I finally made my long-awaited trip to Yubari. I wanted to spend money in Yubari, so I stopped by the local products center. It was lunchtime, so I decided to eat something and saw a sign for "Coal Ramen" in the back. Since I was in Yubari, I chose the Coal Ramen. The ramen was literally black, with a burnt soy sauce flavor and seaweed for a black theme. The noodles were average, and the chashu was also just okay. There was a generous amount of seaweed on top, which made it enjoyable until the end. Thank you for the meal.

I felt like eating shishamo from the Mujikawa River, so I bought some on my motorcycle tour and stopped by the famous "Hokkaido Product Center" known for its melon bear. The parking lot was spacious, making it an important rest stop that I always visit. It was a very cold day, and I wanted something to warm me up, so I ordered a ramen set (coal ramen for 700 yen and mini curry for 350 yen) for only 800 yen! And they even had the option for a large serving of coal ramen. Of course, I ordered the large serving! It was self-service, so when my number was called, I went to pick it up and found a lot of dried seaweed piled on top of the ramen! When I dipped the seaweed in the soup and tried it, the seaweed soaked up too much soup and it disappeared! But when I used a spoon to gather up the soup and slurped it, I thought, "Hmm, it's miso. It has a garlic flavor. Oh, it's delicious." It was a delicious "charred garlic miso" ramen that I enjoyed and felt satisfied. It was very filling, and I felt like saying, "I ate it all!" Additionally, I received a limited-time free ticket for either a cream puff, soft serve ice cream, or coffee as a commemoration of the opening of the Hokkaido East Road. Although it had an impact, personally, I thought it would be better with a little less dried seaweed.

This is a restaurant located inside the drive-in "Hokkaido Product Center Yubari Store" along National Route 274. Whenever I drive back from Obihiro towards Sapporo, I always stop here for a break as the route between Rankoshi and Yubari is on local roads. They offer popular souvenirs like the "Melon Bear" and various other products, making it a fun place to browse. Despite stopping here many times, I decided to try the restaurant for the first time. It has a food court-like setup with tables, and you purchase food tickets in advance, with self-service for everything including clearing your dishes. I was intrigued by the "Coal Ramen" with its unique name, but my wife ordered that, so I chose the winter limited "Nabe Yakisoba" instead. It looked like regular yakisoba in a hot pot, with simple toppings like tempura crumbs, green onions, and fish cakes, along with tender braised pork. The noodles had a good chewy texture. The soy sauce-flavored soup was a bit strong in taste, but still within acceptable range. The braised pork, commonly found in ramen, was soft and flavorful. The combination with yakisoba was unusual but delicious. My wife had the Coal Ramen, which was a miso ramen topped with a lot of dried seaweed. I tried a bit and found the creamy soup with a hint of garlic to be impressive. However, the abundance of seaweed was a bit overwhelming. While the impact is noticeable, personally I think it would be tastier without it. As a bonus, we received discount coupons for soft serve ice cream and cream puffs, but it's not really the season for ice cream in winter.