I rarely go to Rausu Town for lunch. I found this place while driving. The building had a flashy two-tone color and eye-catching banners. Inside, the restaurant was spacious with a long counter in front of a large kitchen. There were also table seats and raised tatami seating, suitable for accommodating large groups. Although I thought it was a regular diner, the menu mostly consisted of seafood dishes with a limited variety and somewhat high prices. I decided to try the seafood chirashi bowl for 1980 yen including tax since I was in Rausu Town. It was a bit concerning to be the only customer at lunchtime in such a large restaurant. The chirashi bowl turned out to be luxurious, with a high bowl that made me think it was a two-tiered dish, but it was just piled high. It also came with salmon head soup in a large bowl, along with various side dishes. The seafood included tuna, yellowtail, octopus, salmon, cod roe, crab meat, and something else I couldn't identify. Overall, it was delicious, but I didn't enjoy the crab meat. The dish looked fancy but was a bit difficult to eat. The restaurant was listed as temporarily closed on Tabelog but had reopened with a completely different menu. I might try the crab rice next time.

Infection control measures seemed to have reduced the menu options. I ordered the seafood trio bowl, but it turned out to be a bowl of three types of fish roe. The miso soup with crab was delicious.

When my family and I went on a trip around Hokkaido in the past, we visited this memorable restaurant (*´ ˘ `*) It left a strong impression with its generous portions and luxurious feel♪

I had a very delicious meal, and I am comfortably full. I enjoyed a relaxing time.

"Tod meat set meal, crab soup for 2520 yen"

Nowadays, everyone knows the town of Rausu, a natural heritage site in Shiretoko. I visited the "Marumi Shokudo" that I had visited before. I parked my car in the parking lot in front of the store and entered the store. The interior of the store is spacious as expected, with a large kitchen in the center and a counter around it. There are table seats on the left and a raised seating area on the right. I sat at the counter seat right after entering and looked at the menu. Of course, I wanted to eat ramen, but I also wanted to have a rice dish, so I ordered the "soy sauce ramen and mini fried rice set". There were two people in the kitchen, but they didn't bring me water right away, so I looked around the store and found a cup on the counter. I approached it and saw a sign that said, "Help yourself." I see. I poured some water into the cup myself and took a sip... it was lukewarm. While sitting at the counter seat and watching the kitchen, the man was making fried rice. The woman was making ramen. As I watched him make the fried rice, I noticed that he occasionally tasted it. After waiting for 5 minutes, the ramen set was served. The ramen looked like a simple regular ramen. As for the fried rice... is there no egg in it?! Well... I took a sip of the ramen soup first... I couldn't taste any broth at all. The noodles were thin and too soft. The chashu was dry and tasteless. I took a bite of the fried rice... what is this?! This is the first time I've eaten fried rice like this. There is no egg in it, and there is very little chashu and green onions in it. Is this really fried rice? I was surprised. Goodbye forever.

After touring the area, we decided to have lunch and found this place. There was a line at the popular restaurants, so we continued south and ended up here. The menu had curry, katsudon, and ramen, but we ordered a sea urchin bowl for 2,500 yen and a small salmon roe bowl for 1,300 yen. The dishes came with crab soup, and while the sea urchin portion was average, there was too much rice. It was strange that kamaboko was included as a side dish, but the sea urchin itself was tasty. The rice was just okay. The salmon roe bowl, despite being small, had a generous amount of salmon roe. The atmosphere felt like it catered to local fishermen and bikers.

I visited a restaurant in Rausu town on a weekday afternoon. It's not a place I particularly wanted to go, but I had some regret from my previous visit, so I reluctantly decided to go back. The restaurant is located in Azabu-cho, near the entrance of the town along National Route 335. It's a three-story building that also seems to operate as a guesthouse, with a sign sticking out on the roof making it quite visible. The parking lot is spacious, so you can park as much as you want. I had visited this place about 8 years ago, and back then during the summer, they had a variety of seafood bowl options for tourists at reasonable prices. I didn't think I would come back again, but a local girl I talked to mentioned that their nabe-yaki udon (hot pot udon) is really delicious. So, I decided to give it a try this time. The place had a long counter, a few large tables, and a banquet hall on the right side. The kitchen was quite spacious, and an elderly woman and possibly her child were busy cooking. I ordered the nabe-yaki udon, which arrived in about 10 minutes. It had shiitake mushrooms, green onions, bamboo shoots, along with mochi (rice cakes) and eggs. The thick udon noodles lacked firmness, and the broth was not particularly outstanding, but somehow it was quite addictive, and I ended up drinking a lot of it. It had a homely taste to it. The other customers seemed to be regulars, with one of them confidently saying that their mother would come later to pay the bill. It seems like this place caters mostly to locals, especially during this time of year. The restaurant also offers to deliver the nabe-yaki udon on December 31st. Perhaps it is a popular choice for nearby residents to have this dish for their New Year's Eve celebration. It felt like a soul food from a very small local community. Thank you for the meal.

We visited with about 30 people for lunch. Despite each of the 30 people ordering something different, the food came out quickly, which was surprising. This time, I ordered the pork cutlet curry, which had an amazing volume and was very impressive. The pork cutlet was crispy, thick, juicy, and delicious. The curry sauce was tasty with just the right amount of spiciness. I thought the portion was large, but it was so delicious that I finished it all. Those who had ramen said it was delicious too. Those who ordered rice balls were surprised by their size. The generous portions are great.

Silver Week, Day 2, continued... Lunch time finally!! After leaving the Shiretoko Goko Park Service Center, we returned to Route 334 and headed towards Rausu on the Shiretoko Crossroad. Unfortunately, it seemed a bit early for autumn leaves, but some trees were starting to show some color. We took a break at the Shiretoko Pass viewpoint, where we could see Rausu-dake mountain hiding behind the clouds. The view was breathtaking, with the vast Okhotsk Sea spreading out beyond the mountains of the Shiretoko World Heritage Site. We could even see a glimpse of the Northern Territories, including Kunashiri Island and Etorofu Island. It was my first time seeing the Northern Territories with my own eyes, and the sight was truly awe-inspiring. After enjoying the scenery, we continued on the Shiretoko Crossroad towards Rausu town. The road was impressive, and we marveled at how it was constructed. Upon reaching Rausu town, we headed to the Michi-no-Eki Shiretoko Rausu, hoping to have lunch at the Shiretoko Shokudo. However, we were discouraged by the long wait and disorganized atmosphere at the restaurant, so we decided to find another place to eat. Driving towards Shari on Route 335, we found Marumi Shokudo, a restaurant that was not on our radar. We entered the restaurant, which seemed to cater more to tour groups, and ordered Moon-viewing Soba and Curry Rice. The menu was not very unique to Rausu, and the lack of cold soba on a hot day was disappointing. Despite the limited options, we settled for our choices and tried to enjoy our meal in this unexpected dining situation.

I stopped by during my motorcycle tour of the Shiretoko Peninsula. It was a foggy day in Rausu, with a cold that didn't feel like summer at all. I wanted something warm to eat, so I decided to go inside. We arrived at the restaurant around 2 p.m., and there were about 5-6 local men drinking beer. Besides them, we were the only customers. I ordered soy sauce ramen, and my companion ordered salt ramen. The menu mentioned that the soup used Rausu kelp broth, and indeed the soup had a unique umami flavor that was delicious. The noodles and toppings were average, but for 630 yen, I was satisfied with the portion. While dishes like sea urchin bowls or salmon roe bowls were around 2000 yen, there were also affordable options like udon and soba for 630 yen, making it a convenient place for budget-conscious riders.

On a Monday around 2:00 PM, two of us visited with no wait time. The first floor of this hotel-style guesthouse had a large dining hall, known for its generous portions among riders for a long time. The specialty is the ikura don, but they also offer common dishes like curry and katsudon. We ordered the "Shiretoko Salmon and Ikura Don" which is a half portion of ikura and grilled salmon. Soon, a large bowl and a miso soup with hairy crab arrived. The ikura was slightly too heavily seasoned compared to other places, but with the generous amount served, it might actually be just right for those who want to eat a lot. The portion was truly huge. I felt a sense of fear that I might not be able to finish it if I didn't eat with vigor. I enjoyed the grilled salmon and miso soup alternately, and left the restaurant feeling full. It might be a bit too much for women, but for those who want to eat a truly satisfying ikura don, I recommend it.

This time, let me introduce "Marumi Shokudo" in Rausu-cho, eastern Hokkaido♪ Originally, I planned to have lunch around Utoro, but due to too many detours, we couldn't make it to Utoro and ended up having lunch here as it was featured in the guidebook (lol). The car in the front is the Civic Hybrid that served as our reliable transportation during this trip (^^) Surprisingly, it almost reached 20 kilometers per liter in fuel efficiency (amazing). The atmosphere inside the restaurant gives a feeling of being more popular among locals than tourists, right? There were plenty of counter seats available (^^) The menu offers a variety of dishes such as cutlet rice bowls, ramen, udon, and curry, more than the tourist-oriented menus. Looking at the other customers, we seemed to be the only ones who looked like tourists (^_^)v We ordered the "Marumi set meal (2,300 yen)" that was also featured in the guidebook♪ This menu, with the subtitle "Shiretoko's Fortune," included Taraba, Zuwai, and snow crabs, as well as spicy cod roe, salmon, scallop sashimi, and fried scallops, providing a rich variety, truly a classic tourist menu (lol). However... despite the luxurious appearance of this menu, everything was served cold... The only warm items were the miso soup and rice. Especially the crabs were so cold, almost like they were taken straight out of the fridge. When crabs are served cold, they tend to have an ammonia smell, making them less enjoyable to eat... If we were going to eat them here, I would have preferred them to be freshly boiled!! Browsing the internet, I saw photos of fresh sea urchin rice bowls and salmon roe rice bowls that looked delicious, so I kind of regretted it... There was a sign like this inside the restaurant♪ Maybe the cast of "From the Northern Country" visited this place? Come to think of it, there was also a shop called "Jun no Banya" near this restaurant, right? If we were going to make a reference to "From the Northern Country," maybe that would have been the place to go (^^)v

There is a review mentioning that the miso ramen is so delicious that it makes you crave miso ramen rice. I tried the Golden Pork miso chashu ramen. The restaurant has a spacious interior for group dining. They offer self-service water and tea for drinks. The staff, consisting of 4-5 elderly women, manages the place. The ramen comes with thick chashu slices, colorful naruto, and dried seaweed. The soup has a typical drive-in ramen flavor with a prominent sweetness from the miso. It may be irresistible for those who have a sweet tooth. The thin and smooth noodles were delicious. As for the chashu, the meat flavor was decent, but there were too many tendons, reducing the enjoyment by half. The portion size was adequate, making it a good choice for those looking to satisfy their sweet cravings in moderation.

During a road trip to Eastern Hokkaido with my wife, we stopped by for lunch. The roadside station in Rausu was extremely crowded, so we decided to skip it and ended up at this place we stumbled upon. My wife ordered the "Salmon and Roe Bowl Set" and I, feeling adventurous, ordered the "Seal Meat Set." I didn't realize that seal meat is not known for being delicious, which was a big mistake. The seal meat in the stir-fry had a strong, unique smell... I covered it with lots of seasoning to mask the taste and managed to finish it. Looking at my wife's dish, she had left over half of her salmon and roe bowl untouched. I decided to try it and found that the salmon and roe were quite salty, so I couldn't finish it either. If we ever visit again, I plan to order the ramen or curry that the locals were enjoying.