I entered the restaurant. There are about 10 seats at the counter. It's a robatayaki place, so the cooking area surrounds the counter. The atmosphere is like an old Japanese house. The lighting is nice, just enough to enjoy the food with your eyes. I ordered a medium beer, and of course, they served Sapporo Classic. The appetizers were sweet and spicy fried chicken wings and kinpira. I quickly finished my beer. The dryness of the Classic with a hint of hops was refreshing. The sashimi was flounder and turban shell. The flounder was firm with a hint of fatty richness, while the turban shell had a nice crunchy texture. All the sashimi pieces were large and delicious. The fried chicken, hokke (Okhotsk atka mackerel), and squid were also huge! The hokke was especially tasty. I tried it without any sauce, and the concentrated umami flavor made me order a highball. Bite the fried chicken to enjoy its savory and crispy taste. I thought about having some rice, but ended up ordering another highball. It's so refreshing. As a finale, I had buttered potatoes. The potatoes were so delicious, with a sweet and fragrant taste mixed with butter. I decided to order one last drink. This is the kind of place where you can enjoy gourmet food slowly while chatting with familiar or new friends. Thank you for the meal. I will definitely come back.

I visited craving for freshly grilled fish over charcoal. It was delicious, but I didn't feel as impressed as I had hoped. There was no strong charcoal aroma, and the portion was small. I found the grilled Atka mackerel and Smelt at a Sapporo izakaya more impressive. Was the Atka mackerel at the Sapporo izakaya of better quality than the charcoal-grilled fish in Kushiro?

The interior of the restaurant has a dimly lit atmosphere, which personally I find calming and pleasant. The owner is also quiet and reserved. I tried some dishes while having a drink: - Whale sashimi for 750 yen: It was thawed, with a moist texture and a good flavor of whale meat. It would have been even better with a better soy sauce. - Tsurui village pork skewer for 230 yen each: It's a typical pork skewer you find in most izakayas. The saltiness was mild. It might be made from Tsurui pork, but the meat quality and fat content were just average. - Fugu fin sake for 700 yen per serving: Grilled fugu fin was served, but it had a slight fishy smell. I'm not sure if it's because of the sake brand, but I prefer the one from the Komagata family, which is cleaner and more to my liking. Overall, the menu is not very diverse, and the quality of dishes varies. I may not revisit this place.

I discovered a quite popular restaurant. I had about an hour before catching the limited express train, and since I wasn't familiar with Kushiro, I was wandering around wondering what to do when I stumbled upon it. I arrived around 6:00 PM and half of the seats were already taken. By 6:30 PM, it was almost full and some customers were being turned away. The solo set meal included plenty of beer, meat, and a personal tabletop grill for 1400 yen. It was a great deal! The complimentary dish that day was simmered chicken wings, which were incredibly delicious. I also ordered Hoppy (a drink) and oden (a type of stew). The oden was a bit lightly seasoned, but maybe that's the Hokkaido standard? I'd like to come back and try other dishes at a more leisurely pace next time.

Solo Set with Salt Lamb, Salt Hormone, and Sagari. The shop with red lanterns catches the eye. It's rare to grill meat alone while traveling, so I'm grateful for the solo menu where I can try various things. On this day, the complimentary dish was oyster fry! Luxurious!

On November 21, 2020 (Saturday), for dinner and drinks, I went to a second place near the Oyster Palace. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is nice, resembling a traditional robatayaki establishment. I took social distancing into consideration and took a seat. I ordered a "beer + solo set (1200 yen)" which includes salted lamb, salted hormone, sagari, and onions. First, I had the appetizer, which was a simmered dish of morokyu (cucumber) and shark flounder. The morokyu was refreshing and tasty, but the shark flounder was a bit salty. Next was the solo set, which I grilled on the shichirin (portable grill). Grilling meat over charcoal is the best. The pre-seasoned meat was delicious when grilled as it is. It was a bit on the salty side, though. The alcohol was going down smoothly, and my mouth felt a bit greasy, so I reset with a highball. It's been a while since I had a drink, and I'm starting to feel a bit tipsy. I enjoy drinking alone, so having a drink by myself is like heaven. Thank you for the meal.

On the second day of my train journey in 2020, I had to wait for 2 hours and 48 minutes in Kushiro. I first went to the Washo Market, but I felt uncomfortable so I left without eating anything. The next shop I visited had disappointing results, leaving me feeling unsatisfied. I actually wanted to go to the shops behind Kushiro Station, which are known as "backstreet" shops. I read about it online, not from interviewing people in Kushiro. However, my scheduled train was departing at 18:56, and most of the backstreet shops opened at 18:00, so I had to visit a shop with easy access from the station. That led me to "Inoichiban," a charcoal-grilled restaurant. There were no customers when I arrived, but soon the restaurant filled up with customers. As expected, it seems to be a popular place. I ordered a classic beer in a medium-sized glass for 500 yen. The omelette appetizer was delicious, with a perfect dashi flavor. I also ordered the Marbled Sole for 700 yen, which took about 20 minutes to cook. It seemed to be the last order as the chef kept apologizing to other customers for not being able to take more orders. The fish grilled over charcoal was crispy on the outside and tender inside, very tasty. I felt like having some sake with it, but since my journey was not over yet, I had to say goodbye for now. The total travel time was 7 hours and 44 minutes, covering a distance of 379.3 kilometers, with a total fare of 10,330 yen.

When it comes to Kushiro, the famous dish is "Robatayaki". Robatayaki is a type of izakaya where seafood and vegetables are grilled over charcoal in a rustic Japanese-style restaurant. This style originated from a shop called "Robata" in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, and was opened by the second apprentice of that shop in Kushiro, called "Robata". From there, the culture of Robatayaki spread and has become a specialty. This time, I visited a restaurant called "Inoichiban," which locals highly praised. It is conveniently located about a 2-minute walk from Kushiro Station. Since it was a popular restaurant, I arrived at the opening time of 5:00 PM and was the first customer. By 6:00 PM, it was crowded, so it was the right decision. The nostalgic atmosphere inside the restaurant has counter seats and tatami mat seats. I wanted to enjoy watching the fish being grilled, so I chose the counter seats without hesitation. I ordered the recommended Kinuwasaba (¥800) and Shishamo (¥600). The Kinuwasaba had rich flavor and was delicious! It was a dish that saba lovers would adore. When it was served, I was overwhelmed by the volume, but the deliciousness made me finish it quickly. The Shishamo was also undeniably delicious. My friend also ordered more of it. The restaurant had many solo customers, making it easy for solo diners to casually drop by. Needless to say, there are many high-quality seafood restaurants in the area with high prices, but "Inoichiban" impressed me with its quality and reasonable prices. After the Robatayaki, we enjoyed Oden as well. The crunchy texture of Tsubugai (¥200) and the flavorful Daikon (¥100) soaked in broth were satisfying with generous portions. By the way, I visited with three friends, and only I had to leave early due to my flight time approaching. Considering the situation, the owner kindly split the bill for me and my three friends, allowing me to smoothly pay and catch my flight on time. I felt that if there was such a wonderful restaurant nearby, I would visit every week. There were also enticing menus such as Shichirin yakiniku, Namakomai tempura, and homemade Zangi, so I would like to leisurely enjoy them next time.

The shop's name suggests that you can enjoy it as your first stop or as part of a bar hopping experience. After participating in a canoe tour of the Kushiro Marsh in the afternoon and having a late lunch at the Washo Market around 3pm, I happened to come across the Donpaku Festival at the port, where I enjoyed the original zangi (fried chicken) and highball. I entered the shop around 9pm. The counter seats around the oden and charcoal grill are cozy, with about 12 seats available. The oden is of the Kanto style, with daikon radish, konjac, and egg. They also serve dishes like shishamo (smelt fish), shiitake mushrooms, and crispy cheese. The highball and sake are on the stronger side, making them go well with the food. Despite the somewhat unfriendly staff, they give off a vibe of being clean and tidy. I would definitely like to visit this place again.

On a Saturday evening just past 6 o'clock, I was turned away from "Robata" because it was full. I tried to console myself by thinking that I still have a lot to learn to fully enjoy that kind of atmosphere alone, but I couldn't shake off the feeling of indigestion. Hmm... I feel like I want to eat fish. Grilled fish, perhaps? That's when I remembered seeing a red lantern in front of a hotel, and the word "oden" caught my attention. It seemed like the first time I had seen that word since coming to Kushiro. Intrigued, I decided to visit this place. There were tatami mats and a few customers at the counter. Are they regulars chatting with the staff? They seem to be drinking, but I wonder if there are designated drivers available. I thought about it from the time I left Robata to coming here, but it seems that people increase in the town at night. Is this area like the Kabukicho of the neighborhood around Suehirocho? Where were they all during the day? And how do they get back home? On foot? Even though residential areas are a few kilometers away, this place seems to have a parking lot. When I mentioned that I wanted to eat fish, the person who seemed to be the owner recommended a brand of Kinu Saba. Later, I found out that it was a brand of mackerel from Sanriku, so I was impressed by the straightforwardness of the owner (presumed). It's only natural for a restaurant in Kushiro to recommend a local specialty, but maybe they thought that Kinu Saba, which is not in season like Pacific saury and is not too big like Okhotsk Atka mackerel, but has a rare value, would be just right. This Kinu Saba had a mild fishy smell and not too greasy fat, and above all, the saltiness was exquisite, resulting in a refined grilled dish. There is also a set menu for one person with hormone, Genghis Khan, and sagari with draft beer for 1200 yen, suitable for bar hopping, making it a good first stop.

The salted Genghis Khan lamb cooked on a shichirin grill was very tender, without any strong smell, and delicious!

Stayed near Kushiro Station. It's super cold today (the high temperature is 0 degrees!) so we decided to visit this place nearby that caught our eye. We were the first customers since we arrived early. The interior of the restaurant had a cozy atmosphere with a counter surrounding the kitchen, giving off a "oh, it's a robatayaki place" vibe. My wife said, "It feels nice and calming here, I'm glad we chose this place." Despite the cold weather, we started off with a draft beer (Sapporo Classic) for 500 yen and a lime sour for 400 yen. Cheers! The appetizers served in elegant white dishes were nikujaga (simmered meat and potatoes) and pickled vegetables. We exchanged looks and agreed that the nikujaga was delicious. For snacks, we ordered edamame for 300 yen, a few items of oden for 100 yen each, grilled saury for 520 yen, grilled salted mackerel for 650 yen, and zangi (fried chicken) for 680 yen. In Kushiro, the edamame we had at other izakayas were freshly boiled instead of frozen (you can taste the difference). The edamame here was also delicious, which is my wife's favorite, so that was a plus. The oden was tasty and comforting. While chatting, I observed the chef's careful cooking techniques and thought the grilled salted mackerel was perfectly done with just the right amount of oil. The zangi was similar to chicken karaage but slightly different in some way. It was one of the best I've had among the several I've tried before. We added a few more bottles of sake, and when I asked about "komai" meaning "fish caught under ice," the response was "oh, you didn't know that?" (Is that common knowledge?) We spontaneously chose this place nearby, and we enjoyed delicious food and drinks. With a rough estimate, including the appetizers and tax, it came to around 650 yen per dish. It was a great place to eat and drink without breaking the bank.

After checking into the hotel, I decided to go out for a drink and stumbled upon this restaurant. I noticed a spacious counter through the curtain. Although we were a group of three, we chose to sit at the counter. We let the owner recommend dishes and enjoyed every single one. Luckily, the restaurant was conveniently located just a few meters away from our hotel.

Actually, I was very close with the previous owner of the shop, and unfortunately, they had to close down due to certain circumstances, which I felt really sorry about. Luckily, I was able to get in touch with the previous owner and visit together with the new tenant, "Inoichiban." Although they also served meat dishes, I decided to try the seafood since I came all the way to Kushiro. I unexpectedly came across whale sashimi, which brought back nostalgic memories and left me impressed. I also enjoyed scallop sashimi, grilled shishamo and oysters, and finished with sake chazuke.

In the summer of 2013, this place opened up and caught my attention. The previous shop had been in business for many decades until the owner's health declined and they had to close. This new shop opened at the same location. When I arrived just before 7 pm, the place was packed and clearly popular. I decided to go to another restaurant, but couldn't shake my curiosity and ended up returning on my way back around 10 pm. The interior had a typical robatayaki setup, with a counter surrounding the grill, creating a fantastic atmosphere. Despite having eaten quite a bit at the previous restaurant, I ordered some tamagoyaki, imomochi, and some appetizers, along with a lemon sour drink. The appetizers included a crab salad and nikujaga, both of which were delicious. The tamagoyaki had a subtle sweetness from the broth, while the imomochi was topped with a sugar soy sauce. I skipped the fish today, but the oden looked tempting. They also had grilled meat dishes on the menu, with clear prices listed instead of market prices. It all looked very promising, and I plan to visit again for a more detailed review of their other dishes!