In August 2022, at the Michinoeki Lake Akan building, there are two places selling soft serve ice cream, both with red hats. I bought Yotsuba soft serve ice cream, my second one of the day. Yotsuba is always delicious. I love Yotsuba because I'm from Tokachi. The milk served in school lunches was also Yotsuba. But eating two soft serve ice creams in one day was too much, and my body felt strange. Thank you for the meal.

On the way to Kushiro, I made a detour to a roadside station called "Akai Shappo." They had a hot snack corner where I bought a "potato dumpling" for 100 yen and a "hot coffee" for 300 yen. The potato dumpling was soft and chewy, with a sweet and salty soy sauce flavor, making it a satisfying snack. The coffee, served in a paper cup, had a mild acidity and bitterness, although I personally prefer a stronger brew. Overall, the prices were reasonable, and I would like to visit again if I have the chance. Thank you for the meal.

The restaurant "Akai Shappo" operated by JA Akanko has moved to a new location across the street from its previous spot, within the Grainz Terrace at the Akanko Tanchosato Road Station. Look for the small sign at the bottom of the menu list to find the restaurant within Grainz Terrace. They offer dishes such as Black Wagyu Beef burgers and croquettes, with incredibly affordable prices for items like fried sweet potatoes for 200 yen and French hot dogs for 100 yen. They also sell Black Wagyu beef. The mini size Four Leaf Dairy soft serve ice cream for 200 yen is smooth and rich, showcasing the consistent deliciousness of Four Leaf products. The regular size is priced at 300 yen. A hot coffee is also available for 300 yen.

Soft serve ice cream and DREAM Gelato platter. The gelato has a vanilla scent and a refreshing taste, delicious.

I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to those affected by the recent Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake. This time, I will go to the direct sales store of Akanko Agricultural Cooperative located in the premises of the Michi-no-Eki Lake Akan Tanchonosato and have some gelato at "Akai Shappo" (posted on Tabelog with a rating of 3.06). The name "Akai Shappo" comes from the French word for a red hat, which is named after the habitat of the crested ibis with a red pattern on its head. Regardless of the origin of the name, I had Raspberry & Rum Raisin for 400 yen, and my partner had Fresh Milk & Pumpkin for 400 yen. As expected from the authentic Hokkaido, the flavors were rich but not too heavy, leaving a pleasant aftertaste. I just had Kushiro Fish & Chips earlier, but the delicious gelato made me feel like I had room for more. "Thank you for the meal."

In the third week of September, on a Saturday, still continuing... The location is still within the premises of Michi-no-Eki Akandanchou-no-Sato. After leaving Michi-no-Eki Cranes Terrace, we headed to a place called Akai Shappo on the same premises. This is a direct sales store of Akanko Agricultural Cooperative. The name "Akai Shappo" means a red hat? I have no idea why this name was chosen, but while Cranes Terrace had souvenirs and local products, here the focus seems to be on local vegetables and dairy products. They also sell soft serve ice cream here. Which one is tastier, I wonder... Since we already had the soft serve ice cream and bought some cheese, as I was browsing, I came across a unique bottle of milk. It was called "One-Two Ranch's Ushi Milk" (190 yen including tax). One-Two Ranch? Well, that's not important, but "Ushi Milk" is quite a unique name! When I looked at the label, it was clearly a local product from Akanko. Moreover, the label included the full name and face of the producer. It's truly about creating a relationship between producers and consumers where you can see the face. It seemed a bit pricey at 190 yen for 200ml, but it appears to be 100% raw milk. It seemed interesting, so I decided to buy it for takeout at home. Now... we are still on the same premises. There seems to be an interesting place here, so let's leave it at this and move on to the next stop. [After tasting] One-Two Ranch's Ushi Milk: I tried it at home. Hmm... maybe I had too high expectations. It's definitely different from the processed milk sold in supermarkets. But having tried milk from other regions before, it seems a bit lacking in character. It's not that it's not tasty, but... it's hard to describe. Seeing the face of the producer does create a sense of closeness, so it's difficult to be too critical. It's not fair to judge everything based on just this one bottle of milk. I wonder how the other dairy products differ from Cranes Terrace. I'm curious to know. Maybe I should have bought the cheese for home...

Hello~ Once again, I went on a company trip organized by Club Tourism, this time for a 2-day trip focusing on Hokkaido's food at the "Saihate no Shoku no Jin" event. We arrived at the Michi-no-Eki Ashoro Tanchonosato at 1:10 PM for the opening event on the second day. It was very crowded with people. There were two food corners featuring local specialties, and the ice cream was the most popular with a long line. So, I bought the Tanchou Sablé for 200 yen. The design of the crane is so cute~ The buttery aroma is nice! It's delicious. I also got the Tanchou Cookie for 220 yen. This one has a cow design, I think... I probably bought it because it's cute~.

As it started to feel like spring, it was the perfect weather for a drive. I took my wife and our beloved dog for a mini drive to the road station in Akanko town, where we were excited about the newly opened highway. When we arrived, we saw people coming out of a small hut with soft serve ice cream in hand, so we decided to get one too! A regular size cone cost 250 yen. It was rich and delicious! The cone was a cookie type. Across the road, there was also a hot spring, and the 2016 road station stamp rally had just begun. Please make sure to stop by if you have the chance.

Hokkaido is a big place. The destination is farther than you imagine on the map, and the national road continues straight with no traffic lights on a wide road. I took a break at a roadside station. The on-site store had local vegetables lined up, some of which I had never seen before, which was fun. I bought walnut ice cream. It wasn't too rich in dairy flavor, and the texture was like gelato, which I liked. It has plenty of walnuts inside. It tastes like autumn. My friend wanted to eat boiled or grilled corn, but they didn't have it here, so they were disappointed.

When I visited Lake Akan Tsuru Center, I got hungry and decided to eat something at the roadside station. Looking at the menu, I thought of Hokkaido and decided to buy boiled corn. I don't remember the price, but it was probably around 200 yen. The taste was the same as the one sold at Odori Park in Sapporo... the usual taste. Well, it's just boiled corn, so it's natural. After this, I was going to return from Kushiro Airport, so I was really glad to be able to eat Hokkaido's corn.

Today, our company is participating in a park golf tournament organized by our association. The venue for today is the course located at "Akandanchono Sato." Since I arrived at the meeting time quite early, I decided to stop by the roadside station within the same "Sato" area. The roadside station has a direct sales store run by JA Akand. I purchased the "Marimo Manju" here for 130 yen. It is a mugwort-flavored steamed bun with sweet red bean paste inside. It is a bit small in size, and I wish there was a bit more red bean paste inside. The sweetness is standard, and the mugwort skin gives it a nice chewy texture. Unfortunately, the red bean paste was not piping hot, probably because the store had just opened. Overall, it was a tasty snack. Now, I will do my best in the park golf tournament!

12:10, arrived at Kushiro Airport on time. The weather is cloudy, temperature is 19℃, not as cold as expected. Similar to Haneda. Rented a white PRIUS 1.8 from Toyota Rent-A-Car right away. Different from my AQUA, the shift lever and side brake operation are quite different. Also brought my radar detector. All set! Let's go! Wow, there aren't many cars or people around. The roads are good, the view is great, and no traffic lights. Hokkaido is definitely Japan, but everything here is on a different scale. Feels good. Hokkaido is huge. After driving for a while, I spotted the Michi-no-Eki (roadside station) Akankohan Tanchosan Village. Decided to make a detour. Noticed a red hat at the edge of the roadside station, which was JA Akanku's direct sales office. Since we were here, decided to have a snack. Wife had a marimo (lake algae) bun for 130 yen, while I had a Tanchosan meat bun for 160 yen, shaped like the red crest of the crane. The meat bun lacked steaming and some parts of the filling were frozen. As expected in Hokkaido. The marimo bun looked the same on the inside. Wife said it was warm and tasty, but I found it not to my liking. Regretting not getting the boiled shrimp, I headed towards Lake Akan.

Premium cream soft serve "Cremia" for 500 yen. It is rich and creamy.