Hokkaido [2]

Attention foodies! Hokkaido has the freshest seafood you can find in the Asian pacific, authentic ramen noodles, world class dairies and mouthwatering fruits. I am giving you a warning right now. You might want to buy a plane ticket right away after reading about the food adventures in Hokkaido. 

The crab is bigger than my face

Besides hot springs, this island is known for their crabs. The crabs draw many people outside of Hokkaido because the crabs are fresh, delicious, and inexpensive. The four types of crabs in Hokkaido are the Hanasaiki crab, hairy crab, snow crab, and king crab with Hanasaki crab as the crown jewel of them all. Other well-known fresh seafood includes sea urchin, scallop, salmon roe, and squid. I prefer eating seafood in Japan because you can eat the seafood fresh at the two-story market complex. You choose your food on the first floor of the market and they prepare your food right away. You can find a seat on the second floor of the market and enjoy the seafood you bought fifteen minutes ago in sashimi style or soup style. 

Ramen scoreboard at the Ramen Alley

When you visit Hokkaido, be sure to visit the Ramen Alley in downtown Sapporo, capital city of the Hokkaido prefecture. Dating back to 1951, there are a total of seventeen ramen shops lining side by side on the both sides of the alley. You can’t choose which place to eat at? Don’t worry! There is a scoreboard posted in the alley which gives each restaurant ratings. These ramen shops are holes in the wall. Each shop can seat about ten people and expect to lose your space bubble. Remember to slurp when you eat ramen. Sounds weird, but yes, it is considered polite to do so in a ramen shop. It shows that you are enjoying the noodles. That bowl of ramen from one of the shop called Aji no Karyu (味の華龍) completely changed my views on ramen restaurants in America. No fancy ramen restaurants in American can compare to a bowl of ramen from a hole in the wall restaurant in Japan.

Hokkaido supports half of Japan’s dairy products. About 60% of the milk produced is used for drinking. The rest is processed into butter, cheese, yogurt, and ice cream. You can buy soft serve ice cream at around every corner of popular attractions. I prefer plain milk flavor then the melon flavor because there is a distinctive milky taste that will leave you craving more. The milk flavor tastes so rich and the ice cream is extremely creamy. You will probably eat as much as possible until you get a stomach ache like I did. I can never forget that taste. Every soft serve ice cream I have tried outside of Hokkaido fail to impress my taste buds. (If you happen to go to flower farms in Furano, check out the lavender flavor soft serve ice cream too).

Pricey melons 

The Hokkaido summer is the season of Yubari melons. Yubari melon is considered as one of the high-end fruits in Japan. Many people buy Yubari melons as a gift for friends and family. In May of 2013, a pair of Yubari melons was sold in an auction for $15,700 USD. Without $15,700 in your pocket, you can still try the Yubari melons. It will cause you around $50-$100 depending on the grade of the melon. The melon is as sweet as sugar syrup. It is super juicy and it has a fresh after taste. When you cut open the melon, you can see the juicy racing out. You can’t find another melon like this anywhere in the world. In my opinion, you will regret if you don’t try it. 

I went to Hokkaido, Japan with an empty stomach and left feeling satisfied. There are so many places that I wanted to try but I didn’t have the time or the space in my tummy. I will definitely visit again for the amazing food and experiences. Hope to see you there! 
Do you want to travel to Hokkaido and why?