We came to the restaurant to buy souvenirs on the last day of our trip to Abashiri and Shiretoko, so we decided to have lunch here with seafood. The atmosphere was great with a view of the winter Okhotsk Sea, and we even got to see the icebreaker ship Aurora passing by, which was very nice! The service was excellent, provided by local ladies perhaps? Thank you very much. I wanted to have sea urchin bowl, but unfortunately they were out of sea urchin, so I ordered seafood bowl with crab miso soup instead. It was delicious and satisfying! Overall, Abashiri has a lot of delicious food and it's wonderful here! I would love to come back to Abashiri and Shiretoko in winter again! Thank you for the meal! :)

The menu is extensive and it's fun to cook it yourself right in front of you!

◆March 2016◆ After a tiring morning of preparing for a move, I decided to have lunch in Abashiri. I visited the Abashiri Banya Rokkata. The menu includes grilled fish set meals, seafood bowls, as well as curry, tonkatsu, and zangi set meals. There is a seating fee of 300 yen, but you can also enjoy freshly grilled seafood over charcoal. This must be a hit with tourists. I ordered the daily special Banya set meal (880 yen). Today's menu was grilled marinated salmon set meal. It came with miso soup, pickles, and simmered dish. The rice portion was quite generous. The main dish of salmon was quite delicious. It is a local dish from Niigata, where grilled salmon is marinated in dashi soy sauce. While cod is often simmered, marinating salmon was a first for me. It was surprisingly light and the sauce was not too sweet, making it very tasty. It goes well with rice and would probably pair nicely with beer or sake. The pork cutlet curry was also emitting a delicious aura. I plan to try it next time.

I never expected to have lunch in a place like this. Next to the Abashiri Glass Museum, a new building has been constructed, giving off a market vibe. It's called "Okhotsk Mark Abashiri Ban'ya." It's located just a few hundred meters from the Abashiri Michi no Eki on the way to Shiretoko, on the left-hand side. If you drive at Bolt-class speed, it won't even take a minute to get there. There's also a ramen shop inside. I've already been to the ramen shop on the advice of my eldest daughter. The building houses souvenir shops, a ramen shop, a fish shop, and more. The robatayaki grill is affiliated with the Glass Museum. The owner came to greet us and mentioned that he is 76 years old. He used to run a toy shop, and although he doesn't remember me, he seems to remember my companion quite well. I ordered the "Small Shrimp Tempura Donburi," while others had "Mountain Salad and Sea Salad," "Bukkake Udon," and the "Ban'ya Set Meal" with soy-simmered fish. The counter has six seats, and there are two sets of two seats each near the robatayaki grill. There are also four tables for four people and four tables for two people. Jazz music is playing in the background. The udon arrived, and although I'm not a fan of thick udon, I tried it. The light bukkake sauce tasted better when I tried someone else's. The place started filling up around 11:30, and my tempura donburi arrived after about 20 minutes. The tempura shrimp were quite large, and the dipping sauce was just right. The miso soup with seaweed and tofu was lightly seasoned, which I prefer. The salad dressing received high praise. The soy-simmered fish had firm flesh and a delicate flavor. The seasoning was subtle, which may divide opinions, but I found it quite elegant. They seem to take pride in their pork, so I might come back for a pork bowl next time.