Palazzo Del Freddo (Gelato Shop)＠Iwase Farm in Sunagawa

Sunagawa, 1.5 hr away from Sapporo, is famous for delicious sweets, using local high-quality ingredients such as milk, flour, and fruits. It even has the "Sweets Road" in the downtown area :-)

Today, I'll show you a popular gelato shop in the city!

Iwase Farm has 130 yr history in the dairy husbandry industry and runs a gelato shop, "Palazzo Del Freddo", in the compound.

There are several take-out items such as cheese cakes, chocolate desserts,

and several kinds of ice cream!

They won the "Milk Award" in a sweets competition in 2006! Wow!

Here are the gelato!!! The kinds/ flavors of gelato are depending on the season.

What should I order????

The shop has some kinds of sherbet, too.
This is the "tropical sherbet". It contains several flavors of tropical fruits!

This is the "blood orange sherbet". I like the citrus flavor!

Here comes getalo!!!

We ordered the "pumpkin" and "green tea".

The pumpkin tastes real pumpkin, a little bit sweet, but not too sweet! I like the natural taste!
The green tea flavor goes well with the milk gelato. Perfect, isn't it??

The "strawberry mille-fueille" is loved especially among young ladies!

If you want to enjoy the high-quality milk flavor, I recommend the vanilla here!

We really enjoyed the gelato here in Sunagawa!

■Where is Palazzo Del Freddo (Gelato Shop)/ Iwase Farm?

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■Tour guide information■

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I'll guide you! Plz click here!

"Gallery Toukyo & cafe Horno (ギャラリー 陶居 & cafe オルノ)" in Takikawa

A comfortable, relaxing space, "Gallery Toukyo & cafe Horno" is located in an agricultural area in Takikara, 2-hour drive from Sapporo. 

A ceramic artist, Koutaro Ohno, and his wife run this wonderful cafe & gallery on Friday to Sunday and national holidays only.

This area is stress-free, isn't it?

The sign is also his piece, welcoming all the visitors. I like this blue color, which can be often seen in his art works.

On the way to the doorway, we can enjoy his works and green like this! Wonderful collaboration, aren't they??!

The doorknob is one of his works. Welcome to his ceramics world!

On the 2nd floor (his gallery), you can appreciate his works.

His works have been displayed in famous museums such as Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY city, New Orleans Museum of Art in the US, Auckland Museum in New Zealand, and so on.

We can touch and feel his works to our heart content in this peaceful gallery without any audience usually. Why not enjoying this luxury time for a while?

On the 1st floor next to the cafe, there is a small shop so that you can purchase his art works.

Everywhere in their cafe, his works are displayed like this.

The very relaxing cafe and his ceramics create very unique atmosphere, which we cannot experience in a daily life.

This is a menu in this cafe. They serve dishes like pizza & pasta to drinks like coffee & wine to sweets like cakes, using carefully chosen ingredients.

I enjoyed the rural agricultural field through this window. The ceramic cup is also his work, going very well with some of the objects (his art pieces) in front of the window.

Everything is perfect to me! They also adhere to safe ingredients. For example, they serve home-made butter without any additives and coloring.
(Look at the stand! It is also his work!!!)

Here comes coffee! I love this ceramic cup (his work)!!

They use organically -grown local coffee beans!!! Furthermore, this is not normal iced coffee. It is "cold-brewed" ice coffee!! I love their taste and wonderful persistence to the ingredients and menu.

This is a milk pot (his work).

You can see the milk is separated. They use non-homogenized milk! That's why milk fat is separated. Wow wow wow! I really love their polices!!

I also ate this cake. Yummy x 2!!!

■Where is "Gallery Toukyo & cafe Horno"?

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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!

Apple Pies Fresh from Oven@Kitakarou （北菓楼） in Sunagawa

Hokkaido has a lot of delicious sweet shops including Rokkatei and ROYCE'. This shop, Kitakarou, is one of them. We went to Sunagawa to eat its great sweets today.

There is a nice garden next to the shop and we can relax, eating its recommendable sweets!

Kitakarou is so popular that a lot of TV programs features it!

And they won the grand prize in "Sapporo Sweet 2011 Competition"! Wow! Congratulations!

Its Baumkuchen is very recommendable! I tried some pieces on the table! They use fresh Hokkaido eggs, milk and flour only. Hokkaido is a so-called "agricultural and dairy paradise"!

This is also its leading product. This baked rice cracker series has several flavors, including scallop, squid, and salmon! Hokkaido is also famous for fisheries!

Look at this! We've found a cute apple pie!!!! Today, May 5th, is a children's day in Japan. I recommend this as a present to your son or grandson! Why?????

It is customary for families with a boy to display carp streamers outside their house on this national holiday! The pie is just like the streamer, isn't it?

I've found a new product!!! I should try it :)

Don't miss ice cream! I love Yubari melon flavor!

Kitakarou reminds me of this cream puff! This W cream, custard and fresh cream, is veeeeeeeeeery pleasant to the palate!!!

We love this soft ice cream, too!

Last, but not least, today we came here to eat this apple pies fresh from oven! We checked the baking time in advance and stood in line to get them!

This is freshly baked, very crispy and juicy!!! ! HOT, HOT, HOT!! That's why this pie crust  is flaky!

I enjoyed this sweet tour!

■Where is Kirakarou?

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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!

La Pecora （ラ・ペコラ）| Italian Restaurant (Milk Lamb) | Takikawa

The milk lamb season  has just begun now!
Takikawa is famous for lamb and we went to the city yesterday to enjoy the meat! It takes 1 hrs from Sapporo to Takikawa by car.

What is milk lamb?

It's meat of baby lambs which just drink their mother's milk. That's way the meat is available only in the spring time !

We visited "La Pecora （ラ・ペコラ）", an Italian restaurant in Takikawa↓

It was crowded with a lot of customers!

We ordered the milk lamb full-course :)

■Loin & liver sashimi (raw meat)

Sounds very Japanese, doesn't it?

I love the liver sashimi, dipping with some salt or perilla leaves & garlic!

■Consomme (bone &  gristle)

Wobbling!!!

■Green salad with black rice

I love it!

■Stewed organ meat with beans

This is Mr. Tender! Hahahaha!

■Pasta with some shrimps & field mustard

Field mustard is famous here in Takikawa!

I felt the spring time!

■Grilled milk lamb (three parts: rib, leg, and rack)

I love the rib the best!

But all of them were tender & delicious :)

■Brain soup

It's very creamy!!!

I really recommend it :)

Why is lamb famous in Takikawa?

It' related to the city's history.

Takikawa has the oldest livestock experimental station in Hokkaido and local people here has long eaten lamb.

Gingisukan is one of the popular local dishes in Hokkaido.

■Where is "La Pecora （ラ・ペコラ）"?

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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!