Whenever I go back to Kushiro, I always buy a large amount of ikura (salmon roe) and other seafood from Maruei Tamura Shoten. While there are other delicious shops in the Washo Market, everyone has their own taste preferences, and I personally love the ikura and seafood from Maruei Tamura Shoten. This time, I bought a lot again. First, I bought 6 small and 4 medium ikura, totaling over 20,000 yen. I also bought two large hokke (Okhotsk Atka mackerel) as recommended by the shopkeeper, as well as Kushiro mackerel, hon-shishamo (smelt), a red salmon, and tobiko. I also bought scallops to help support fishermen who are struggling due to the ban on imports from China. The total purchase amount exceeded 50,000 yen. Once I arrived, I shared half of the seafood with my brother-in-law, and enjoyed the hokke and ikura at home. The hokke was fatty and delicious, a testament to the shopkeeper's discerning eye for quality hokke. The ikura was consistently delicious. I still have scallops, shishamo, and red salmon in the freezer, so I look forward to enjoying them in the future.

On the final morning of my business trip to Hokkaido, I visited Washo Market. There is a shop here that I have been visiting for 30 years, Tamura Shoten. In the past, when I used to visit Hokkaido every summer, they would remember me and say, "You've come again this year!" This time, before heading home, I came to buy souvenirs for my family. This shop specializes in salmon, and they have fresh whole salmon lined up in front of the store. Although it's a bit off-season, I prefer the salmon here, which has more fat than autumn salmon. I used to buy a whole salmon, but this time I purchased sliced salmon cut from a 20,000 yen whole salmon. I also bought soy sauce-marinated ikura as a souvenir. They accept payment through Line Pay, so I used it for the first time (laughs). Although I bought it as a souvenir, I couldn't resist having some of the ikura, so I asked them to put a beautiful jewel of the sea on top of my rice bowl. The ikura sold by weight at this shop, generously piled on top of the bowl, was a fantastic treat. You can make a salmon rice bowl for a reasonable price by buying rice, a mountain of ikura, miso soup, and grilling services for just over 500 yen. Don't underestimate salmon – fatty salmon is a wonderful delicacy. Salmon seems to be disappearing from breakfast tables, but I hope people will reconsider the presence of salmon. There are many shops in the market, but this is my recommended spot. Give it a try if you're unsure where to go. Thank you for the delicious souvenirs once again this time.

I'm alone in Kushiro. It's not easy to find a companion in Kushiro. When I say "I'm going to Kushiro," everyone knows I'm aiming to conquer all the ramen shops in Kushiro. My wife, who loves Kushiro ramen, doesn't always agree to come along. Well, I wouldn't know what to do if she asked me to eat soba, because Kushiro soba is nowhere near as good as Kushiro ramen. Today, I've been out and about since morning. I need to hurry back after eating ramen. I wanted to buy some meat for yakiniku, but the butcher shop was closed, and the cafe that should have been open was closed too. I wasted an hour and a half. To make up for it, I need to go to a facility where I can visit multiple places at once. So, I decided to go to Washou Market. There are some shops not mentioned here, so I'll quickly cover the ones I missed. "Yamagen Tamura Shoten." I'm wandering around and have my eye on it. I've pretty much covered the area, so I start shopping at random. There are many delicious items, but the first thing I bought was dried saffron cod for 200 yen. It feels a bit cheap to buy something for 200 yen, but I have to do it to have something to write about. However, the lady at Tamura Shoten is really nice. She thanked me multiple times for my 200 yen purchase. It made me feel good, and I want to buy more from her, but I have to buy from other places too. Sorry, but this will make a great snack with mayonnaise, shichimi, and soy sauce. I drink too much shochu with hot water, so it won't be a cure. This saffron cod is a bit mushy. I wonder why. Was it frozen for too long? Was the freezing process inadequate? Did it thaw multiple times? It's really not that good. It's quite rare.

At the end of the year, I want to spend my time slowly enjoying delicious food and drinks. To satisfy this desire, I visited "Washo Market" in Kushiro City, where I came across "Yamazaki Sengyo-ten" to look for crab. The lady at the neighboring store, "Tamura Shoten," called out to me and recommended their specialty, "Lake Akan-produced boiled smelt," which is a special natural monument. Despite my initial hesitation about turning a special natural monument into boiled smelt, I ended up buying it at the lady's enthusiastic persuasion. She explained that smelt fishing was banned until last year for resource protection, so this was a rare opportunity to see "Lake Akan specialty boiled smelt" on the shelves. I also bought some "Kazunoko" (herring roe) from her, which she proudly claimed was from Hokkaido. When I asked her where in Hokkaido it was from, she honestly replied that she didn't know. I was impressed by her honesty and ended up buying the herring roe as well. After receiving her advice to soak it in salt for over 12 hours, I left Washo Market with a smile on my face.

On Tabelog, there is a restaurant called "Kushiro Washo Market" registered. It may be convenient to visit multiple restaurants for dishes like kaisendon, but I believe it is important to know which ones are delicious and affordable. When I noticed the ikura, the staff immediately offered me a sample. There are two types of ikura soy sauce marinated, one using soy sauce with additives and the other without. I tried the additive-free one first, followed by the one with additives, and I found the additive-free one to be more gentle and to my liking. The items I tried were as follows (excluding tax): - Ikura soy sauce marinated (additive-free) 200g for 2500 yen - Ice pack & cooler bag for 200 yen (tax included) The ikura in a plastic container for 100g was priced at 1200 yen. Prices vary by store, with some selling for 1500 yen. The ikura can also be frozen in the bottle and kept for 2 months. The store also offers online shopping and seemed very dedicated. When I first saw "Washo Market," I thought it sounded like a market commonly found in China. Upon visiting, I felt even more like it was run by Chinese people. Does anyone know if this is the case?

In Kushiro, the two of us went to a restaurant in the local market that Yome-san found for breakfast. However, we arrived an hour before it opened, possibly due to a difference between summer and winter hours. Yome-san fell for it, but instead of leaving, we decided to try some new dishes like the "Katte-don." I didn't eat it, but watching Yome-san enjoy it, I decided to write about it. After that, we got distracted by shopping, and I ended up buying some tarako and sujiko, which Yome-san didn't seem interested in. We left the market and only stopped by a café before heading home. Yome-san remembered the tarako and sujiko, so we took a photo when we got back. Surprisingly, there were two packs of tarako, which confused us. It turned out I had bought one too, and Yome-san had forgotten about it. We froze one pack and tried the other, which turned out to be good quality, despite our initial concerns about its low price. It was a great accompaniment to rice, and we enjoyed it.

While wandering around the fish market, I was approached by the owner of a shop who asked, "Do you know what the most delicious thing in Hokkaido is?" They then passionately talked about the rarity and deliciousness of "Tokishirazu" (young salmon), and I couldn't resist buying some. I tried to purchase it at Sato Suisan in Sapporo this year, but they hardly had any left. Tokishirazu is a type of salmon caught from spring to summer, before it fully matures and develops roe or milt, so it is known for its rich flavor due to the nutrients in its body. I bought a 4-slice Tokishirazu for 2200 yen and a genuine hokke for 800 yen (discounted from 1350 yen), totaling 3000 yen. When I mentioned that I would be flying back to Sapporo, they made sure to pack it with proper cooling. Honestly, I didn't have high expectations at first, thinking I might have been fooled. But when I tried it at home, I was amazed! It was without a doubt the best salmon (Tokishirazu) I have ever had. I am grateful to the shop owner for recommending it to me. I will definitely order some Tokishirazu and ikura soy sauce marinated salmon soon.

There are many shops selling ikura in the Hakodate market. Among them, my favorite is Mr. Tamura's ikura. My wife, who used to dislike and couldn't eat ikura decades ago, now enjoys it. Whenever we visit Kushiro a few times a year, I buy a large amount for home use and souvenirs. I also recommend the salmon, such as Tokishirazu or local red salmon. Although the price is a bit high, the taste is different from the salmon slices sold in supermarkets for just over 100 yen. The dried fish such as hokke, yari-karei, and hon-shishamo are also delicious. I always feel like I'm spending tens of thousands of yen on purchases for home use or souvenirs (laughs). This year, I couldn't visit due to COVID-19, so I ordered ikura for New Year's. The red jewel was deliciously pickled again this year.

The excellent customer service in Osaka style is great, and the taste of the salmon roe is fantastic at a reasonable price.