urya-momen
Men's nationwide food tour in Japan, Kushiro edition
Next week, my annual business trip to Hokkaido will finally begin. This month, I have almost all my work scheduled in Hokkaido, so I will be away from home for a long time. To prepare for the business trip, my family and I decided to take a pre-trip to Hokkaido for a family vacation during the 3-day weekend before the business trip starts. Our destination this time is Kushiro in eastern Hokkaido, and we arrived by plane on Saturday afternoon.
We rented a car at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido and headed towards eastern Hokkaido. It took about 4 hours by car to finally reach Kushiro. Kushiro is really far by car, I'm exhausted. Tomorrow, we have plans to explore Kushiro, so we quickly had dinner to prepare for tomorrow.
When it comes to Kushiro, known for being a fishing port town, the seafood must be delicious. So, of course, we decided to look for a sushi restaurant in Kushiro. Walking around the bustling area of Kushiro, we found many sushi restaurants. Among the many options, I chose "Hinode Sushi" this time.
About the restaurant:
Hinode Sushi is located on the outskirts of Kushiro's downtown area, on the 1st floor of a rather old mixed-use building. It doesn't seem like a place where tourists would go, both in terms of location and appearance, but I really like this kind of place. We took a commemorative photo of my daughter at the entrance before entering the restaurant. Inside, there were counter seats and table seats, with local regulars enjoying themselves. The owner of the restaurant, who seemed to be around 70-80 years old, was managing the place alone.
About the food:
There is no menu at the restaurant. You order what you want from the items in the showcase. They don't offer grilled dishes, so it's either sashimi or sushi. I asked the owner for recommendations and decided to try a few dishes.
- Assorted sashimi: It included saury, tuna, scallop, and flounder. The saury, famous in Kushiro, had a good amount of fat and was delicious. The flounder was well-aged and flavorful, but the scallop was a bit lacking in sweetness.
- Simmered saury: A dish recommended as a sake accompaniment. The saury simmered in soy sauce was tender and flavorful.
- Surf clam & Japanese ivory shell sashimi: Ordered by my wife, who loves shellfish. The surf clam was crunchy with a strong taste of the sea, and the Japanese ivory shell was thick and satisfying.
- Finishing with sushi: We had squid, salmon roe, sea urchin, mackerel, and conger eel. The squid was a bit thin, the salmon roe was well-marinated in soy sauce, the sea urchin didn't have a strong sweetness, the mackerel was delicious, and the conger eel was tender and rich.
Lastly, when my daughter asked for "cold tea," the owner offered her Ito En's "Catechin Oolong Tea." It was a surprise for a small child, but she took a sip and seemed to enjoy it. Overall, the food was delicious, and we had a great time at Hinode Sushi in Kushiro.