天反
Good evening, it's Tenhanji. On the final day of the Hokkaido tour, day 3, we took the Kurodake Ropeway. Just a 5-minute drive from our hotel in Sounkyo, we arrived at the lower station. The weather was generally sunny, which would have been perfect for Asahidake yesterday. After a 10-minute ride on the ropeway, we reached the upper station with a clear view of Kurodake. On the other side, the peaks of the Kitadake mountains were peeking out from a small sea of clouds. A decent view indeed. We were guided for a short walk and headed towards the lift station to go further up, but had to turn back. It was a brief 30-minute walk. I wish we could have taken the lift up to the 7th station. Once we got off the ropeway, we made a quick stop at Sandogawa SA for a break and then headed straight to New Chitose Airport. We arrived at New Chitose around noon, with our departure flight at 14:05. We decided to have lunch first. We initially tried "Ramen Dojo," but it was crowded at lunchtime. The longest line was for Ichigen. Is this related to the Ichigen in Shinjuku? Why is it so popular? Since it seemed too busy, we decided to skip the ramen. As we walked back, we found a relatively quiet curry restaurant, which turned out to be Goshima-ken. I think I saw this place on Tabelog. When we entered, we were seated at a 4-person table with plenty of space for our belongings. We looked at the menu, which offered beef, pork, cheese, scallop curry, and Hayashi, as well as Goshima udon curry made with soup from Goshima. My mother chose the Hayashi set, while I opted for the curry udon set to compare two types. The Hayashi set cost 1540 yen, and the Goshima-ken curry udon comparison set cost 1760 yen. The curries arrived promptly, within 10 minutes. The curry udon comparison set included half portions of each curry with half the toppings. The traditional beef soup was made with beef bouillon, kombu, and agedashi broth. The soup was thick and had a rich flavor, with a mild level of spiciness. The Goshima hand-stretched udon noodles were thin and had a good texture. The toppings included agedashi made from agedashi (flying fish), roast beef, mizuna, and oval-cut white leeks. The agedashi had a dense fish flavor without any fillers and a crispy fried surface. The roast beef was tender and flavorful. The tomato chicken soup was made with chicken bouillon, tomatoes, and yogurt, offering a good balance of acidity and flavor. The toppings included foie gras chicken galantine, which was delicious. The Hayashi rice was cooked with plenty of vegetables in a demi-glace sauce with beef, bamboo shoots, and shiitake mushrooms. The beef curry was a classic type, not too spicy.