a restaurant famous for its sea urchin. Sea urchin is a strange delicacy, you either love it or hate it. But I believe most people hate it because the sea urchin they've tried wasn't fresh. Sea urchin has an extremely short shelf life and will go off very quickly, when it’s not fresh it is totally disgusting. At its peak, it should be creamy and sweet with a slight sea salt taste. I generally stay away from sea urchin because I don't want to risk it. Back to the restaurant, we ordered grilled sea urchin, baked sea urchin, sea urchin and scallop sashimi on rice and my favourite, tea infused broth with rice and sea urchin. Oh what a meal.
The rain continued but we braved on to tick off the reminder of our to-do list. We had brunch at the Asaichi Market (local seafood market) before heading off to the Goryokaku Tower. The tower gives you a great view of the Goryokaku Fort, a star-shaped fort built by hand during the end of the Edo period. The design is to reduce blind spots and increase the number of gun placements during battle.
On our final evening in Hokkaido, we went to Mount Hakodate for a night view of the city. Unfortunately due to the poor weather, the mountain was covered in fog. We caught the tram up anyway as this was our last chance. We waited for the fog to clear but minutes turned into hours. Lucky there was a restaurant and we waited over dinner. During our meal, we caught glimpses of the night view as one fog patch cleared only to be replaced by another. But the glimpses were enough to carve the images into my memory.
I hope my post might persuade some readers to visit Japan and give their economy a much needed boost. The Japanese have very strict food and safety standards. I have full confidence the food they sell and serve have gone through rigorous testing and is fit for consumption.
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