This is a report on a restaurant in Hokkaido (lol). I heard that you can eat "hiyamugi" here, so I visited Tsunomura Seimenjo in Toyochi, Kitami City, which has opened a dining room called "Tsumugu Lab"! When I arrived at 11:30 on a weekday, the place was already full, so I had to fill out a waiting sheet and leave my contact information while waiting in my car. It seems to be very popular! By the time I finished eating and left the restaurant around 12:30, the place was less crowded and seemed to have good turnover. The staff were friendly, cheerful, and provided excellent service, which left a good impression on me. Even before eating, I felt like I would want to come back to such a restaurant. The parking lot had signs indicating space for about 10 cars. I was given the menu to choose from while waiting in my car, which allowed me to quickly place my order once seated. I spent the waiting time reading the "hiyamugi birth story" (lol). After about 30 minutes, I received a call to enter the restaurant. This was my first visit, so I decided to try the "Toriten bukkake hiyamugi ¥920" and "Tamaten ¥154". Although I was curious about the "Kitami onion top hiyamugi," I decided to skip it this time (lol). The interior of the restaurant had about 6 counter seats, 2 tables for 2 people, and 2 tables for 4 people, with a sales corner near the register. Various cashless payment options were available. The food arrived quickly, within about 5 minutes of entering the restaurant! The hiyamugi looked incredibly delicious, with a silky sheen. The large chicken tempura and Kitami onion tempura also looked very appetizing! It's quite rare to eat hiyamugi at a restaurant, so it felt special! The aroma of the wheat was very nice, and the texture was great! It was slightly chewy and incredibly delicious! The texture of the "raw" hiyamugi was addictive! Before pouring the broth, I enjoyed the tempura as it is, with salt and then broth. The chicken tempura was moist and tender, and the Kitami onion was incredibly sweet! Both had a crispy texture, freshly fried, and were extremely delicious! Adding a bit of wasabi for flavor variation, along with grated daikon and shiso, made the experience refreshing and enjoyable. With the broth, which was made by a "dashi sommelier," I finished the bowl to the last drop with both hands! Before I knew it, I had finished the delicious meal in no time! There were also various other menu items, and I would definitely recommend this place if you want to try delicious "hiyamugi"! It was incredibly delicious!! Thank you for the meal.

The noodles were thin but had a good texture and were delicious. The tempura was also excellent. The chicken breast tempura was surprisingly tender and perfectly fried. The flavor of the inari sushi was just right, not too sweet or too strong. There is no waiting area inside the restaurant, so you can wait in your car and they will call you when your table is ready. The staff were all very friendly and helpful, even when I asked about shipping a gift. I would love to visit again when I'm in Kitami, not just for the barbecue but for this restaurant as well.

The restaurant I had been curious about before turned out to offer only hiyamugi noodles when I visited. I thought it was an udon shop, but maybe they changed their menu or stopped serving udon altogether? This time, I tried the atsumugi noodles in warm broth with vegetable tempura. The delicious broth had a subtle soy sauce flavor, and the tempura was also tasty! Since it's directly managed by a noodle shop, you can also buy fresh noodles on the spot, making it a good option for souvenirs!

TumuguLabo, operated by Tsunamura Seimenjo, is a restaurant that serves lunch on weekdays. They prioritize using fresh ingredients from Hokkaido and local sources, as well as safe, non-GMO oils and seasonings. They put love into their dishes just like they would for their own families, and this care truly shines through in the delicious flavors. One of their popular dishes is the Soy Milk Dashi Udon, a winter seasonal menu item. The creamy richness of the broth warms you up on cold days, leaving a delightful taste that spreads throughout your body. It's so delicious that it instantly boosts your "happiness index." Another must-try is the Handmade Inari Sushi, which is irresistibly tempting. The noodles at TumuguLabo are so good that finishing every last drop of the broth is inevitable. And even though you may think you're full from the noodles alone, the Inari Sushi calls out to you and you just have to eat it. Every dish comes with a daily side dish, homemade by the "mother" of TumuguLabo, with comforting flavors that make you feel like saying "I'm home." The pre-meal service of Zenzai, a sweet red bean soup with mochi, is also delicious with just the right amount. The restaurant also sells Tsunamura Seimenjo noodles and local souvenirs, making it a great place for shopping as well.

I came from Asahikawa and had some business in Kitami in the afternoon. I had lunch in Kitami, but I had a specific place in mind. A restaurant that is closed on Sundays and doesn't open for dinner. However, when I arrived, I saw a sign saying it was their regular closing day. I thought they never closed on weekdays, but apparently I was wrong. As I was heading to another restaurant, I found out that the place I wanted to go to opens at 11:15, so I was a bit early. But to my surprise, the door wouldn't open. It was dark inside, and even though the sign said "OPEN," they were closed. Frustrated, I called the number, but it was not in service. I then found another curry restaurant nearby and decided to give it a try. Luckily, they were open. However, when I entered, I realized that they were closed despite the "OPEN" sign still being displayed. It was quite disappointing. Finally, I remembered another place called Tsugumura Seimen, which was a bit far but worth a try. They only open for lunch on weekdays, so it was quite a challenge to visit. Fortunately, they were open, and I ordered the meat udon for 880 yen. The udon was served with a complimentary zenzai dessert. The udon was decent, with a thick broth and tender meat slices. However, the price seemed a bit high for what was offered. The meal also came with daikon and kasube side dishes, which I didn't particularly enjoy. Despite the slight disappointment, the udon was tasty overall. At the end of the meal, I was surprised by the total bill of 968 yen, which was almost 1000 yen. I also bought some fresh pasta for 600 yen, which I later cooked into a delicious shrimp and broccoli cream pasta. It turned out to be the best pasta I've ever made. Although the udon was a bit overpriced, the pasta made up for it.

Tsujimura Seimenjo, a long-established noodle-making factory adjacent to the city of Kitami, has a cafeteria. It faces the road and has a separate entrance, so it is designed entirely for the general public. I went for the first time, and it was very popular. When I went at 12 o'clock, it was full and I had to wait. Despite the crowd, the speed of service after ordering didn't feel too slow. The udon noodles are thin and not too hard, making them suitable for elderly people. The chicken tempura has thinly sliced meat, making it easy to bite into. It had a slightly burnt flavor, though. The limited-time soy milk dashi udon is very voluminous and delicious. When you add chili oil, it enhances the aroma and depth, giving it a different taste. The service of a small dish of zenzai along with ice water at the beginning is interesting. The interior of the restaurant is designed with white and wood tones, and they accept credit cards, giving a modern feel. It doesn't have the typical plainness often found in factory direct stores.

Tsukura-owned udon restaurant. Only open on weekdays, so it was a bit hard to visit, but I finally made it. The interior of the restaurant is stylish like a cafe, and they also sell their own products. There is a counter where you can charge your devices. The menu mainly consists of udon and cold wheat noodles. I ordered the "labo set", which came with cold udon topped with three pieces of tempura chicken, a side dish, sweet red bean soup, inari sushi, and coffee for 1000 yen. The udon noodles are slightly thin but have a strong texture and a nice wheat aroma. The tempura chicken is delicious as always. The dipping sauce is not too strong, with a good dashi flavor that you can even drink it on its own. The homemade side dish was also tasty. The white rice cake in the sweet red bean soup is made from tofu, which was a nice surprise. I also bought the cold wheat noodles and a limited edition yakisoba to take home, as the staff highly recommended them. I could feel their passion for their own products.

On holidays, my husband and I, who love noodles, always end up having noodles for lunch. Today, we went to a new restaurant that we've been wanting to try for a while. It has been around for 70 years and is located next to Tsuji Mura Seimenjo. It's called "TUMUGU Labo". A few months ago, I heard about the opening of this place from the same company's president, but I didn't get a chance to go until now. It's like a "company cafeteria open to the general public", but there were no employees in sight, and it's a clean and easy-to-enter dining area. When we sat down at a table, we were served homemade zenzai along with cold water. Such thoughtfulness is really nice. The menu offers two types of their own homemade fresh udon and fresh hiyamugi. There are several options for cold and warm sets. We chose the cold fresh udon. I had the "toriten bukkake udon" for 820 yen. The udon noodles are round, unlike the sharp-edged hand-cut noodles, more like spaghetti. The texture is smooth and has a good bite to it. It's on the firmer side rather than chewy. The toriten is moist. The broth is made from the recipe of the president's wife, who is a dashi sommelier (Is there such a thing?). It's tasty enough to drink on its own. As a bonus, it came with potato salad. This is really delicious. The company president mentioned, "We want this place to be where consumers can taste the wheat grown by the producers themselves, listen to the voices of consumers, and create connections with people." It seems like this place is positioned as a community space for producers and consumers. There are also displays of their own products and a sales space inside the restaurant. I'll definitely come back next time to try the fresh hiyamugi!

Chicken lemon hiyamugi ¥980 Tamaten ¥154 Free extra large size for pork mushroom soup ¥980 Toriten ¥180 Free extra large size available

Vegetable tempura cold noodles ¥900, free large serving Yakuzen cold noodles ¥1100, free large serving

Today, I bought some scallop-flavored instant ramen noodles that I had tried before and found delicious. I also bought some for my friend.

I received a lab set. The shop was new, bright, and beautiful.

Chicken tempura cold noodles with hot broth in a large portion (free upgrade)