Jingisukan or Genghis Khan is rumored to have gotten its name in prewar Japan, when lamb was thought to be the meat of choice among Mongolian soldiers. The dome-shaped skillet commonly used today is meant to represent the soldiers’ helmets which they allegedly used to cook their food.
As amazing as Hokkaido’s dairy products were, the single best dairy product I ate on this trip didn’t come from Sapporo. It came from a little patisserie high up in the mountains of Kumamoto prefecture in Kyushu.
An onsen is best experienced in a ryokan. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, a ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn which features tatami-matted rooms and communal baths. It’s a relaxing atmosphere ideal for onsen bathing.
I fell in love with unagi the first time I tasted it and it’s become one of my favorite foods. I’ve had it in many places but this was hands down the best unagi I have ever eaten in my life.
At first, we weren’t sure what they were. They looked like shanties or shuttered newsstands. We couldn’t see any people from where we were standing but every one of them was lit from the inside. Could these be those famed yatai food stalls that Fukuoka is known for?
Hakata ramen is known for its rich, milky tonkotsu broth which is made by slowly cooking pork bones over a high flame until its marrow seeps out. It features thin, non-curly noodles and is often topped with slices of chashu pork. Located in the Nagahama area, Ganso Nagahamaya is a small ramen shop that’s been serving Hakata ramen since the end of the Pacific War.
Nijo Market in Sapporo is a Disneyland for seafood lovers and one of the worst places in the world to be a crab.
We love kaiten-zushi restaurants and had heard so much about the seafood in Hokkaido that we wanted our first meal to be sushi. With all its rave reviews, there was no better place to have it than here at Nemuro Hanamaru.
Kannabe is an idyllic mountain range with a few small ski resorts just two-and-a-half hours from Osaka or Kyoto. If you enjoy winter sports, then it’s a good place to go on a quick skiing or snowboarding side trip from either city.
This was my first time staying at a Japanese-style inn and I loved it. I had no idea I would sleep so well on the floor!