Koki-an 2023.02.22 Tonight, I visited the dining establishment "Koki-an" to at least support the food and beverage industry while being cautious. Let's all do our best together! They offer takeout as well. The location is where the previous restaurant Shino was located, near Curves Obihiro Kitaten. The exterior remains the same as Shino, a two-story beige building with a spacious and clean interior including counter seats, table seats, and raised seating. I ordered the Red Chicken Tataki for 800 yen, Red Meat Horse Sashimi for 900 yen, Ostrich for 900 yen, Chef's Choice Fresh Sushi for 1500 yen, and Onion Salad for 450 yen. The meats were all partially thawed and the ostrich had a good texture and gamey flavor, very delicious! Next time, I'll come for lunch. Thank you for the meal! Koki-an is open from 11:30-14:30 and 17:30-22:00, closed on Sundays and the 2nd Monday of the month.

Koki-an December 2022. What I can do now is to support restaurants while being cautious. Let's all do our best! Today, I visited "Goshokujidokoro Koki-an" after a long time to have Japanese food. They offer takeout as well. The location is near Curves Obihiro Kita, on the south side of the former restaurant Shino. The exterior remains the same as Shino, a two-story beige building. The interior is spacious and clean, with 6 counter seats, 1 table for 4, and 4 raised tatami rooms. Today, I ordered the reasonably priced eel set for 1,200 yen and the "Uchuu" set for 1,100 yen. The eel was small but tender, and the sweet and savory eel sauce was delicious. The "Uchuu" set included sashimi (squid, lightly boiled sea bream, salmon, yellowtail), nikujaga (beef and potato stew), hokke mirin (grilled Okhotsk atka mackerel), simmered shrimp, meatballs, hijiki seaweed, rolled omelette, miso soup, chawanmushi (savory egg custard), and pickles. The sashimi had sea bream, which was a nice surprise, and the chawanmushi was flavorful with a Japanese-style broth. I will definitely come back to try their other dishes next time. Thank you for the delicious meal. Goshokujidokoro Koki-an is open from 11:30 to 14:30 and 17:30 to 22:00, closed on Sundays and the second Monday of the month.

What a grand name! It really gets your expectations up, doesn't it? The owner's recommendation. I have visited the previous location for lunch before, and I have been to this new location several times before it became Furuki-an. There were about 2 groups of customers before me, and the bento box arrived about 10 minutes after ordering. It came with chawanmushi and had just the right amount of volume. The miso soup had a lot of ingredients. I was a bit unsure about the main dish - what was it? When the captain was in charge, it was nikujaga, but today it was a salad with cheese on leafy greens. The main dish was sashimi, right? Later on, more customers, including those with reservations, arrived, so it seems to be popular. Thank you for the meal. As I left... the issue of the slanted parking spaces came up, and there were two rows of cars parked diagonally facing each other with narrow gaps in between. If you park further back, it's impossible to get out by yourself. (Try to park closer to the entrance if possible!)

I went to the dining place called Furian for the first time after it moved! The previous Furian Irori has been relocated and the name of the restaurant has been changed. The new location is the same as the previous restaurant, so I went in for lunch. Last time, I tried the recommended Sora, so this time I decided to go with the daily special. Today's special is cold shabu-shabu for 900 yen including tax. I'll have that, please. I really liked the atmosphere of the previous location, so I was a bit disappointed personally. It seems like the relocation this time is a change in direction to focus more on families. It's ready soon and comes with chawanmushi. Let's eat. The meat is delicious, very tender and I feel like I could eat a lot of it. It comes with sesame sauce. I don't particularly dislike it, but it's a bit difficult to pair with rice. I would be happy if there was also ponzu sauce. They also have pork bowl and omurice, so I would like to try them next time. Thank you for the meal.

On December 2, 2020, what I can do now is to support at least the food and beverage industry while being very cautious. Let's all do our best! Tonight, I visited a Japanese restaurant that recently relocated with three friends. It was our third visit to Koki-an Irori. They offer takeout as well. The restaurant is located where the previous restaurant, Shino, used to be, near Curves Obihiro Kita Store, on the south side. The exterior remains the same as Shino, a two-story beige house. The interior is spacious and clean, with counter seats and raised tatami seating. We made a reservation for 7 pm. There were no other customers when we arrived, and only one group came later. We ordered Ebi Chili for 750 yen, tuna for 800 yen, horse sashimi for 900 yen, spare ribs for 900 yen, warm vegetable raclette cheese for 700 yen, tubodai for 1,200 yen, Nawa-te's vegetable salad for 600 yen, U-maki for 700 yen, Inoue's potato fries for 400 yen, Furukawa's pickled vegetables assortment for 500 yen, Chijimi (forgot the price), and plenty of alcohol. The tubodai, priced at 1,200 yen, was large, thick, and well-marbled, despite being scarce lately, making it delicious and affordable. The warm vegetable raclette was served on a special hot plate, with a regular hot plate on top and a raclette melter underneath, resulting in a rich and creamy taste. We drank nearly a shō of sake besides beer and were about to close when the owner kindly offered more sake and we chatted about the restaurant and other nearby dining places. We had a great time drinking together. I will definitely come back for lunch or dinner. Thank you for the delicious meal!

On November 25, 2020, I went to a newly relocated Japanese restaurant called Furuki An Irori. The restaurant is located where the previous restaurant Shino was, near Curves Obihiro Kita. The exterior remains the same as Shino, with a light beige two-story building. The interior is spacious and clean, with counter seats and raised seating areas. I ordered the sashimi set meal for 1,100 yen and the grilled eel rice bowl for 1,100 yen. The sashimi set included 6 types of sashimi (salmon, sweet shrimp, hubris, scallop, flounder, squid), a side dish of dried daikon radish, vinegared rice, miso soup, chawanmushi, and pickles. The eel was small but tender, with a delicious sweet and savory sauce. The sashimi was fresh and thickly sliced, with the flounder having a chewy texture and the salmon being fatty and delicious. The chawanmushi was light and flavorful with a dashi broth. I will definitely come back for dinner next time.

On November 19, 2020, I visited a newly relocated Japanese restaurant called Furuki-an Irori for lunch. The restaurant was spacious and clean, with counter seats and raised seating areas. I ordered the Furuki-an Set Meal "Sora" for 2,000 yen, which included eel, sashimi (salmon, sweet shrimp, yellowtail, flounder, sea urchin), tempura (shrimp, bell pepper, eggplant, red snapper), rolled omelette, simmered shrimp, striped jack, simmered whelk, small side dishes, tempura (round tempura-like item), chawanmushi, and pickles. The eel was slightly firm but delicious with a sweet and savory sauce, the sashimi was fresh and thickly sliced, especially the flounder was chewy and flavorful, the tempura was crispy and the red snapper tempura was rich and creamy, the chawanmushi was smooth and flavorful. I enjoyed the meal and will definitely come back for dinner next time.

In mid-September this year, I received a DM from the owner of a hidden gem small restaurant after seeing an article in the news, informing me that the restaurant that used to be called Shino has moved to a new location. I have been checking the new location every time I pass by since then. About a week ago, I visited the restaurant called Koki-an, which was also featured in the local newspaper's "Industry News" section. On the first day of lunch service, there were quite a few parking spaces in front of the store, but the spacing between cars was not sufficient, so one needs to be careful when parking. There were many celebratory flowers displayed. I remember the owner used to work at Tokachigawa Onsen First Hotel, so I could see alumni association and young staff signatures. I took a seat at the table I was guided to, and indeed, when it comes to Koki-an, it's all about the universe (sora), right? They charged me 1100 yen. The food arrived in about 10 minutes. It had the same reassuring composition as in the irori era. The sashimi platter included 4 types (squid, yellowtail, white fish, and fatty salmon). The main dish was nikujaga, and the branded tamagoyaki was still there! The taste of the dried daikon and mentaiko mayo mix had a strong impact. The miso soup had a rich dashi and well-balanced seasoning. Although small, the chawanmushi was a masterpiece of custard-like texture. As I have mentioned before, the pumpkin tsukemono is memorable as it is not often seen elsewhere. According to the Industry News, the new location does not have an irori, so they seem to have changed the name. "At the new location, there is no irori due to facility constraints, but we will provide a relaxing atmosphere and delicious food to all our customers (by the restaurant's website)." Thank you for the meal.

I arrived at Obihiro Station Bus Terminal from Obihiro Airport, transferred at Nishi 16-jo 1-chome bus stop, and went to eat pork bowl. It was worth the effort, with plenty of pork loin meat and a satisfying meal. I plan to visit Obihiro again in the future.