Hokkaido report (lol) This is a revisit during lunchtime at the popular local cuisine restaurant "Nabekyu" located by Lake Akan! Visiting around 11:40 am on a Sunday, we were able to be seated right away, but shortly after, the restaurant was full and the chef and staff informed the next customers that it would take about 40 minutes! It seems like it's best to visit early during the busy season! There is a parking lot across from the restaurant called the Lakeside Parking Lot where you can park for 500 yen, and if you make a purchase or dine at specific shops, you can get a little cashback through a system where you show your receipt and get 100 yen back (lol). By the way, the last visit was in early April on a Sunday, and the parking lot was open and free to use, but it may vary depending on the season. This time, I ordered the following: "Wakasagi Tempura Rice Bowl ¥800". The chef's hobby or the TV showing the Koshien tournament caught my attention as I waited for about 20 minutes before it arrived! Wow - freshly caught wakasagi tempura stacked like a tower, a "wakasagi masimashi" tempura rice bowl!! It's like the Jiro of tempura rice bowls!! And each fish is so big, which is amazing!! There is no bitterness at all, it's so fresh, and the combination with the special sauce for the tempura is so perfect that the rice disappears quickly because it's so delicious!! The miso soup served with it is also delicious!! The chef stacks each wakasagi with care, caught fresh from Lake Akan, and serves it with dedication, so their attitude towards food is wonderful!! I couldn't resist ordering the wakasagi tempura rice bowl again when I came to Nabekyu, I was captivated by it!! If I have the chance, I would like to stop by again to enjoy the delicious wakasagi tempura rice bowl!! It was very delicious!! Thank you for the meal.

Hokkaido Wandering Trip 102 Kushiro City Akanko Town Half-size Smelt Tempura Bowl is ¥490 (ﾟ⁠οﾟ⁠人⁠)⁠) It's a tourist spot, but the reasonable price is super happy♪ It looks sunny around Lake Akan in the morning. There are lots of deer around here, so beware of deer road signs! There are signs warning about 4 or 5 deer (laughs) Park the car at the Ainu Kotan No. 2 Parking Lot (free) and enjoy sightseeing♪ Soak in the Benkei Foot Bath and walk along the Bokke Promenade. The bubbling volcanic gas of Bokke is coming out. On the way back, there is a monument to Matsuura Takeshirou's footsteps in the forest. Wait in front of the store about 20 minutes before opening. It's run by a couple, so it's best to come when it's not crowded. I was the first one to enter♪ It's a soba restaurant, and the soba seems quite delicious, but there are two local dishes I want to try: - Half-size Smelt Tempura Bowl ¥490 - Half-size Rainbow Trout and Salmon Roe Bowl ¥940 Miso soup is not included, but since I ordered two dishes, the wife brought me miso soup and pickles♪ The tempura smelt made by the skilled hands of a soba restaurant is fried very deliciously❣ The sauce on the bowl has just the right flavor♡ The Smelt Tempura Bowl is extremely delicious (⁠｡⁠♡⁠‿⁠♡⁠｡⁠) The rainbow trout eggs are like yellow jewels with a very firm membrane that bursts with a pop! The rainbow trout sashimi is also very delicious (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) Rainbow trout sashimi and rainbow trout roe make for a very luxurious parent-child bowl (⁠*⁠˘⁠︶⁠˘⁠*⁠)⁠.⁠｡⁠*⁠♡ It was a series of moving experiences, a wonderful time. I thoroughly enjoyed the blessings of Lake Akan. Thank you for the happy time.

I visited the Akanko Onsen for sightseeing and casually walked in. I was able to get a table without waiting, but it got crowded later and some customers were turned away, so it's better to be careful with timing. I ordered a bowl of rainbow trout and trout. It was incredibly delicious! I usually prefer salmon with ikura, and sometimes feel a bit disappointed with trout, but this trout was delicious!

"Wakasagi tempura bowl for 800 yen? I found this lunch spot in Lake Akan Onsen and chose the donburi set with pickles and miso soup. There was a generous amount of wakasagi, more than I expected, and the sweet sauce was to my liking. I would love to eat this again, although I don't think I'll have the opportunity to go back anytime soon. If this place were closer, I would definitely become a regular customer. They offer self-service for tea and water, and the toothpicks have a cool sensation at the tip. They only accept cash."

In winter at Lake Akan, they were doing smelt fishing. When I ordered the smelt tempura bowl, a generous serving of piping hot smelt bowl was served. It was great to be able to try the local cuisine. It seems like you can also experience smelt fishing at any lake, but I didn't do it this time.

This time, I chose to indulge a bit with a "Nabe Hisashi Bento". It came with rainbow trout sashimi, assorted tempura (including smelt), beef sukiyaki, and a side dish of mountain vegetables. Everything was generously portioned and the flavors were relatively light, allowing the natural taste of the ingredients to shine through. So delicious~(#´ᗜ`#) The soba here is also tasty, so I'll definitely come back to eat again.

I visited this restaurant near Lake Akan Onsen because it had high ratings and I was curious. The interior has a Showa era atmosphere with three tables and a counter, which seems reasonable considering the size of the hot spring town, but it may be a bit narrow for a popular restaurant. You might have to wait when it's crowded. There is no Ainu decoration, so you might forget that you are in Lake Akan Onsen when you are inside. Looking at the menu, I noticed items like rainbow trout, hime masu, and smelt, all local to Lake Akan. Overall, it gives the impression of a soba and tempura restaurant where you can enjoy a variety of dishes. I ordered the Nabe Hisa Bento (2220 yen), which included rainbow trout sashimi with thick, flavorful, and refreshing slices. The belly meat was fatty and delicious. The smelt tempura was not only tasty but also plentiful, including eggplant, bell pepper, enoki mushrooms, and large, juicy shrimp. In addition to tempura sauce, you could also enjoy them with salt and curry salt. The Sukiyaki Tamanegi was sweetly seasoned with onions, shredded konnyaku, and beef. It was nice to have a meat dish among all the fish dishes. The flavor was intense, so it was the perfect accompaniment to rice. I forgot to take a photo, but the soft kinpira and pickles were also included, making it a luxurious bento box with a satisfying variety of menu items and generous portions.

I revisited the restaurant because the wakasagi tempura bowl I had before was so delicious. I thought they might be closed due to the snow, but luckily they were open. Of course, I ordered the wakasagi tempura bowl again. The freshly fried wakasagi tempura was piled high and tasted great. However, it felt saltier this time, maybe they put too much sauce on it? Or did the taste change? It was still delicious, but I ended up rating it lower than my previous visit...

Kushiro Gourmet Part 4: Local Cuisine Nahekuga Nahekuga is located in the northern part of Kushiro City, a well-known tourist destination. Here, you can enjoy not only Marimo, but also Wakasagi! Although ice fishing for Wakasagi is famous, it's not the season for that now. However, at "Local Cuisine Nahekuga" with a view of Lake Akan, you can enjoy freshly caught Wakasagi. On a holiday around 1 PM, the restaurant seemed to be particularly popular around Lake Akan and was fully booked. After waiting for about 20 minutes, we were finally able to enter. This time, we ordered "Ebi-Ten Soba" (tempura shrimp on soba noodles) and "Wakasagi Tempura". They are proud of their hand-made soba noodles. After about 20 minutes, our food arrived! We eagerly slurped the soba noodles. They had a nice texture and aroma, and the warm and delicious broth soaked into our bodies. Delicious! The tempura shrimp was plump and the portion size was great. Next up was the Wakasagi tempura. Once you take a bite, you'll be addicted! The flesh was tender, the crispy light batter was a contrast. It had a subtle sweetness, not bitter at all, and you could also taste the umami of the internal organs. You can enjoy the original deliciousness of Wakasagi with salt, or you can change the flavor with the tempura dipping sauce. Although there was quite a bit of food, we devoured it all. The landlady's service was also lovely, making it a heartwarming dining experience. Thank you for the meal!

A popular restaurant by Lake Akan. The food was delicious and worth the visit. The owner was frying pond smelt tempura in front of the counter, tirelessly. Even a half portion was around 15 fish, and a regular portion would probably be double that. Almost everyone was ordering the pond smelt tempura. I wondered how much pond smelt this restaurant alone was consuming, it's amazing they don't run out. The preparation of other dishes was done by 2-3 women in the back. You have to wait about 30 minutes after ordering, the counter gives a good view of the kitchen. The women were always busy and working hard, it seemed like they had no time to catch their breath during lunchtime, it looked tough. Rating: 8 - Pond smelt tempura rice bowl (half portion) Even a half portion was quite filling, about 80% full. Normally, the pond smelt tempura would be piled up like a mountain. Probably a standard size for the locals who are mostly manual laborers. The tempura had a light and crispy batter, giving a satisfying feeling of eating something fried. The taste of the pond smelt itself was barely noticeable, it's originally a mild white fish. Rating: 8 - Rainbow trout and salmon roe rice bowl (half portion) Rating: 8.5 - The rainbow trout was smooth and creamy, consistently delicious. Rating: 7 - It was my first time trying rainbow trout roe. It was firmer compared to salmon roe, and the capsules popped when bitten. The grains were slightly smaller and seemed to have less flavor compared to salmon roe. The color was slightly brownish due to being marinated in soy sauce, which I found a bit salty. The restaurant mentioned that at certain times (I believe in spring?), they also have hime masu available. They said hime masu originated from Lake Akan.

After having breakfast at the market, we returned to our accommodation before heading out for sightseeing! We used a rental car to visit the Kushiro Marshland and then drove to Lake Akan. The lake has high transparency and is very beautiful. There were plenty of souvenir items made from marimo. Of course, there was also the lovable character Marimokkori. When it came to lunchtime, we checked on Tabelog for nearby restaurants and found this place being recommended. We decided to enter before 11:30 as we had another appointment later. The restaurant was already half full when we arrived. We sat in a slightly raised seating area that was available. The interior had an old-fashioned soba restaurant feel to it. We decided on vegetable tempura soba for our son, and Wakasagi tempura soba for ourselves and my wife. After a wait of about 10 minutes, our soba arrived. The tempura was served in the same dish, which gave a nostalgic feel. The Wakasagi tempura was delicious. It tasted great with curry salt or with tempura dipping sauce. It was clear that Wakasagi was the way to go here. I couldn't see the point of eating Black Tiger shrimp tempura in this area. Our son had the vegetable tempura, but he kept asking for more of our Wakasagi tempura, so it must have been good. The soba had a good firm texture. It had a strong aroma of soba and was delicious. The dipping sauce had a classic strong soy sauce flavor. While I found the sauce a bit disappointing, I still finished the meal. Among the restaurants in tourist areas, I think this place offers a high level of taste. If you're ever in doubt at Lake Akan, I highly recommend this place.

The appearance is still impactful. The tempura coating is crispy and crunchy. The flesh of the pond smelt is plump and has a mild taste. It goes perfectly with the sauce. However, there is a unique flavor or slight fishy smell typical of freshwater fish, so some people may not like it.

- Crispy and fluffy tempura of pond smelt sits atop the bowl of tempura rice bowl, creating a striking visual impact. Taking a bite, the pond smelt wrapped in a crispy batter has a moist and fluffy texture, with a mild taste. The homemade tempura sauce adds an exquisite flavor to the dish. - The duck soba has a broth with just the right balance of bonito flavor, not too strong nor too weak. The soba noodles, presumably made from a mix of 20% wheat flour and 80% buckwheat flour, have a good texture and firmness. The delicious soup made it easy to finish the entire bowl. Overall, both the tempura and soba dishes are of a high quality and delicious. It's worth traveling a long way just to enjoy the food at this restaurant.

A long-established local cuisine restaurant located by Lake Akan. The interior has a pub-like atmosphere with a counter, tables, and sunken seating. The menu is extensive but the soba noodles are popular, so I ordered the "Smelt Tempura Soba (1350 yen)". I sat at the counter and watched the owner skillfully fry the tempura, and the dish arrived in about 10 minutes. The crispy fried smelt with a slice of pumpkin was served with tempura dipping sauce and curry powder on the table. The new soba noodles were firm with a good texture. The dipping sauce had a nice flavor of bonito dashi. However, the soba water was just plain hot water. Overall, the atmosphere and service were warm and homely. In addition to "smelt", they also serve local dishes like "rainbow trout" and "princess trout" depending on the season. I think it's a great place to enjoy local cuisine by Lake Akan.

There is a shop in Lake Akan Onsen Street called "The Showa Diner". They have counter seats and table seats. I visited right after they opened. There were no customers at first, but more came later. It's a popular place. I ordered the Smelt Tempura Zaru Soba for 1,230 yen. The soba is made with Horauchi soba, which has a good aroma, texture, and chewiness. The dipping sauce is refreshing and slightly spicy. The smelt is frozen since it's only available this season, but it's quite delicious and the portion is generous. You can eat it with tempura sauce or salt. Also, I appreciate their honesty in disclosing that the smelt is frozen. It shows confidence in their taste.

Today, my son and I went on a trip together. We took a day off and traveled to Lake Akan. For lunch, we visited a soba restaurant called Nabe Kyu. Their grilled Hime Masu and fried smelt tempura are popular. I ordered the smelt tempura soba with a side of tempura. We were planning to have a light lunch since we have a buffet dinner at the hotel later, but the tempura had a lot of smelt in it. I thought a regular tempura soba might have been better with this much smelt. Nonetheless, the tempura was super crispy, and the slight bitterness of the smelt went perfectly with beer. Although I couldn't taste much of the soba flavor, the smelt was delicious! We finished it in no time! My son had the chicken soba and he was ecstatic, saying it was delicious! Local ingredients are truly the best! Thank you for the meal!

I didn't have high expectations when I went, it was just a traditional soba restaurant where you can have beer in the afternoon. There were hardly any tourists, and in December, local men were drinking beer. Since we were here, we decided to try the local specialty, which is smelt. I always thought smelt were around 10 centimeters, but here they were tiny, about 5 centimeters. The local men were a bit rough, but the smelt was delicious. Overall, it was a good restaurant.

I decided to stay at a pension by Lake Kussharo on this day. Since I needed to eat something (especially my companion) in the time available in the Akanko Onsen town, I quickly looked up and visited the local cuisine restaurant Nageku. It wasn't peak season yet, so the shared parking lot was unattended (lol) during lunchtime. We sat at an empty table, I wanted the Wasagi tempura soba for 1230 yen, and my companion ordered the Ebi tempura soba for 1020 yen with extra noodles for 320 yen. The dishes arrived in about 9 minutes. Oh, there were lots of small Wasagi tempura! The soba noodles were thin and had a nice chewy texture, with a hint of sweetness when chewed. The broth was well-balanced and went well with the thin soba noodles. The condiments were wasabi and long green onions. The Wasagi tempura was crispy and light, very delicious ❤ Since the Wasagi tempura was small, it gave the impression of being crispy rather than having a moist white flesh. If I were to rate only the Wasagi tempura, I would give it 4.0 stars. There were also tempura bell peppers for some reason, as well as thin slices that tasted like burdock... Since they didn't have much flavor when chewed, they might have been shaved bonito flakes used for making broth? The tempura dipping sauce was also good, but the curry salt on the table went well with the mild Wasagi. Everyone ordered it, so I should have ordered it too? My companion, who doesn't eat fish with the head on, even said so (lol). I recommend sharing the Wasagi tempura! The soba broth was almost like white soup. It was a surprisingly delicious start to a short trip at a longstanding dining spot in the hot spring town, even though it's a tourist area with slightly higher prices. I think I was able to spend a little money. Thank you for the meal.

Date of visit: March 14, 2021 For lunch on this day, I visited Nagekyu with a companion. We arrived around 11:55. There were no customers when we entered, but soon after, the place became almost full. We ordered: - Anago Tempura Soba (1230 yen) - Wakasagi Tempura Zaru Soba (1230 yen) The dishes were served in about 6 minutes. The Anago Tempura Soba had a strong buckwheat flavor, with a broth that was more salty than flavorful. The anago tempura was large, but had a lingering fishy smell. In terms of portion and quality, the cost performance may not be great. The Wakasagi Tempura Zaru Soba was chosen by my companion. The soba had a strong texture, indicating it was hand-made. The broth was well-balanced. The soba was smooth. The wakasagi tempura was incredibly crispy, almost making it hard to find the wakasagi inside. The tempura dipping sauce, salt, and curry salt were all delicious, with the curry salt being particularly good. The service was also good. Although I wanted to visit a few more places by Lake Akan, the ones I had in mind were closed, and I was already quite full, so we headed back to Kushiro. Thank you for the meal.

On December 27, 2020 (Sunday), we had lunch at a restaurant where I had previously visited alone and found it very delicious, so this time I brought my wife along. I ordered the "Wakasagi Tempura Soba" in a large portion, while my wife had the "Kashiwa Soba". We also ordered the "Wakasagi Tempura" as a side dish. The Wakasagi Tempura arrived promptly, and we started by trying it with curry salt. The tempura was crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and had a unique flavor of Wakasagi. What stood out was how light the oil was, which was great for us in our fifties as it didn't make us feel heavy. My wife was also thoroughly enjoying it, saying "This is amazing" repeatedly. The soba noodles were hand-made with a firm texture, and we were both very satisfied. The Kashiwa Soba, despite being served warm, still had a good chewy texture of the soba noodles. I tried the broth and found it quite tasty. Moreover, the service from the staff was excellent! They were kind, polite, and had a gentle demeanor. Perhaps it's because they have many tourists visiting, but we had a very pleasant dining experience. I couldn't find any negative points to deduct, so I would rate it 5 out of 5.

On December 4, 2020 (Friday), I searched for a delicious tempura restaurant on Tabelog and found this place ranked first. So, I decided to take a drive to Lake Akan! The appearance and interior of the restaurant were quite ordinary. Now, what should I eat... since I'm at Lake Akan, maybe I should try the smelt. I ordered the "Smelt Tempura Zaru." The sound of the tempura being fried really whetted my appetite. It was served shortly after. First, I tried the smelt tempura... it was fried to a crisp, and the batter was light. The subtle bitterness of the smelt was delicious. Oh... I think I really like the way they fry their tempura here. Next, I tried the zaru soba. Wow! It has a good chew to it! I can't remember the last time I had soba with this much chewiness. This was incredibly delicious! When I asked the owner, they said they use soba flour from Hokkaido and hand-make the soba. I've had soba in Hokkaido before, but it wasn't as delicious as this... Besides the tempura, the soba left a lasting impression. It was a truly enjoyable meal.