Singer Takashi Hosokawa's hometown, Makkarimura in Hokkaido, has a roadside station called "Makkari Flower Center." Inside the large greenhouse, flowers are displayed and sold, and next to it is a building with local products, souvenirs, and a cafeteria. And guess what! There's a Takashi Hosokawa Memorial Hall on site, a pride of the villagers! Today's lunch will be at the "Yamabiko" cafeteria in this roadside station. Makkarimura is known for producing the most lily bulbs in Japan! Lily bulbs are often found in dishes like chawanmushi. When you try the Lily Root Tempura Soba, you may find it lacking in flavor and texture, becoming soggy in the broth. It's not something you'd crave to eat again. The Lily Root Tempura itself costs 550 yen, while the Soba with Tempura costs 1,200 yen. It's a bit pricey. I had the chance to talk to a local and learned about Takashi Hosokawa's childhood. "He wasn't good at studying, but he was really good at singing from a young age!"

Since it's Golden Week, the menu was a bit limited. I opted for a simple salt ramen. It was delicious!

During lunchtime, I was searching online for a place where I could have a delicious meal, and I came across this restaurant located inside a roadside station. The restaurant seemed to be popular among both locals and tourists, offering a wide variety of menu items. Currently, they have many dishes featuring lily roots, which seem to be their specialty. My friends who accompanied me ordered a dish with lily root tempura on the side and they really enjoyed it! I, on the other hand, was craving for spicy ramen and decided to try it. It was delicious! The soup was not too spicy but had a nice garlic flavor that I liked. The curly noodles were also very tasty. I wanted to finish all the soup, but the portion was quite generous so I couldn't. Overall, I highly recommend trying their menu items other than lily roots.

I tried the Lily Root Soba. It was priced at 1,200 yen, which seemed high for soba, but it was recommended in reviews so I decided to order it for the experience. It took about 20 minutes for the dish to come out, possibly because there were only two staff members working that day. There were about 14-15 customers waiting inside the restaurant as well. The tempura made with locally sourced Lily Root was delicious! It was a cold day, so the warm and comforting taste was especially satisfying.

Makkari Village in Hokkaido is a village at the foot of Mount Yotei. You can see the majestic Mount Yotei from anywhere in the village. Even though it's spring, the mountain is still covered in pure white snow. This snow melts into water, seeps into the ground, and becomes Kamui Wakka, or god's water, which nurtures the specialty of Makkari: yurine roots. Yurine roots are slightly bitter, fluffy, and rich in minerals and nutrients. In this dining establishment, you can enjoy two types of dishes featuring yurine roots. One is yurine root tempura soba, where the soba noodles soaked in broth complement the tempura well. The yurine roots are indeed fluffy and delicious, as befitting a local specialty. However, the soba noodles themselves are not of the high quality typical of Hokkaido, but rather ordinary pre-packaged noodles. The other menu item is yurine root tempura rice bowl, where the tempura is topped with a sweet and savory soy sauce dressing. Unfortunately, the quality was inconsistent due to being busy, and during my visit, the tempura was overcooked and tough, which was disappointing. However, the taste of the yurine roots was quite good. Makkari Village's yurine roots are a specialty product for promoting the village, and this is the restaurant where you can enjoy them.

- Visit on 7/9 - Today, the meeting with the client was postponed due to their schedule, so I decided to head back home and work on some paperwork. I'll treat myself to a drive and lunch in Rumoi and Mashike area, where the potato flowers should be blooming around this time! As expected, along Route 230, the potato flowers were in full bloom. Seriously, it's a potato-picking paradise! Excuse me! I mean, it's a photo-taking paradise! So, I'll head to the Michi-no-Eki (roadside station) in Mashike while taking photos along the way. Upon entering the Michi-no-Eki, I noticed about three beautiful female staff members. However, I headed straight to the restaurant at the back. I entered the restaurant "Shokudo Yamabiko," where I was greeted by four older ladies in the kitchen. Since there were no other customers, I chose a table by the window. I ordered the "Yurine (lily bulb) Tempura Soba" with cold 100% buckwheat noodles (bukkake style). It arrived in about 12-13 minutes! The tempura was loaded with plenty of lily bulbs and a few peeled shrimp. I immediately dug in. Delicious! The sweet and fluffy texture of the lily bulbs and the slightly chewy shrimp were amazing! The 100% buckwheat noodles were medium-thin with a satisfying chewiness. The soba dipping sauce didn't overpower the tempura, which was great. It was a quick and satisfying meal. The ingredients here, including the agricultural products and pork, are all from Mashike Village. I'm interested in trying the Katsu-don made with Mashike Village's herb pork and the Yurine Tempura Donburi next time. I might have a hard time deciding!

A restaurant located inside the Makkari Flower Center at the Michi-no-Eki (Roadside Station). Known for its specialty dish, Lily Root Tempura. They offer Lily Root Tempura Bowl for 1260 yen and Lily Root Tempura Soba/Udon for 1000 yen (hot/cold). The image shows the cold soba in the front and the bowl in the back. The tempura is usually served on top, but I asked for it on the side for a crispy texture. The Lily Root is tender, sweet, and delicious. Makkari is the hometown of Takashi Hosokawa, so there are many displays of his posters, costumes, and other related items inside the Roadside Station.

This is a dining area inside a so-called roadside station, but the deep-fried lily bulbs are delicious. Whenever I come to the roadside station, I end up eating them. Although the soba topped with tempura may seem pricey, when it comes to tempura made with lily bulbs, the price is reasonable. The tempura is packed with lily bulbs, giving a delightful texture and sweetness. The soba broth is just right, not too sweet or too salty, serving as a perfect side to the tempura. The man at the next table was eating salt ramen, and the aroma was amazing! I would like to try it next time as the soup was crystal clear.

This is a restaurant inside the Michikari Road Station. The ramen is 730 yen, miso soup is 800 yen, and curry is 730 yen, which feels quite expensive. Their specialty dishes are yurine tempura soba for 1000 yen and yurine tempura rice bowl for 1200 yen (made with yurine and peeled shrimp tempura, garnished with trefoil). The pork cutlet uses Michikari village herb pork and costs 1260 yen. The atmosphere is great and they also sell "Takashi Hosokawa" goods. I decided to order the soy sauce ramen, which was delicious and well-prepared. I forgot to mention the lotus root, but that's just a small mistake. The lotus root castella cake is recommended, even though I forgot to take a picture. It's delicious and costs 1050 yen.

The prices here are still high... I often go on business trips to Samani Town, but even in rural areas, the diners don't seem to have high grades, and they don't seem to have a particular focus on ingredients, yet the prices are a bit high. I think there are quite a few people who feel the same way when they go to the countryside... In this roadside station diner, in such a public place, it is common to set prices that are easy for everyone to use. On our way to Niseko, four of us had coffee, and we entered about 5 minutes before opening time, but the response was "It's okay, it's okay!" The rural auntie was very kind (laughs). I asked, "Can we just have coffee?" and of course, I received a "Yes" in response. The coffee was a bit bitter, definitely not yesterday's leftovers, but freshly brewed, so it seemed a bit too bitter. Well, that's how coffee is, right? And it cost 400 yen. However, isn't the soba at 700 yen a bit expensive? The ramen at 750 yen seems a bit high for this setting. I'm not discriminating, but in this place, this diner seems pricey! Wouldn't it be better for the town to consider having a shop that can provide services more widely and affordably, considering the nature of a roadside station? Even Takashi Hosokawa's senbei probably doesn't sell that well...

★ Lily root tempura ★ Tempura rice bowl Tempura soba Lily root production is the highest in Japan.