This year, I've been fishing a lot, so my meals have been mostly fish-centered... (´-ω-`) But, humans need to intake fat and protein from meat as well, right? So, I decided to explore new restaurants that serve delicious meat dishes! I arrived at the designated parking lot for the restaurant just before noon... I was worried that it might be crowded since it seems to be quite popular. I called ahead to confirm, just in case. Ring ring ring... (using a black telephone) Brrrr... Hello, is the restaurant crowded? Odo odo ((((；ﾟДﾟ)))) Gaku gaku Buru buru (What's he mumbling about...) The result was... it's completely fine! So, I felt relieved. I arrived at the front of the restaurant in about 40 seconds from the designated parking lot. Inside the restaurant, there was only one other group of customers. A beautiful waitress led us to a table, and we looked at the menu for a while. This restaurant is known for its soba noodles, but I was in the mood for meat this time. We ordered two recommended pork bowl sets. I, being greedy, ordered extra rice and meat for both sets. While waiting, I peeked into the kitchen and noticed that they were grilling over charcoal! Great! It seems promising! After about 15 minutes of waiting, our food arrived! Wow! It looks delicious! There's quite a lot of meat... My wife ordered a regular portion, but it still looked like a generous amount. I might have overdone it again, but it looks so good that I'm sure I'll finish it! I picked up the chopsticks and... Huh? These chopsticks feel quite substantial and easy to hold? Upon closer inspection... Ah, I see, these chopsticks are probably made of beech wood, which is likely the restaurant's namesake as well. The weight and texture are probably from the core material rather than the outer layer. The chopsticks seem to be unfinished with no coating, but they are finely crafted. It's a shame to use disposable chopsticks when these feel so good in my hand. While pondering this, I noticed that the tables, chairs, floor, counter, and even the entrance door might be made of beech wood as well. If that's the case, this restaurant pays great attention to detail. It's truly a woodworking town in Higashikawa. These details add to the overall value of the restaurant. Sorry for the long chitchat... Let's dig in! First, we tried the soba noodles from the set. Slurp slurp... Oh, the broth has a strong bitterness and a rich flavor. It's on the salty side, but the sweetness is quite subtle, so it's not bad. The robust aroma and flavor of the soba noodles start to spread in your mouth... Oh, it's delicious! I would like to have a regular portion of this soba noodles. The macaroni salad on the side is also homemade and tasty. The texture of the macaroni is just right, and the salad, with tuna, carrots, and corn, doesn't overpower the dish. The seasoning is exquisite. I love this salad; I want to eat a whole bowl of it with a spoon. With the quality of the chopsticks, soba noodles, and salad, I already give high marks personally at this point. Now, for the pork bowl! First, let's try the sansho... Is this a spoon for sansho? This spoon for sansho... I think it's also made of beech wood? Probably. (I'm sorry if I'm wrong...) The attention to detail is impressive. And the scent of the sansho is authentic. I usually sprinkle a lot of sansho on eel, and this is irresistible. Now, for the pork bowl! Let's eat! Itadaki...

Second visit, Kashiwa-san. The last time I went was during that legendary show "Yone Yuki". It's been over a year since then. Went in. The restaurant has a raised seating area in the back and a counter in the front. If you're alone or with one other person, you can get in quickly by sitting at the counter. It was no problem, but... we got in quickly this time. The set menu has two options: warm and cold soba noodles. The set includes these two options. Another selling point is the mini pork bowl and soba set for 1350 yen. The main dish is the mini pork bowl with a small side of soba noodles for 1000 yen. It seems that the more soba noodles you get, the higher the price. That must mean that buckwheat flour is expensive. The B set for 1000 yen is cheaper than the mini pork bowl, so I'm glad. If the prices were reversed, I might have reluctantly gone with the mini pork bowl. It's quite a generous portion. What's great is that first of all, there's a lot of pork slices. It's quite a satisfying amount, enough to feel fully satisfied. By the way, I didn't see the option for just the pork bowl on the menu. I checked last time too, but couldn't find it. Red octopus sausage! This is the best-tasting food in the world. Well, that might be an exaggeration, but it's delicious, right? And it's cut into octopus shapes, which is nice. Last time, it had shishito peppers on top. But this time, it's the red octopus sausage, which I personally prefer. Sansho pepper on the pork bowl. This is a must. If it's not there, it would be white pepper. I felt this last time too, but I think they grate it quite well at the restaurant. It's really spicy and has a good aroma. If not, they must be storing the strong sansho pepper properly. Even at eel restaurants, it's hard to find such good sansho pepper. A generous amount. As a fan of sansho pepper, I don't sprinkle it all at once. I sprinkle it on each piece of pork as I eat, so I can have the amount of sansho pepper I like on the pork. It's sweet and the pork is tender. Of course, the meat in a pork bowl is important, but the sauce is crucial too. And when you add the sansho pepper, it's perfect! The soba noodles are served warm only in the A set. In the B set, you can choose between cold and warm. But in the B set, it's warm only. Maybe it's because of the extra effort. You can easily eat the bite-sized soba noodles in one go. However, the broth is also delicious because of the perfect dashi flavor. I want to eat more, but... if I choose the A set, it becomes a mini pork bowl, so I have to think about it. It's a good place to stop by when in Higashikawa. Thank you for the meal. ⇒◇B set Can you get a large portion of that?◇

Today, I visited a restaurant in Higashikawa town that I wanted to try. The restaurant is located across from Sentopia, but last time I went, it was temporarily closed because the owner injured his finger. So, this time I was able to finally visit and try their set menu which includes soba noodles and pork bowl. The set menu was a bit tricky because you could choose between hot or cold soba as the main dish or the pork bowl as the main dish with a mini portion of soba that can only be served hot. I opted for the cold soba with various toppings like chicken curry, spicy pork, and regular soba with toppings like vegetables and chicken. The soba noodles are freshly made every morning and the quality was excellent. The pork bowl was delicious with thick slices of pork loin and a flavorful sauce made with special soy sauce. The meal also came with pickles and a refreshing cup of coffee from Yoshinori Coffee, a local coffee shop known for their specialty coffee beans. The only downside was that the restaurant does not allow children, so families with kids will have to wait until their children are older to visit. Overall, it was a satisfying dining experience.

I had made a reservation two months ago to visit Asahidake, planning to check out either udon or ramen. However, when the opening time arrived, the place was still closed. During my wait, I passed by the restaurant a few times and thought it looked nice based on my intuition. So, I decided to visit Buna. Upon entering, they asked us to sanitize our hands and requested that we only remove our masks while eating. The menu had options like Maitsutake Tempura Soba for 900 yen and Chicken Tempura Soba with grated daikon for 950 yen. We waited for about 15 minutes after the customers in line before us. The Maitsutake tempura was served with homemade salt, which was a nice touch. The soba noodles were thin, probably a mixture of 80% buckwheat and 20% wheat, with a good texture and a delicious flavor. The dipping sauce was on the richer and spicier side, perfect for dipping. The tempura was crispy and not too oily, complementing the homemade salt well. The soba-yu (hot soba water) was probably made with the town's famous underground water from Higashikawa, adding to the overall deliciousness of the handcrafted soba noodles. My companion had the chicken tempura, which was decent, although there were some parts that were a bit tough. Overall, it was a delightful experience finding delicious handmade soba noodles. Thank you for the meal.

I came to lunch with my colleagues at a soba restaurant, but I heard rumors that their pork bowl is delicious so I ordered the B set which includes a pork bowl with mini soba. The pork bowl had perfectly cooked pork loin with a sweet and savory sauce that went well with the rice. The equation of the dish was just right for the rice. The meat was tender and the quality was comparable to a specialized pork bowl restaurant. It was nice that they served mini soba instead of miso soup since it's a soba restaurant.

Visited the restaurant for a late lunch after a morning of visiting relatives in Asahikawa and a stop at Sapporo airport for my second son's school trip. Originally planned to have lunch at a café in the north, but there was an unexpected wait of 6 groups ahead of us. So, we decided to drive to Higashikawa and ended up at this restaurant recommended by my wife. Ordered the B set, and surprisingly, the pork bowl was quite delicious. However, the atmosphere seemed a bit too quiet as they seem to prefer no young children. When we asked if it was okay, they said it's fine if it's just one child. Overall, it might not be the best place for families due to the quiet ambiance.

On 20/06/09, during a business trip to Higashikawa Town, I had the "A set (soba noodles and a small pork bowl for 1260 yen) for lunch. I visited with my boss, both of us originally from the Tokachi area. We heard there was delicious soba and pork bowl here, so we decided to have lunch here. We couldn't choose between soba and pork bowl, so we chose the A set. The soba noodles were hand-made with a 80:20 ratio. The dipping sauce had a strong bonito flavor. The pork in the pork bowl was the classic loin cut, cooked with a secret sauce and roasted. The sweet and savory pork had the classic flavor of Tokachi pork bowl. Both dishes were delicious and satisfying.

Spicy pork dipping soba for 950 yen. Today's lunch was hand-made soba. I ordered the spicy pork dipping soba. It was served in about 5 minutes. The hand-made soba had a nice texture and a strong soba flavor, with the spicy dipping sauce adding a delicious kick. The amount of toppings and spiciness were just right.

I saw this place on TV show "Onigiri Atatamemasu ka" and decided to visit this stylish soba restaurant that looks like a cafe. They have a variety of creative soba dishes, and I had a hard time choosing, but I ended up ordering the "Yuki no Shita Kinojo Iri Umeniku Nagaimo Soba" for 960 yen, which was also featured by the announcer Haruka Takahashi. The noodles were thin and made with 20% buckwheat flour, giving them a supple texture. The warm broth had a strong bonito flavor, and there were plenty of "Yuki no Shita" (snow under the trees) inside. On top of that, there were roughly crushed nagaimo (Japanese yam) with a thick texture. The refreshing acidity of the umeniku (plum meat) added a nice touch to the dish. The portion of noodles was not that big, so I finished it smoothly!

I went to Oyama-san with a friendly company president. I had high expectations for the delicious water in the soba at Higashikawa. I ordered the B set with pork bowl (normal size) and soba (small size) for 950 yen. The interior of the restaurant has been renovated and looks clean, with a no-smoking policy. After waiting for about 15 minutes, our food arrived! My first impression was that the soba was small, like something you would get at a pork bowl restaurant. The pork bowl was delicious with tasty sauce and tender pork loin. I liked it! The soba was also delicious with a rich broth, but there wasn't enough of it. If you want to fully enjoy the soba, I recommend ordering the double portion. I will definitely come back for a rematch to try the soba! Thank you for the meal!

There are abnormal soba lovers and normal soba lovers in the sales department of the company I work for (lol). Both often mention how delicious the soba is at "Tokawa, with this and that..." but the high hurdles (rumors of soba running out quickly, closed on Sundays, etc.) have kept me from visiting. However, I happened to be in Tokawa on this day and decided to stop by a place called "Buna" for soba and pork bowl. The address is 1-6-1 Higashimachi, Higashikawa-cho, Kamikawa-gun, and the map can be found here https://goo.gl/maps/3ZEXsW8JuSdJMFi99. They are open from 11:00 to 14:30 and 17:30 to 20:00, closed on Mondays. They have parking (can use the "Sentopia" parking lot) and it's a non-smoking establishment. The building is located in a prominent location. The parking lot is a large one across the road, belonging to a facility called "Sentopia," where you can park. I arrived around 12:40 and sat at the counter as all the tables in the back were full. Another couple arrived later and the place was fully occupied. Customers who arrived after that (around 1:00 pm) were told, "Sorry, we're out of soba..." and were turned away. The hurdles are indeed high. There were various types of soba on the menu, but the pork bowl is also famous, so I wanted to try both. I ordered a set with a small pork bowl and a regular soba, and upgraded the pork bowl to a large size for an additional 150 yen. This way, both dishes were in regular size. The soba noodles were quite thin with a firm texture, and the broth was on the richer side. Normally, I like to submerge the noodles in the broth, but this time I dipped them lightly. The noodles had a refreshing and light taste, maybe due to the broth. The popular pork bowl was interesting. It wasn't grilled over charcoal, but the cooking technique was good. The meat was tender and the sauce slightly sweet, which I enjoyed. Although it lacked the unique smoky flavor of charcoal-grilled meat, it was satisfying in its own way. The combination of the refreshing soba and rich pork bowl was ideal. There was a sign at the entrance saying "No children allowed," which might raise the bar even higher for some people. Overcoming this barrier and enjoying the meal was a rewarding experience.

Near the station of Higashikawa-do, there is a popular restaurant known for its hand-made soba and pork bowl! On weekends in Higashikawa, during lunchtime, all the restaurants are crowded as usual! After browsing through the roadside station and the outdoor shop next door, I arrived around 1:30 pm and luckily found a seat at the counter! The menu offers a variety of creative soba dishes. Despite being a soba restaurant, the interior has a somewhat stylish atmosphere. I ordered the "Soba and Pork Bowl Set A" (1,260 yen tax included), which includes a slightly small pork bowl, choice of kake soba or mori soba, a side dish, and pickles. I chose mori soba. It took about 20 minutes for the food to arrive as there were still quite a few customers in the raised seating area. The soba is hand-made with a 80:20 ratio, thin noodles, and has a great texture. The broth is on the spicy side, which the owner mentioned is suitable for the popular "bukkake" style. The pork bowl in the set, despite being described as "slightly small," is actually quite generous with four large slices of pork loin. The sauce, a secret recipe passed down since the establishment, is sweet and savory, which I really enjoyed. The side dish of dried radish was also delicious! The restaurant also offers drinks and snacks in the evening, including soba flour galettes. I left the restaurant fully satisfied with the delicious soba and pork bowl! (laughs)

I headed from Asahiyama Zoo to Biei. Along the way, my friend recommended a soba restaurant called "Buna" located about halfway between Asahikawa and Biei. It's a small shop. If it weren't for my friend's recommendation, I wouldn't have been able to find the place. And without a car, I wouldn't have been able to get there in the first place. The restaurant has both a counter and tatami seating. I wanted to try the pork bowl, but it seemed they don't offer it as a standalone dish, so I ordered the B set with soba. My friend advised me that the pork bowl here is quite large, so it's better not to get the extra large size. Unusually, my husband went for the regular size. While waiting for our food, we chatted and relaxed. It was lunchtime, so more and more customers were coming in, and the tatami area was full. Finally, the pork bowl arrived. The amount of rice was huge! And there was plenty of pork too. The soba broth was delicious, and I enjoyed every drop. The pork in the bowl was also very tasty, as expected of Hokkaido. There are plenty of delicious restaurants in Tokyo, but eating local ingredients while traveling is truly special. Thank you for the meal!

In the town of Higashikawa, there is no tap water. All water comes from underground springs or mineral water. The water is delicious, so naturally the soba noodles are delicious too. The water is used to knead, boil, and chill the soba noodles. This makes me look forward to my next visit even more.

I had a delicious meal at a restaurant in Higashikawa Town where I ordered the B set and ate pork bowl! It was good value for money compared to Obihiro.

Asahikawa City's neighboring town, or rather, suburb. Probably many people commute to Asahikawa. However, this town, located with the Daisetsuzan Mountains as a backdrop, is cool in many ways. Foreigners seem to live here in large numbers, and everything from outdoor shops, hostels, restaurants, cafes, etc. is stylish. I peeked at a Lohas-themed event on the weekend. Actually, a farm I know sells smoked chicken, so it's a luxurious treat to enjoy their carefully handcrafted smoked chicken. I happened to inject myself into a space right across the street from the restaurant and went there in the early afternoon. The parking lot is at the facility next to the library, so please use that. I sat down at a counter that was free, but the owner's wife asked if it was okay to wait a bit. I had no plans after this, so I said, "Sure, that's fine." The menu and the husband's work made me understand a bit why there was a wait of about 30-40 minutes. The menu is extensive, with many labor-intensive items, and everyone in the almost full restaurant seemed a bit idle, while the two people sweating inside the counter were working hard. The interaction was quite strict, but I noticed the husband's Kansai accent. In the end, I ordered the Oyaji (large portion), and they seemed to have brought it in between, so I didn't wait 20 minutes. I passed the time reading a local magazine about Asahikawa. The zaru soba served was quite a lot. The price is actually at an Edo-level range, so I thought the presentation was Edo-style, but it was reassuringly Hokkaido-style. The soba had a strong flavor, and the soba soup was a bit spicy, almost close to Edo-style. Hmm? It seems to have a strong taste of bonito flakes. Edo men would probably dislike this taste, but for me, it was within an acceptable range. Slurp! It was delicious. The spicy dipping sauce was refilled a few times from the tokkuri, compensating for the timing when the soup was diluted, and the dipping sauce remained spicy until the end. Slurp! I became quite full and finished the soba. I had several refills of soba-yu from the sake cup-like katakuchi served in between, which was cloudy but light and hot. With a refill of soba-yu, my body was warmed up, and I prepared to go outside where the minimum temperature was -14 degrees. I paid the bill and saw the staff apologizing to everyone returning, feeling a bit sorry for them as my initial impression had changed. It seems that the soba restaurant in a rural area of Higashikawa was just too busy, resulting in a cooking bottleneck that happened to occur. I received a polite bill and said, "Thank you for the meal." Next time, let's try a different style of soba. I enjoyed it.

Soba noodles have a wide variety of options, but the pricing is high and the service was disappointing. It was a letdown for our long-awaited family meal.

The lunch was delicious after a long time.