I can do my part now by supporting restaurants while being careful. I came with the feeling of "Let's have a blast together!" Tonight, I made a reservation at a sushi restaurant called "Manbo Sora" that I couldn't go to last time, and visited for the first time. The place is "Izakaya Hiraya" on the south side of Harukoma Street in Obihiro. The exterior is a two-story house with a log-like design. Inside, it's cozy with an L-shaped counter with 8 seats and several small table seats. It was 7:15 pm. I had sushi earlier so I just ordered a few dishes. The appetizer cost 330 yen, assorted skewers with wasabi cost 770 yen, steamed oysters cost 700 yen, fried tofu in broth cost 480 yen, vegetable tempura cost 700 yen, edamame cost 390 yen, and rolled omelet cost 480 yen. The steamed oysters were a bit soupy, but the broth was delicious and warming. The fried tofu in broth was also tasty. The skewers with wasabi did a great job, and the vegetable tempura was plentiful. I will definitely come back to try more dishes. Thank you for the meal. Izakaya Hiraya is open from 5:30 pm to midnight, closed on Mondays.

Friday. I finished work at noon and headed to Obihiro. My wife and son will stay for a week, and chappytsum will return the day after tomorrow on Sunday. And then, the following week, I will go pick up my wife and son. I must say, it's quite a task... (^^; As a son-in-law with no place to stay, I went out for drinks (*≧∀≦*) So, I went to "Izakaya Hiraya" this time. It's a patrol of a nearby restaurant to my wife's parents' house. During my student days, a certain professor told me, "If the word 'no' appears three times in a sentence, there is a flaw in the sentence." The name of the restaurant is "Hiraya," but it's a two-story building (laughs). The slim, pompadour-wearing owner is cool. The song "Hatsukoi" by Takao Murashita was playing. It's a great song. This song is dangerous. I can't help but start sumo wrestling. Hattsuco~i, nokotta, nan tte!! (laughs) Eventually, I became a member of the "Megumi no Hito" group. Tashiro... can't you stop...? I respected Masayuki Suzuki and got a perm, but I stopped a long time ago (￣∇￣) The beer is dry and delicious. Karaho Yamahai Junmai Super Dry... I was recommended this by the owner when I was about to go to the next restaurant. It's a thick and dry sake. I prefer a sake that is a little clearer. The appetizer is macaroni salad. It's macaroni mixed with fish cakes, and tuna. Is this it? Tempura prawns... for 980 yen. I had heard that the tempura here was delicious, so I ordered it. Wow! Amazing frying skills. The outside is crispy, and the inside is tender. The flavor is rich and wonderful. The dipping sauce has a light and flavorful dashi taste. Chicken skewers... 2 for 330 yen. The yakitori here is grilled thoroughly. The outside has a crispy texture. Personally, I appreciate that. It's delicious. Pork skewers... 2 for 410 yen. It's salt-flavored. The sweetness of the pork spreads as you chew. It was an at-home izakaya with delicious tempura.

I went to Hiraya-san! It's already a familiar place, isn't it? Today was the New Year's party for the "Choochoo" group, even though it's already February... It got postponed due to the flu and such, and today's location was chosen by Choochoo-san. It seems I haven't been to this restaurant since two years ago. I've been using it quite a bit since I was brought here (laughs). Thank you very much. Now, let's cheers with beer and hot oolong tea as usual!! Cheers for this year as well (^_^)/~~ The beer is ice-cold, almost frozen for a moment (laughs). Now, let's order: - Tuna and octopus head sashimi - Kisu tempura - Beef sagari skewers with mountain wasabi - Homemade pickles assortment - Pork skewers for two - Sausage platter - Tsubu wasabi simmered dish - Maruten (fried fish cake) - Asari sake-steamed clams - French fries - Zangi (fried chicken) - Edamame (boiled green soybeans) - Tuna pickled rice bowl I ate them all (^_^) The best dish today was definitely the kisu tempura. It was so delicious, just like at a tempura restaurant! And the one bite I had of the tuna pickled rice bowl was amazing, with the perfect combination of sesame and pickled sauce. The BGM in the restaurant was songs by Akiko Kobayashi, LOOK, Misato Watanabe, Akemi Ishii, and Ann Lewis. I couldn't help but sing along (laughs). I was quite impressed by the selection of songs, but later I found out they were from CDs (^^)v I had a good amount of beer today and then enjoyed some sake. I even had some wine (^_^)/~~ I ended up drinking quite a bit, but it's okay since it was a New Year's party (^^)v It was a fun gathering with delicious food. Thank you, Hiraya-san, for the wonderful meal!

I visited Izakaya Hiraya for the second time! This time, I went on a weekday around 8 pm with my chubby junior colleague. The restaurant was not crowded today, so we sat in a small raised seating area at the edge. We started with beer and calpis as usual and ordered some new dishes we haven't tried before, such as Kimchi Udon Nabe, Beef Sagari Skewers with Wasabi, Spicy Mayo Shrimp Tempura, and more. However, we ended up ordering our usual favorites like sashimi, karaage, chicken skewers, pork skewers, kimchi, pickles, and horse mackerel fry. We made a mistake by ordering too much at once, so the table was full of dishes in no time! The Kimchi Udon Nabe with egg was delicious, and the beef sagari skewers were great, although they needed a bit more seasoning. The horse mackerel fry was a must-have and tasted fantastic. We enjoyed the meal and drank plenty of beer, feeling satisfied and ready for the next day. The attentive owner, with his stylishly gelled hair, even saw us off at the end. Thank you, Izakaya Hiraya, for the delicious meal!

The steamed clams, homemade pickled mackerel, thick omelette, and smoked duck were all delicious with a refined and subtle flavor. The atmosphere inside the restaurant is also nice. You have to take off your shoes when entering, so you can relax. Everything is neatly organized and the feeling is good. It's quiet and pleasant as it's not in the city center.

I visited Izakaya Hiraya. This was my 8th visit, thanks to a recommendation from Chou-san. We went after work on a weekday around 8 pm with 4 people. One of the members, Yoshiko-san, claims to be very picky about meat but has low credibility when it comes to food recommendations. The restaurant was busy, but we were lucky to get a raised seating area. The food here is consistently delicious, especially the sashimi and grilled dishes. Today happened to be a special sale day, so we ordered everything that was discounted. The draft beer was also cheap at 400 yen. We ordered chicken skewers, pork skewers, a sashimi platter, fried potatoes, horse mackerel fry, onion potato salad, pickles platter, steamed clams, rolled omelette, and sausage platter. Everything was delicious, especially the sashimi and skewers. The rolled omelette was also very fluffy. At one point, we noticed the mama-san from a nearby snack bar and her companion, so we exchanged greetings and drinks. We ended up drinking for over 2 hours. It was the 12th anniversary of Izakaya Hiraya, and I'm glad I could celebrate it today. Thank you for the delicious food and enjoyable time.

I went on an expedition to Obihiro. It was so cold, so cold in Obihiro. But this restaurant was a warm haven. A friend from Obihiro took me there, and everything I ate was exceptional. The kushikatsu was perfectly crispy. The grilled fish was delicious. The tempura was all tasty, but the cod was outstanding. I finished with a tuna marinated rice bowl. Everything was prepared with care and was very delicious. In the city center of Obihiro, it's surprisingly hard to find a good izakaya, but this restaurant, though slightly on the outskirts, is easily reachable by taxi. They also have parking, so even if you use a designated driver, it won't be too expensive. When you visit Obihiro, this is a restaurant you must try.