It's nice that you can order a set meal for just a little over 1000 yen instead of a buffet at the Viking. I tend to overeat, so I end up with a full stomach and feel tired from constantly lining up to get more food at buffets. The satisfaction isn't quite there. The set meal system on this ship is great. You can relax and enjoy the view of the sea while waiting for your meal to be served. I ordered the Otaru herring bowl, expecting herring soba on rice, but what came was fried herring. It was an interesting twist, and it tasted delicious with the slightly sweet and savory jelly-like sauce and grated yam. I enjoyed experiencing the flavors of Hokkaido.

At 7:50 pm, I bought ice for the cooler box at Seicomart Tomakomai Ichimatsu store. At 8:16 pm, I arrived at Tomakomai Higashi Port Ferry Terminal. There were few cars boarding the ship at that time. The next ship to board had just arrived at 8:30 pm. Departure was scheduled for 11:30 pm, so there was a lot of activity with garbage disposal and linen changing during the 3-hour docking period. I was curious about how they handled water supply, drainage, and refueling during this time, and it seems that a large number of tank trailers were shuttling back and forth between trucks boarding the ship. I don't know the details, but these trailers seemed to play an important role. On this day, there were two boarding times for cars, at 10:50 pm and 11:30 pm, with the latter being the departure time. Luckily, I arrived early at the terminal and boarded at 10:50 pm. After boarding, I explored the ship (YouTube). The ship had a cafe open until 11:00 pm, but I didn't buy anything. The ship departed on time at 11:30 pm. I had booked a State A Twin room on the return ship Suzuran, one level below the Deluxe A Twin room I had on the outbound ship Akashia. The TV was showing a "Balthazar Festival" on the Friday Road Show. That was it for the day, and I went to bed. On Saturday, August 13th, I woke up at 5:43 am. Before the passengers started moving around, I took a stroll around the ship. This was my second time on the ferry Suzuran, and it felt new compared to the ferry Akashia. The ship sailed at a fast speed, so the only open space was the open deck at the stern. I enjoyed the leisurely pace of the ship journey. I returned to my room after a walk around the ship. Unlike the ferry Akashia, the rooms on the ferry Suzuran used a card key instead of a real key. There was a booklet in the room with a map showing the route across the Tsugaru Strait. Breakfast was a snack from Kitami, but for lunch, I decided to eat at the restaurant. Surprisingly, orders were placed using a tablet. I chose the special cold ramen with clam broth, and it was served promptly after ordering. The ramen was delicious and refreshing. I paid using the self-checkout system, which accepted credit cards. This was different from the ferry Akashia. I took a nap at 3:54 pm and then decided to visit the empty public bath. I enjoyed the luxury of bathing while overlooking the Sea of Japan and even tried the outdoor bath. It was a very luxurious experience. There were entertainment activities on the ship, such as quizzes, juggling shows, and movie screenings. I participated in a crossword puzzle contest and won a clear file as a prize. For dinner, I ate at the restaurant again. My companion ordered the Hokkaido scallop gratin set, while I chose the fried half chicken with sweet and sour sauce set. Eating a meal while gazing at the sea was truly enjoyable.

This is a restaurant on the New Japan Sea Ferry that connects Kansai and Hokkaido. It takes 20 hours to get to Hokkaido, so meals on board are a precious and enjoyable time. I ordered the whey pork bowl for lunch. I also had a draft beer, which was Asahi Super Dry. The pork had been prepared in advance by the ferry's kitchen to serve all passengers, but the taste was delicious. The pork was sweet and the sauce was tasty, complementing the rice well. It was satisfying to have a meal with a taste comparable to that on land. The price was at the onboard rate, but water is also precious on the sea, so it's understandable.

Last time, I took the northbound route on the ship Suisen, and this time I boarded the ship Suzuran. Since last time was surprisingly good, I decided to use it again. The lunch I had was the Shiretoko Salt Ramen for 750 yen tax included, and it was not good at all! The soup was almost transparent and light, better than the mediocre chain ramen. But the noodles were clearly store-bought curly thin noodles, and the toppings were also clearly store-bought. For some reason, there was plenty of raw seaweed. The disappointing part was not the chashu, but the chicken breast. It felt like salad chicken! Another downside was the unpleasant aftertaste. While I was disappointed with lunch, I thought dinner would be better. But as soon as I left my room and entered the corridor, I was overwhelmed by the smell of curry. I remembered that the pork cutlet curry was surprisingly delicious last time, so I ordered the beef curry for 700 yen tax included. Even though it was a quiet period with few customers, there were quite a few truck drivers, and they were eating luxurious dishes. It was strange, but when I saw the tray next to the register, it all made sense. There were half-price coupons available, and when I mentioned it, the staff awkwardly said they were distributing them to truck drivers. It's understandable because of the relationship between the truck association and the ferry, but isn't this kind of obvious favoritism questionable? The curry was decent, but the fact that the truck drivers can eat it for half the price, 350 yen, is not fair, right? While regular customers make do with cup ramen or frozen food from vending machines, the truck drivers can dine at the restaurant for a cheaper price. It doesn't seem right, does it?

New Japan Sea Ferry: I had lunch at the Suisen restaurant. It is basically a self-service food court style. I chose the Pork Bowl with whey-fed pork: 1000 yen (tax included). It comes with miso soup (I also ordered a salad). I love pork bowls! It was delicious and satisfying. Thank you for the meal.

New Japan Sea Ferry, departing from Tsuruga Port at 0:30 ⇒ arriving at Tomakomai Port at 20:30, is a non-stop ferry service that last year made passengers worry about the possibility of a missile from the north. This is my first time taking a ferry to Hokkaido, as in the past I would fly from Kansai Airport or Itami Airport and then rent a car upon arrival. However, this time I needed to bring my Hiace for a long stay. At the Tsuruga terminal, the staff's attitude and service were quite frustrating. They were unfriendly and unhelpful. Despite feeling annoyed by the staff's behavior, I decided to endure it as it would be foolish to turn back at this point. Due to the arrival of Typhoons 19 and 20, the ferry service was suspended for 2 days and the ship was filled with trucks. The car parking area was so packed that my car barely fit in the space available to board the ship. Thanks to this, I was one of the first to disembark, but the ship was loaded to its maximum capacity. It seemed like there were a lot of trucks and containers, and very few regular passengers. As a result, only about one-third of the passenger cabins on the 4th floor and above were occupied. It felt like the ship was overloaded, similar to the Sewol ferry incident. Onboard, everything seemed to be overpriced as expected, so I bought enough food and drinks to last the 20-hour journey. I bought a can of Super Dry beer (500ml) for 330 yen, canned juices for 130 yen, and bottled drinks for 160 yen, which seemed reasonable. With nothing else to do, I ended up drinking all the beverages I bought and even purchased more canned beer. The lack of things to do made the journey extremely boring. I was unable to use my mobile phone due to poor reception, and the ship's bath was not very clean, with dirt and hair floating in the water. After a restless night due to the engine vibrations and ship movements, I woke up early and decided to take another bath. This time, the bath was clean and relaxing. I spent several hours staring at the vast sea and eventually decided to have lunch. I ordered a large portion of curry for 900 yen, which turned out to be surprisingly good. The curry had a decent level of spiciness, a rich flavor, and although the vegetables were a bit mushy, the overall taste was satisfying. It was different from homemade curry, lacking potatoes and other vegetables, but still enjoyable. Overall, the ferry ride was an experience filled with ups and downs, but the curry was a pleasant surprise amidst the challenges of the journey.

★Tomakomai → Niigata → Toyama → Gifu → Shiga → Kyoto → Osaka → Nara → Nagoya → Gifu → Sendai ... <Azalea (Tomakomai ~ Akita ~ Niigata)> Today, I will be leaving Hokkaido for about two weeks and embarking on a business trip in Honshu. Instead of the usual ferry from Tomakomai to Tsuruga (Suzuran), I will be traveling with my old Alphard on the Azalea route from Tomakomai to Akita to Niigata. The restaurant on board, Azalea, has been expanding its menu lately, making it quite challenging to choose what to eat at night. The food quality has also improved significantly for a ferry, making all dishes enjoyable. However, the prices are a bit high, and there are some areas where I wish they would put in more effort. For example, the broccoli and crab meat in oyster sauce (680 yen) had a good flavor but was difficult to eat due to numerous tough crab tendons or shells. While I can't be too picky about ferry food, I believe there is room for improvement with a little effort. Overall, I think the food quality has been improving. As I will be indulging in ramen for the next two weeks, I want to make sure to eat plenty of vegetables. (to be continued) ----------------------- Eating "Tare Ramen" on the ferry has recently been upgraded! I usually use the New Japan Sea Ferry that connects Tomakomai (Hokkaido) and Tsuruga (Fukui) about once every two months, and the ramen served on board has recently been upgraded. In the past, the ramen on the ferry was quite mediocre, even lower in quality than instant ramen sold in supermarkets. However, since the end of 2010, the ramen has been significantly upgraded. The ramen I had this time was the shrimp miso ramen developed by a well-known food manufacturer, Delica Foods. New Japan Sea Ferry and Delica Foods are affiliated companies, and Delica Foods, like major noodle manufacturers, is famous for mass-producing noodles and soup. While ramen from the ferry used to be the type that could easily be made with instant noodles, it seems that it has now become the type that costs more to produce. The cost of ramen that costs over 400 yen to make would normally be priced around 800 yen, but thanks to the strength of the sister company, they were able to set the price at 700 yen. In Hokkaido, there are many ramen shops that use instant tare ramen. Even in my city of Chitose, there are at least four shops that serve tare ramen, using tare that has been roasted, burned, and variously refined to create the shop's originality. While I used to be able to easily spot this type of ramen in the past, tare has evolved significantly recently, to the point where it is difficult for amateurs to distinguish. In that sense, this shrimp miso ramen is quite delicious. It may be disrespectful to call it inferior ramen, but compared to ramen that costs less than 200 yen per bowl, this one is quite good.

This time, I had a meal at the restaurant inside the New Japan Sea Ferry. The restaurant is called Suzuran, Lilac, or Silver Birch depending on the ship name. The menu is the same for all. This time I boarded the Lilac. The menu was pork belly bowl with a hot spring egg. The interior of the restaurant is clean and you can see the sea, so the atmosphere is good. The pork belly is served with 3 to 4 large, tender pieces. It is seasoned with white onions sprinkled on top, and the flavor is quite clear. The hot spring egg complements it well. I didn't have high expectations for the restaurant on this type of transportation, but it was quite delicious. Plus, the view is also great.

The ship departed for Tomakomai on time at 23:55, marking the beginning of a 20-hour journey. I bought edamame from the shop on board and Sapporo Classic from the shop across, then headed to my room. After taking a bath and changing into a yukata, I had a solo party to relax. The waves in Wakasa Bay were gentle.