Finding Jingisukan

If you really want to get a taste of any country, you have to experience some amazing, local food. Tourist guides and websites will give you a nice list of "must-eat" places and while those are quite handy, sometimes, it's nice to walk aimlessly around until you stumble upon a local restaurant-- away from all of the craziness. My friend and I did just that while we were trying to find a restaurant that her friend had recommended to us. We got lost and didn't find it, but found something insanely delicious at Yamada Mongol.

Jingisukan (Genghis Khan) is named after the man who founded the Mongol Empire and consists of meat (usually mutton) and vegetables that are cooked on a dome-shaped metal grill in the middle of the table. This grill is heated by white stones (aka VERY HOT) and a slab of animal fat is placed in the middle to sizzle and melt. You can order various types and portion sizes of meat and vegetables to grill and a bowl of rice is served alongside. While vents are located directly above the grill to suck away what smoke it can, you'll still leave with a smokey feeling. I'm not a huge red meat fan, but the vegetables were amazing after they were dipped into a sauce :) 

Onions cooking in animal fat

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week! :) 

Ramen Yokocho: Ramen Lovers Rejoice

Tucked away in a small alley in Susukino is Ramen Yokocho-- a narrow lane lined with various ramen shops serving up Hokkaido's famous dish. First established in 1951 with eight shops, the alley has since expanded to seventeen, giving visitors a wide variety of options. Karyn and I didn't have a specific one in mind, so we walked from one end to the other before choosing a ramen shop that wasn't crowded. Many of them seat twelve customers at the most, so be prepared to wait if you come at a busy time.

Went to Teshikaga, a well-known restaurant that serves both miso and seafood dashi :)

Choose your meal, buy the ticket and hand it over to the chef inside :)

Amazing ramen :) 

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week! :)

Donburi Chaya: First Taste of Uni

I'll admit--I'm not the biggest fan of seafood, but I wasn't going to visit Nijo Market and NOT try some delicious donburi. I read about a small restaurant called Donburi Chaya, located in a small alley within the market. They didn't open until about 7:30 so my friend and I waited patiently outside, looking for potential omiyage from other shops that were already open. Donburi Chaya has a wide variety of donburi for customers to try and I decided on the salmon ikura uni-don, an amazing combination of fresh uni (sea urchin), ikura (fish eggs) and salmon sashimi on a bed of warm rice. I don't eat ikura very often, but I've had it since I was little (thanks, Dad!) and salmon sashimi is probably my favorite type of sashimi, but I have never tried uni before. 

 In a way, it was a smart and a what-were-you-thinking?! decision at the same time. The uni was incredibly delicate, smooth and creamy and I was surprised that it didn't have a fishy taste at all! They definitely didn't skimp on the serving size either because I was impressed with the amount that was given. That was the smart decision. The not-so-smart decision? I'm probably spoiled by the uni in Hokkaido and will forever compare any other ones that I eat to that...But hey, can't beat Hokkaido when it comes to seafood I guess :) The donburi that I ordered was just over 1,800 yen, but definitely worth it! 

Probably one of the best breakfasts I've ever had in Japan.

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week! :)

Nijo Market

Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market is famous for its tuna auctions and for being the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world, drawing in thousands of tourists. Nijo Market, on the other hand, is much smaller (occupying about a city block), but offers fresh, high quality, local seafood such as fish, crab, sea urchin, ikura and other produce. Hokkaido is known for its seafood (Tokyo gets theirs from this prefecture because of the quality) so you can expect nothing short of delicious and amazing food when you come here. The market opens from 7 o'clock although many stores have their own opening and closing times/days. 

If you want to try some of the fresh seafood, duck into one of the restaurants :)

Hokkaido's popular (and famous) yubari melons could be yours if you're willing to dish out the yen for it. 

6,000 yen watermelons if you're interested :)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week! :)

Farm Tomita Part 3

Sorry for not posting on my usual days! I'll try and catch up with all of my missed posts, but today's one will be the last part from Farm Tomita :) We went to Autumn Field before walking across to Sakiwai Field and ending up at Hanabito Field. Despite the large number of crowds, I really do recommend visiting this farm if you have time-- the colors, smells and scenery are absolutely amazing! 

Autumn Field-- the colors really do remind you of autumn! :)

Really couldn't understand why this inconsiderate tourist walked over the ropes onto the field just to take a photo! She got a lot of dirty looks from everyone, including me. 

Hanabito Field. To get a good view of it, walk to the greenhouse and take your photo from there! :)

View from the greenhouse

Sakiwai Field :) 

Lavender ramune

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful week!