Hokkaido Restaurants

Hokkaido's regional food includes excellent seafood, beef, lamb, corn on the cob, and potatoes. Dining out is generally much cheaper than in Tokyo and Osaka. Look for lunch and dinner tabehodai (all-you-can-eat) smorgasbords (called baikingu, from the word Viking; long story) ranging from ¥1,000 to ¥3,000. Many restaurants have picture menus or a visual display made of plastic in the window. Lead the waiter outside to the window display and point if necessary.

Outside the cities there may not be many dining choices in the evening, and many resort towns (where meals are included in hotel stays) may offer nothing but noodles and booze. Further, dinner reservations at guesthouses are required, and if you arrive without a reservation and are able to secure a room, you will generally have to eat elsewhere. Not to worry—you won’t starve: There are 24-hour convenience stores (konbini) in any Hokkaido settlement, where you can pick up a bento box lunch, sandwiches, or just about any amenity necessary. While large hot-spring hotels often have huge buffet dinners, the smaller guesthouses excel in food that is locally caught, raised, and picked. Given the overall high quality of dining throughout Japan, you probably won’t even need to leave your hotel to get a decent meal.

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  • 1. Ajidokoro Takeda

    $$

    Claws emerging from a bed of fresh-cut crab and darkly gleaming red salmon eggs piled high on a bowl of rice are just two of the famous raw-fish options at this 50-year-old family restaurant in the middle of the noisy fish market. They also have lighter options like fresh shellfish and simple grilled fish, rice, and miso lunch sets. The menus have plenty of pictures and a bit of English to make ordering easier. The restaurant also houses a fishmonger known as Takeda Sengyoten.  

    3--10--16 Inaho, Otaru, Hokkaido, 047-0032, Japan
    0134-22–9652
    www.otaru-takeda.com

    Known For

    • The well-priced omakase-don
    • Fresh crab
    • Half-shell oysters

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No dinner

  • 2. Otaru Beer Otaru Warehouse No.1

    $

    Located in one of the warehouses beside the Otaru Canal, Otaru Beer a great place to try the local Weiss, Pilsner, and Dunkel. The food is also international with a menu that includes such wildly differing foods as pizza, paella, german sausage, and roast pork. The shiny copper brew kettles, brick walls, and wooden beams help create a great atmosphere. Otaru Beer has been a favorite amongst locals and visitors for nearly three decades. 

    Minato Machi 5--4, Otaru, Hokkaido, 047-0007, Japan
    0134-21--2323
    otarubeer.com

    Known For

    • Great house-brewed beer selections
    • Fun atmosphere that draws locals and tourists
    • Good pizza

  • 3. Otaru Kita Togarashi Restaurant

    $$

    Standing apart from all the sushi joints in Otaru is this lamb barbecue heaven at the easy-to-find branch of a famous jingisukan restaurant. Purchase a plate of tender, succulent lamb, which you cook tyourself on a dome-shaped griddle with side orders of alfalfa sprouts (moyashi) and leeks (negi). If you're still hungry, pick up a crepe or a treat on your way out from one of the shops in the cute collection of buildings. Reservations are required on weekends.

    1--1--17 Ironai, Otaru, Hokkaido, 047-0024, Japan
    0134-33–0015

    Known For

    • Lamb steaks
    • Charcoal cooking
    • Bustling vibe

  • 4. Otaru Masazushi

    $$$

    In the middle of Otaru's famous strip of sushi restaurants, Masazushi serves up the morning's catch of herring, tuna, abalone, salmon, and more perched on quality vinegared rice. The staff will check your wasabi horseradish tolerance levels when taking your order. A good, quick lunch is the basic 10-piece akane set. The restaurant is quiet and removed from the day-tripper crowds, and in the evening it's where local business leaders hold court in private rooms, but there are English menus.

    1--1--1 Hanazono, Otaru, Hokkaido, 047-0024, Japan
    0134-23–0011
    www.masazushi.co.jp

    Known For

    • Uni-ikura don (donburi of sea urchin and salmon roe)
    • Good-value lunch sets and children's meals
    • Indulgent evening courses like the super-expensive omakase

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Wed.

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