I found out today that the entire building of Sapporo Asaichi has become non-smoking, including Hokkaido Takara seafood bowl with miso soup. The seating area is small, with a maximum of 4 people, and it can be quite cold despite the electric heating. However, the cost performance and quality of the food are quite good. The Hokkaido Takara seafood bowl, priced at over 1,500 yen, came with a Hokkaido button shrimp as a bonus. The bowl included 12 types of seafood such as sea urchin, homemade salmon roe, scallops, tuna, red snapper, octopus, squid, and more, all served on top of vinegar rice with a side of button shrimp and miso soup. The tuna had a rich umami flavor, the button shrimp was tender and sweet, and the scallops had a delightful texture. The rice was well-seasoned with vinegar and paired nicely with the seafood. The miso soup was simple with seaweed, and the pickled ginger was not necessary due to the flavorful bowl. Overall, the Hokkaido Takara seafood bowl was a satisfying and delicious meal.

Today, I suddenly felt like having a seafood bowl, so I hurried to the central wholesale market. I arrived around 10 o'clock, but even after the pandemic, the market was incredibly busy. Upon reaching the Sapporo Asaichi market in the entrance facility, I hesitated between the neighboring Donbei and decided to go to Hokkaido Takara because it was a hot day and I wanted to sit down as soon as possible. There were already customers inside, so the staff asked me what I would like to order. I chose the tuna and scallop bowl, and after a few minutes of waiting, I was shown to my seat. I had heard about this place before, and it turned out to be a small shop with only 5 seats. An interesting feature was that you could choose the type of soy sauce, with the black cap being a familiar soy sauce and the white cap being sweeter and thicker. After being seated, the bowl arrived in about 5 minutes. The staff seemed to be handling everything alone, preparing the bowls and also selling items from the shop, so they were very busy. I chose the black cap soy sauce and poured it over the bowl with melted wasabi (actually a bit of a breach of etiquette), and the freshness of the ingredients really stood out, especially the crunchy texture of the scallops. As for the rice, perhaps due to the season, I found the vinegar a bit strong. However, at 2,300 yen without tax, considering the quality of the ingredients, I was quite satisfied.

On a holiday morning, I visited a local market for the first time in a while. The time was a little past 8 o'clock and I headed to "Kita no Takara," a seafood bowl restaurant that also sells fresh fish. In front of the store, there were crabs, sashimi, and take-out seafood bowls on display. I carefully looked at the menu posted in front of the store and decided to order the "Seafood Bowl @ 1,500 yen." It was served in about 8 minutes, and the tray included the seafood bowl, miso soup, soy sauce dish, chopsticks, and a lotus-shaped dish. The beautifully arranged bowl contained red meat, sea bream, flounder, egg, salmon, Matsumae pickles, octopus, tuna belly, salmon sashimi, and pickled ginger. There were two types of soy sauce on the table, regular and sweet. The sashimi was fresh and of good quality, although the octopus was a bit tough. The tuna red meat and salmon had a high quality for the price, giving a sense of value. The quality of the sashimi seemed to vary depending on the fish available. However, the vinegared rice used in the bowl was not well-prepared, with a dry and slightly mushy texture. Despite this, other reviews rated it highly, so there may be some inconsistency. Across the street was a popular seafood bowl restaurant, and I hope to see their sincere efforts in the future. If given the chance, I would visit again. Thank you for the meal.

The restaurant is located in the Sapporo Chuo Wholesale Market, where many wholesalers operate. The main customers are retail stores and restaurants, especially those related to seafood. Famous sushi restaurants also come here to purchase ingredients. The market is not usually frequented by the general public, but during the year-end, many people come to buy ingredients for the New Year. The market follows the same operating calendar as the Sapporo Chuo Wholesale Market. The operating hours are from 5:00 am to 11:00 am, with general parking not allowed until 9:00 am. During the year-end, a large parking lot is provided for the general public. The "Hokkaido Treasure Sapporo Asaichi Store" is a direct-operated store of "Hokkaido Treasure" with a processing plant in Wakkanai, the northernmost city in Japan. The store is located in the Maruka Wholesalers Center 1-1. The store offers a variety of seafood bowls ranging from around 2000 yen to 600 yen. The cheapest option is the "Seafood Makanaidon" for 600 yen, while the most expensive is the "Ezo Baun Uni Don" for 4350 yen. Toppings are also available, with the "Topping - Botan Ebi 500 yen" being a free service for seafood bowls priced at 1500 yen or more for dine-in customers. I ordered the "Special Seafood Bowl 2500 yen" with an additional "Topping - Live Abalone 500 yen". My usual companion ordered the "Honmaguro Bowl 1800 yen". Both options qualified for the free "Topping - Botan Ebi 500 yen" service. After waiting for 30 minutes, our two seafood bowls were served.

When you spend over 2000 yen, you can receive 3 live spot prawns shelled on the spot as a service.

I arrived at Sapporo Morning Market aiming for the bara chirashi at the fourth restaurant of my solo dining adventure in Hokkaido. I arrived at 5:40 am only to find out that there was a reservation list for the bara chirashi, and I was the 10th person to sign up. By 7 am, I still couldn't get a table after the first round, and I was pondering my next move when I noticed the shop in front of me, Hokkaido Takara, offering a maguro donburi! A thick slice of clearly medium fatty tuna, overflowing in the bowl, was brought from a shop inside the market that handles tuna. The price was decided on the spot by the shop manager at 1,000 yen! I had no choice but to buy it, it was a must! Since it was for takeout only, I had it as breakfast in my hotel. The mountain of thick slices of natural maguro, accompanied by wasabi and seafood bowl sauce, was delightful. The sweetness and unique flavor of the tuna, with its red meat, were exceptional. I'm glad I encountered this natural maguro donburi - I will definitely check it out again next time. Before the maguro donburi was lined up, there were seafood bowls available. (Last year when I visited, they only had seafood bowls...) I don't think this maguro donburi will be available every time, so it's lucky if you find it. Please understand that it may not be available in the future.