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Saturday, June 30, 2012

Soba Jun (そば順)| Soba Restaurant | Date

There are a lot of delicious soba restaurants in Hokkaido, but how about "Soba Jun (そば順)" in Date city in Lake Toya area?

This restaurant is so popular that the president of Singapore has visited here! Actually I've known this restaurant since I was eight years old! I'm sure I'm one of the longest and biggest fans of this restaurant in the world! Hahaha!

Except seats at the bar, there are tatami rooms with low tables like this↓, and

tatami rooms with normal tables like this↓ Since I was with guests from Singapore, I booked this room!

Look at the Japanese garden! Time tickled by very slowly here!

Voila!
We ordered a soba and tempura bowl set!

I love their prawn tempura, but really recommend their octopus tempura! When you come here, please try it!!

Of course, their soba is perfect! I really recommend cold soba so that you can enjoy its distinctive soba aroma!

■Where is "Soba Jun Main Restaurant (そば順伊達本店)"?

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■Tour guide information■
Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Hakodate Beer Hall (函館ビヤホール)| Microbrewery | Hakodate

Hokkaido has a lot of attractions; the nature, delicious food, winter sports, Ainu culture, hot spring and microbrewed beer in each place!!
Today I'll show you "Hakodate Beer Hall (函館ビヤホール)", a microbrewery in Hakodate.

It is located in " Kanemori Red Brick Warehouses Area (金森赤レンガ倉庫群)" near JR Hakodate Station.

 Let's enter it!

We enjoyed the early 20th century atmosphere in the beer hall!

What should we order??? I really recommend these two!

This is "Hakodate Akarenga Beer (函館赤レンガビール)", available only in this restaurant. This ale type beer is not bitter, and good for the summer time!

This is "Hakodate Kaitakushi Beer (函館開拓使ビール)". This Pilsner type beer is a little bit bitter, and goes well with the local dishes such as fresh seafood and vegetables!

■Where is "Hakodate Beer Hall (函館ビヤホール)"?

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■Tour guide information■
Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Ainu Museum - Poroto Kotan - (アイヌ民族博物館 しらおいポロトコタン)| Shiraoi

Ainu is the indigenous people of Hokkaido with their own culture and language. Several tens of thousands of Ainu still live in Hokkaido and other areas.
An Ainu settlement, originally in Shiraoi's urban district, was moved and restored by Lake Poroto in 1965 as an outdoor museum.

Let's go to the "Ainu Museum - Poroto Kotan - (アイヌ民族博物館 しらおいポロトコタン)"!

Near the entrance, the huge statue of Kotan Korukuru (which means a village chief) welcomes you!

The facility has five cises, thatched houses for Ainu people, and

we can enjoy Ainu cultural performance there! 

This is mukkuri, a mouth harp made of bamboo. How beautiful and dynamic the sound is!

This is tonkori, a kind of stringed instrument. I love this gentle sound!

They also sing their lullaby, and perform some of their folk dance! Very interesting! The show lasts for about 20-30 minutes in total.

Look at the ceiling! The salmon is being smoked! Actually one of my tour guests bought this smoked salmon! This used to be a typical reserved food for Ainu during the winter time.

The facility also include a botanical garden, an animal barn, and so on. This is pu, a food storage, built on stilts in order to keep food stuff (dried fish, seafood, and millet) safe from moisture and rats mainly.

Let's go to the museum in the same compound, too!

Some of their kimono is made of bark, and some of their shoes are made of salmon skin...........

We can also learn their rituals, such as Iomante, a bear festival. Please learn how they viewed beers as sacred animals!

Look at Lake Poroto! How beautiful it is! Potoro means lake in Ainu language.

There are some souvenir shops near the entrance. Actually I bought some Ainu embroideries!

This is their typical wood craft! Ainu regard many animals as sacred, and the beer is the chief of all animals. They also believe that their deities can incarnate into beers, and roam the earth to keep an eye on their followers.

■Where is "Ainu Museum - Poroto Kotan - (アイヌ民族博物館 しらおいポロトコタン)"?

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■Tour guide information■
Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Kaiseki no Sato Kira (懐石の里 煌)| High-End Japanese Restaurant | Hakodate

If you want to enjoy delicious Japanese dishes at a perfect location in Hakodate, I recommend "Kaiseki no Sato Kira (懐石の里 煌)", an high-end Japanese restaurant located halfway up Mt. Hakodate.

From this sukeya style of building (数寄屋造り): a style of a tea-ceremony arbor,  we can enjoy the treat view of Hakodate city.

Let's enter it!

Today I booked a Japanese tatami room with tables for my tout guests. Looks very gorgeous, doesn't it?

Are you ready? It's show time!!

■Appetizer: Sesame Tofu
Everybody was impressed with their dish from scratch!! Hahaha!

Crab meat and wasabi are on the special tofu!

This aperitif made us more thirsty, and order a bottle of sake! Hahaha!

■Shrimp Dumpling in the Soup
How delicate the taste is!

The dish here is covered with the hand-written menu like this↓

■Toro (Tuna) and Yuba (Bean Curds)
This tuna was caught between Hokkaido and Honshu, a main island of Japan. This is one of the best tuna so far!

Next...........

■Deep-Fried Ainame Fish
Ainae, fat greenling, is local fish. I sometimes cook this fish, but have never eaten such a delicious dish! Is this the same fish? Hahaha! I really respect the cook!!

■Simmered Potato Dumpling with Starchy Sauce
This is the restaurant's specialty! Can I have another helping?

Voila!
■King Crab Steak
How huge it is!!

We were so excited in front of the fat crab cactus!!!

First we ate it as it is!

Next put it on the shrimp cracker!! Yummy x 2!!! I'm sure we were in the heaven!!!

Last but not least, we enjoyed rice and soup with water shield! I love the gelatin-like part!!

We had a wonderful time!!

This dessert was also recommendable!

We concentrated on the great dishes, but when we looked outside...............

Wow!

We enjoyed super-delicious dishes and Michelin three star scenery at the same time at this restaurant!

■Where is "Kaiseki no Sato Kira (懐石の里 煌)"?

View Larger Map


■Tour guide information■
Do you need a nationally-licensed English-speaking tour guide when you travel to Hokkaido?I'll guide you! Plz click here!