There used to be a small liquor store in Chitose, but most of them have closed down. When 【Yamada Shoten】, which had business dealings with most of the bars in the area, closed down, it was surprising. In the midst of this, this store operates not as a general store but as a liquor store, which is amazing. And when you enter the store and see the selection, you can tell that this is not just an ordinary liquor store. Simply stocking alcohol is not enough to compete with large retailers. After exploring ways to survive as a small business, they decided to provide good quality sake that they found themselves. When you park your car in the parking lot and enter the store, you will find many rare types of alcohol. I visited this store to find a dry sake. My sister who lives in Fukuoka sent me salted whale and dried sardines, so to enjoy these dishes, I needed some sake. I was looking for something reasonably priced, and I came across the seasonal limited edition "Komen Junmai Karakuchi Hiyahoroshi 720ml". It has a light and dry taste. As I nibbled on the salted whale and took a sip of Komen, I exclaimed, "Wow, delicious!" The combination of salted whale and dry sake was an irresistible delight. When I visited my hometown during the Bon festival, I asked my sister to send me salted whale from the fresh fish section of the Ion store. Finally, it arrived. The salted whale sold here has fatty skin attached, which is not the type of salted whale I wanted to eat.

I found a nice Japanese sake to enjoy with my dinner during a drive near the Dry Route by searching on Google. There didn't seem to be any parking lot available, but when I entered the store, I saw a variety of Japanese sake in the fridge, including both popular brands and some rare ones. The staff was not pushy, so I approached them to ask about the taste of the sake. However, I didn't find anything that perfectly matched my taste, so I ended up buying a more affordable brand called "Ura Ro Man Junmai Ginjo" for 1542 yen. It's a blend of various Ro Man Junmai Ginjo sake that can only be tasted once a year. The flavor was very banana-like with a slight bitterness. The next day, I visited the store again and bought another bottle that caught my attention, the "Hiryu Junmai Daiginjo" for 1540 yen. It had a high cost performance for a Junmai Daiginjo. When I tried it at home, I found that it had a slightly sweet aroma but was spicy with a hint of bitterness, which was not exactly to my liking. However, visiting local liquor stores during a drive can be a fun experience.