Before heading to the vacation home, I decided to have lunch and stopped by a restaurant I occasionally visit, only to find it closed for the day. So I searched nearby and found this place. As the name suggests, it's a downtown diner run by an elderly man alone. The daily special tonkatsu lunch, including side dishes, was quite delicious. The ramen, on the other hand, is a bit difficult to evaluate.

Visited a relative's house in Niseko and after finishing our errands, we stopped by a roadside station for some shopping. I had been curious about this place for a while, so we decided to have lunch here. It was a bit late, so there were no other customers besides us. The service and cooking were done by an elderly man, who I assume is the "grandpa" here. The restaurant had 2 table seats and 4 counter seats facing the window. I sat at a table and looked at the menu. Besides the regular menu, there was also a daily special menu on a whiteboard with discounted prices. I ordered the "Lunch Set B" (650 yen) which included fish fry (cod, sardine), homemade macaroni gratin, daikon and sea chicken mayo salad, miso soup, and rice. The oil from the fry was a bit of a concern, but considering the portion and price, it was a good deal. My companion ordered the "Mixed Tempura Rice Bowl" (600 yen) which had shrimp, squid, and mixed tempura, pickles, and miso soup. They found the tempura a bit hard, so it might be tough for those with weak teeth. The cooking took a bit of time since "grandpa" was handling everything alone, but all the dishes were well-seasoned and delicious. Thank you, "grandpa" for the meal!

The restaurant is located near Niseko Station, a bit hard to find. It's best to follow the car navigation to get there. There is a small parking lot for about 3 cars in front of the shop. Inside, there are 6 tables in a somewhat narrow space. The owner seems to match the name of the restaurant. The lunch menu includes daily specials, daily plates, and ramen. There are also weekday limited A~D menus, with options like beef bowl, pork bowl, pork cutlet bowl, and pork cutlet curry. I visited during lunchtime on a weekday and there were only 3 customers including myself. I ordered what seemed to be the daily plate lunch, which included sausage, omelette, spaghetti, minestrone-style soup, and rice all on one plate. Honestly, the portion was lacking. The sausage was tasty though. The price was 600 yen. It may have been a mistake in my choice as it didn't have much volume. The lunch set menu also lacked impressive photos. I'm thinking about what to try next time.

Today's daily lunch special was the dice steak set at such a great price. The rice and miso soup were as delicious as always. The dice steak was a bit small, but for this price, it's understandable. It came with demiglace sauce and pasta as a side, which paired well. The small dish in the top left corner had a delicious tuna mountain on it. The cabbage salad, pickled cucumbers, herring simmered in kelp were all very satisfying. I will definitely come back again.

Located just a little off the main street, but once you step inside, it's packed. Today's daily lunch special is only ¥600 - such a great deal! I had the ginger pork set today, and it was delicious. The rice was tasty and the ginger flavor in the pork was just right. The side of ikura (salmon roe) with grated daikon radish was amazing. In a pub, this alone would cost ¥600. The kinpira (sauteed burdock root) was also delicious. I'll definitely be going back!