Outside the market, inside the "Sapporo Asaichi," I visited the yakisoba shop that opened on July 6, 2023, a little before 8 o'clock. Since it was inside the market, I didn't confirm the opening time because they were already open at 8 o'clock. I guessed they might have opened around 7 o'clock. The shop had a counter in the shape of a "く" with about 10 seats, and there was one male customer in his 30s or 40s. The owner, who seemed to be working alone, greeted me from behind, saying "welcome." The noren curtain had the words "Morizumi Seimen," which raised my expectations. The menu showed yakisoba options: "1 portion (employee) @480, 2 portions (manager) @600, 2.5 portions (section chief) @720, 3 portions (assistant manager) @980, 4 portions (department manager) @1,260... and 12 portions (president) @2,280." The yakisoba was not seasoned, and you could use the condiments on the table to adjust the flavor according to your preference. The default yakisoba came with fried noodles and cabbage only, keeping it simple. Other menu items included "Ramen Trio, Curry, Katsu Curry, Chashu Don, Rice," and more. I wondered if yakisoba shops needed to come up with such unique names for their dishes, like the popular "Take That!" from some other shop. Two customers ahead of me ordered yakisoba with additional toppings, so I decided to go easy and ordered the "Salt Ramen @850." The noodles were from "Morizumi," so I expected them to be good. After waiting for 8 minutes, the dish was served. The toppings included chashu, green onions, menma, naruto, and wood ear mushrooms. The noodles were cooked slightly softer than I prefer, and the soup had a good balance of flavors, making it easy to slurp. The overall taste was average, and for a moment, I thought, "Is this for commercial use?" The chashu was a thick slice of well-marbled pork belly with a firm texture, not the melt-in-your-mouth type. The menma was thick and crunchy, and there was a generous amount of chopped green onions. The wood ear mushrooms were finely chopped. Considering the price, I felt like it needed a little more something. That was my experience, thank you. * On a side note, the price of fresh salmon roe this year is around 600 yen per 100 grams, and with a good catch this year, the price seems to have become quite stable in recent years (see photo).

On September 5, 2023, I found out that a new yakisoba restaurant had opened in Sapporo Asaichi, right next to the ramen shop I visited. This yakisoba restaurant, which should actually be called a ramen shop with yakisoba as the main dish, had a full open layout unlike before. Due to the seasonal factors and being located in the market, UFOs were freely flying around (sweat). Additionally, UFO catchers were hanging from the ceiling. I ordered the Chief's Special with 1.5 servings for 600 yen and added mixed vegetables for 200 yen. The yakisoba, with no meat or vegetables, was a bit lacking. The first mixed vegetable was menma... menma!? Well, that's fine (laughs). The second was naruto... Naruto!? What the heck, that's a ramen topping!! (^^;) Is that even okay? The seasoning was done by myself using sauce, which made it taste decent because I seasoned it, but it didn't have the restaurant's flavor. Oh, and shortly after starting to eat, I was targeted by a small UFO (laughs). It's dangerous to visit open-layout restaurants during this season, after all.

How about trying the Da Shusse Yaki Soba for good luck? In addition to yakisoba, the menu also includes ramen and katsu curry. The yakisoba here is similar to a long-established yakisoba shop with a system that offers yakisoba in 9 different volumes, ranging from a regular serving to 12 servings, each named after a different position in a company hierarchy. You can customize your yakisoba with various condiments like sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, chili oil, pepper, seaweed, kimchi, curry sauce, and mayonnaise. However, I had a hard time finding the place due to an incorrect location on Google Maps, which led me to wander around the Central Wholesale Market area for about an hour. Despite the inconvenience, I managed to get some exercise and sweat a lot, which may have been a health benefit. Eventually, I found the restaurant and ordered the main dish with an additional topping of zangi, which turned out to be not to my liking. The noodles used in the yakisoba were decent but lacked the desired chewiness and firmness. Toppings can vary depending on personal taste preferences. Overall, it's important to double-check the address information to avoid getting lost like I did. The restaurant is located at Maruka Center (Sapporo Morning Market) 1F, 1-20 Kita 12 Jonishi 20 Chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0012, Japan.