Sugi Youhouen （杉養蜂園） | Honey Specialty Shop | Noboribetsu

There is a popular ice cream shop at Gokuraku Street, the main street in Noboribetsu hot spring area.

"Sugi Youhouen" is a honey specialty store not only to sell honeys, but also to serve  delicious honey soft ice cream.

There are varieties of honeys including fruit honeys here.

Look at this! This raspberry & honey is effective for dieting!!! Actually I bought it!! Hahaha!!!

You can try some of the fruit honeys such as yuzu citrus honey, mango honey, and blueberry honey at the shop. Yummy x 2!!!

The honeys are delicious, but their ice cream is also very enjoyable!
They serve four kinds of soft ice cream,

and if you have never tried their ice cream, I recommend the most simple one; "honey soft ice cream"↓ Sounds very toothsome, doesn't it? They have their own beehouses and the quality of their honey is very high!!

This is blueberry honey soft ice cream↓ Sounds good for your eyes!

This is yuzu citrus soft ice cream↓ Very refreshing ice cream♪

This is maple honey soft ice cream↓ I love it! I love the great combination of maple syrup and soft ice cream!!!

When you come to Noboribetsu, why don't you drop in for ice cream at this honey shop!

■Where is "Sugi Youhouen"?

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■Tour guide information■

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I'll guide you! Plz click here!

Soba no Sato "Kyoan （京庵）" | Soba Restaurant | Noboribetsu

If you want to eat delicious soba noodles in Noboribetsu, how about "Kyoan（京庵）"?

This restaurant is located in a mountainous area between the Noboribetsu Hot Spring and the Karurusu Hot Spring. It is surrounded with the nature and there's nothing but "Kyoan" around here.

As the sign says, kids under elementary school age are not allowed to enter the restaurant. The lady owner places importance on peaceful and relaxing atmosphere for adult soba lovers. How neat!

Let's enter the restaurant!

This is a very comfortable restaurant, with a Japanese fireplace named "irori" like this↓ The edge of irori is used as a table.

We ordered cold itasoba (buckwheat noodles), and the soba sauce and condiments such as minced naganegi onion and grated wasabi were served first.

The box has two kinds of soba. The darker one is made of milled buckwheat with the shells.

I recommend you to compare both soba without the soup first and then eat them with the soup so that you can tell the difference clearly!

This whiter soba tastes sweeter and lighter, and

the darker one is more elastic and tastes heavier. Yummy x 2!!

After eating soba, please enjoy soba-yu（そば湯） or soba soup!

When you come to Noboribetsu, why don't you visit this small but cozy soba restaurant with a friendly okami (the lady owner)?

■Where is "Kyoan （京庵）"?

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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!

MILKISSIMO | Gelato Stand | Sapporo/ Hakodate

MILKISSIMO is a very famous and delicious gelato stand, whose main shop is in Hakodate, but the new branch has recently opened in Sapporo. We are so lucky because we don't have to go to Hakodate in order to eat it!!!

The stand is in "Yonchome  Plaza"a in downtown of Sapporo.
Look at the shop↓ Very colorful ice cream stand!!!

Constantly more than 20 flavors are served in the stand and regularly the kinds are changed so that we can enjoy many types of gelato :-)

First, choose the number of flavors.

I chose "sakura - cherry blossom" and

"murasakiimo - purple potato".

Voila!!!

The sakura includes salted cherry leaf and tastes very Japanese. The murasakiimo tastes very sweet potatoes! I love both of them :-)

Next, one of my tour guest chose "kabocha kuririn - pumpkin" and

"pineapple and basil".

We all thought this is a great combination of sweet and milky pumpkin & refreshing pineapple and basil. They use Hokkaido pumpkin. That's why it is delicious!!!

 The other guest chose a standard flavor, "cream cheese".

Everyone loved it! They use French and Hokkaido cheese for it!

The flavors are periodically changed. I'm sure I'll be back with my tour guests in the near future :-)

■Where are "MILKISSIMO" in Hakodate?

(The main one is in History Plaza of the Hakodate Bay area↓ and the other one is in Goryokaku Tower.)

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■Where is the branch in Sapporo?

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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!

Unagi Futaba (二葉) | Eel Restaurant | Sapporo

"Unagi Futaba" is the most famous long-established eel restaurant in Sapporo.

I love this very Japanese facade! The noren, a short curtain, says ”char-grilled eel", looking very delicious♪
Let's enter the restaurant!

There is a water jar at the entrance like this↓ You can choose a table or a tatami seat, and we chose the later one.

This is an eel specialty-restaurant, which has a lot of eel dishes.

For example.....

• Unadon (a bowl of rice topped with char-grilled eel)
• Unajyu (a box of rice topped with char-grilled eel ) - six grades: chu (middle) 2,100 yen to tokudai (super-jumbo) 4,500 yen
• Nakairijyu (layered unajyu) - two grads
• Kabayaki Gohan (char-grilled eel and rice) - five grades
• Shirayaki Gohan (char-grilled eel without say sauce-favored sauce and rice) - five grades
• Kabayaki (char-grilled eel only) - five grades
• Shirayaki (char-grilled eel without say sauce-favored sauce)
• Kimoyaki (char-grilled eel liver)
• Kimosui (eel liver soup)
• Uzaku (vinegared eel and cucumber)
• Unawasa (eel mixed with wasabi and say sauce)
• Hitumabushi (bowl of rice topped with cut-eel and condiments & soup)

Look at the call bell! Very Japanese and cute! 

First, the pickles are served. They cook eel after getting an order, we have to wait for a while. I know we have to wait, but our table was near the kitchen, from which the delicious smelling fume was coming............ I couldn't stand it! Hahaha!!

This is "tokudai", the highest grade of unajyu. Look at the lid and the box! The eel were TOO GIGANTIC to close the box completely!!!!

Have you ever seen such HUGE ell so far?

And very THICK!

Do you wanna eat it?
(Please!)

This is "tokujyo", the third highest grads of unajyu in the restaurant. The lacquered box is "completely" covered with the lid :-)

Look at the shiny delicious char-grilled eel!!

This is "appropriately" thick and has moderate fat!

I love it! I like it better than "tokujyo" personally.

The set includes this eel soup, too. Yummy x 2!!

I really recommend the long-established eel restaurant, which is near the downtown of Sapporo.

■Where is "Unagi Futaba（うなぎ二葉）"?

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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!

L’enfant qui reve | French Restaurant | Moerenuma Park | Sapporo

If you want to eat delicious French food in a wonderful park, I recommend "L’enfant qui reve", a French Restaurant in Moerenuma Park, Sapporo. This restaurant is produced by Chef Nakamichi, who also produces "RESTAURANT maccarina", a very famous French restaurant that G8 leaders also used during the G8 summit. 

Well, Moerenuma Park was designed by Isamu Noguchi, a world-famous Japanese American artist. The playground equipment, outdoor sport fields, as well as objects in the park are also his art works.

Construction of the park was begun in 1988, and opened in 2005. The park has won a number of awards including the Good Design Award in 2002.

If you want to know the general information about the park, please refer to my previous post→click!

"L’enfant qui reve" is in "Glass Pyramid HIDAMARI", one of the main facilities in the park.

Let's enter the French Restaurant!

First, we stayed for a while in a waiting room↓ until the table is prepared.

The room has big windows and is very comfortable.

I like this open kitchen! All of the staff are very friendly and we can relax here!

The atmosphere is like this↓and

we booked the window table.
(Of course!!)

Look at the fork and knife! Very cute and fashionable!!

They use selected ingredients produced mainly in Hokkaido. Great concept, isn't it?

■amuse-gueule

I love this mozzarella & little quiche!!! 

The pickles includes melon, too! The wine and grapefruit gelee is very colorful and refreshing!

I've been to "RESTAURANT maccarina", but the scenery from the seat here is much better than that in "RESTAURANT maccarina".

■entree
Summer vegetables and grilled scallop

It's like a JEWELRY BOX!!!! Beautiful!

The bread was hot and delicious and I ate three pieces of it :-)

■deuxieme
Ressotto with Sakhalin surf clam

Sakhalin surf clam is caught mainly in Hokkaido, NATURALLY sweet and very delicious!! The black wild rice is used for the curry-flavored ressotto.

This is not normal water but natural water sprung at the foot of Mt. Yotei, one of the famous mountain in Hokkaido.

■troisieme
Vichyssoise

The potatoes were produced in Makkari Village, a famous potato production site in Hokkaido!

■plat de principal
Joue de boeuf

Some carrot, potatoes and white radish are added to the cheek part of beef!

See!! It's very TENDER!!!

This "May queen" is AGED over the last winter and very sweet!

■avant dessert
Milk sorbet with marinated melon and adzuki bean jam

I love this sorbet! It's really MILKY and goes well with ADZUKI beam jam!!

■grand dessert
Vanilla ice cream with tapioca

The ice cream is different from the sorbet above in flavor and texture. We really enjoyed two kinds of ice cream!

■mignardise et cafe

It's supposed to be coffee, but I chose herb tea (rose hip, strawberry, and pineapple) ↓

They serve set menu only↓

Why don't you enjoy the delicious meal and wonderful scenery at the fashionable restaurant in Moerenuma Park in Sapporo?

■Where is "Moerenuma Park"?

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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!