When I first started using Tabelog, things weren't like this, right? It seems like it has gotten worse over the past three years. The other day, when I was looking up restaurants in Kushiro, I found a place I hadn't been to before with 19 reviews. It's amazing, and 10 of them were just photos. Kushiro too, not just Kitami, huh? And it's not just Kushiro, right? There was someone in my followers who was doing that too. I was scrolling through my timeline the other day and saw someone posting photos of more than 20 restaurants in a row. I was liking them at first, but it felt like I was contributing to it, so I stopped halfway. I think I was the first one to discover that place, but it was closed when I found it, so I never had a chance to visit when I came to Kitami. At least I thought they would write about it in Teio, but they beat me to it again. Anyway, they're causing a ruckus. Lately, they've started causing trouble even in Monbetsu, and it seems like they're going to Aibetsu too. Don't come to Abashiri. After that, my motivation is gone, but I'll go with my wife tonight. We camped last night, and tonight is the fireworks festival in Abashiri, so we can't go far. It's only 10 minutes after opening, but surprisingly, there are not many people. "It's Saturday, you know," my wife said. How should I answer that? Is it the beautiful interior, the counter seats, or the table seats? Before that, shouldn't they tell us, "This is the counter and this is the table seat"? We chose the counter seats. There are quite a few staff members here. The koshihikari rice is just right for me. It's perfect, but I wonder if udon lovers feel the same way. The delicious grated daikon radish is a bit lacking in spiciness because it's not freshly grated, so the smell comes out. I don't mind, but I'm not sure if others do. The broth is delicious but light. The umami is subtly there, and the return is weak. Yet, the tenkasu at the end was quite salty, so I drank it while eating it. My wife's order arrived. The mentaiko is delicious. The toriten is crispy and delicious, with a salty flavor, but it lacks a crispy texture. However, my wife said, "It's freshly fried." The negi tempura tenkasu is delicious. I wish there was nori and wasabi. It's better than nanban. The udon is delicious, but I hardly ate any, so I don't really know how delicious it was. Maybe it's because I'm not used to eating udon. It's not Sanuki, which is good. The presentation is stylish, but the udon from Osaka is a little soft. Maybe that's the impression of an udon lover.

Udon restaurant Mizugokoro, previously located on Tanuki Koji Street, has relocated and opened on Yuhigaoka Street. I used to eat here as a late-night meal after drinking, but now they serve lunch too, which is convenient. The interior of the restaurant has a lot of counter seats, so even when it's crowded, there's plenty of space. They use a ticket vending machine system. I ordered the Kitami onion stamina natto udon with chicken tempura topping. Although I was tempted by the warm udon, it was too hot that day, so I opted for the cold noodles. The udon had a nice chewy texture and went down smoothly. The freshly fried chicken tempura was delicious, and the pickled ginger tempura added a nice touch. Mixing the egg yolk, natto, and udon together was irresistible. It would have been even better if the udon was a bit colder. They also offer takeout, so next time I might buy a different type of udon to take home.

The menu photo looks very different from the actual dish. The ingredients were lacking considering the price, so it was disappointing. The taste was decent, but overall it was a letdown.