{"id":31365,"date":"2017-12-12T08:00:17","date_gmt":"2017-12-11T23:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=31365"},"modified":"2020-07-23T00:01:31","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T15:01:31","slug":"eastern-hokkaido-koshimizu-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/eastern-hokkaido-koshimizu-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Where to Eat in Koshimizu-cho, Eastern Hokkaido"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sponsored by Koshimizu Tourism Association<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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Hokkaido<\/strong> is Japan’s largest prefecture<\/strong> and is renowned for its incredible, mostly undisturbed landmass.\u00a0Consequently, there are numerous places in this stunning prefecture that most of us have never been to.\u00a0I was fortunate enough to visit one of them recently, the small town of Koshimizu-cho<\/strong> (\u5c0f\u6e05\u6c34\u753a), in e<\/b>astern<\/strong> Hokkaido.<\/p>\n

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Koshimizu-cho<\/strong> is less than 100km away from Shiretoko National<\/strong> Park, commonly known as one of Japan’s most pristine\u00a0national parks.<\/strong> This town, of only 5,000 inhabitants, is\u00a0a popular bird-watching<\/strong> spot but it\u00a0only has a handful of restaurants<\/strong>. So, if you don’t know where to look, you may not find them! In this post, I will show you where you can eat in Koshimizu<\/strong> and introduce the three restaurants that comfortably satisfied my appetite.<\/p>\n

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1) Ramen Taroyama (\u3089\u30fc\u3081\u3093\u592a\u90ce\u5c71)<\/h2>\n

The first cuisine<\/strong> I had the pleasure of sampling was lunch at\u00a0Ramen<\/u><\/span>\u00a0Taroyama,<\/a><\/strong> next to Hama-koshimizu<\/strong> (Koshimizu’s closest train station). If you’re driving, there is free parking available at the station, which is also a \u9053\u306e\u99c5 (Michi no Eki \/ rest stop).<\/p>\n

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Front of Ramen Taroyama, next to the Michi no Eki<\/p><\/div>\n

When you enter, simply indicate how many people you are with your fingers\u00a0and take a seat in a booth or at a counter. \u00a0English menus are available at the table, so you can get ordering quickly!<\/p>\n

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To create your perfect ramen,<\/strong> you will need to choose a base flavour (e.g. miso, soy<\/strong> sauce etc.), and a ramen filling. There are six different fillings available, ranging from the \uffe5800 classic ramen,<\/strong> to the \uffe51,500 luxurious seafood<\/strong> ramen.\u00a0If you’re feeling hungry, you can also select a side order or two, or four! No one’s judging!<\/p>\n

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I ordered the vegetable ramen<\/strong> with a soy sauce<\/strong> base at \uffe5900, and a side of potato mochi<\/strong> for just \uffe5300. I am the kind of eater who saves their favourite part of the meal until the end, and I am particularly partial to a mochi ball, so that was what I did. I was so full after the ramen that I\u00a0almost toppled over when I left my seat!<\/p>\n

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2) Obachan no Ie (\u304a\u3070\u3061\u3083\u3093\u306e\u5bb6) – Soba<\/h2>\n

If you know a bit of Japanese, you may\u00a0know that “Obachan” is a respectful way to address an older lady, or an aunty. In this instance, Obachan no Ie<\/strong><\/a> means the “old lady\u2019s house”, and it’s a\u00a0Japanese soba restaurant<\/strong> just\u00a0around the corner from both Hama-Koshimizu station<\/strong> and the ramen restaurant above. Here, you can choose between rice<\/strong> and soba<\/strong> dishes, although during lunch hours they only serve soba.<\/p>\n

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Front of Obachan no Ie<\/p><\/div>\n

When you enter, you can just indicate how many people you are and take a seat on the tatami<\/strong> mats or at a regular table. There is an English menu available, so ask the staff to get it!<\/p>\n

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Soba Menu<\/p><\/div>\n

The menu is divided into two sections: cold soba<\/strong> (\u3064\u3081\u305f\u3044\u305d\u3070\/tsumetai soba<\/em>) and hot soba<\/strong> (\u3042\u305f\u305f\u304b\u3044\u305d\u3070<\/em>\/atatakai soba).\u00a0I ordered the \u6d77\u8001\u5929 (ebi ten\/hot tempura prawn soba<\/i>), which was \uffe5800 and it was delicious!<\/p>\n

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Tempura Ebi (Prawn) Soba<\/p><\/div>\n

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3) \u00a0Olango(\u30aa\u30e9\u30f3\u30b4) – Western<\/h2>\n

One of the only Western-style restaurants<\/strong> in the area is Olango<\/a><\/strong>, which serves Italian and French <\/strong>food tailored to the Japanese palette!<\/strong>\u00a0Of the three restaurants, I would say that this one is the most suitable for an evening meal, since it’s atmosphere is more formal and it has the added bonus of a bar. It’s also located in Koshimizu-cho town centre, so is easy to walk to and from if you want to have a drink.<\/p>\n

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Olango doesn’t have an English menu yet, but the staff were extremely patient\u00a0and did their best to guide me, which was very much appreciated. The main courses here cost between \uffe5800 and \uffe51,500, with side dishes\u00a0between \uffe5200 and \uffe5800.\u00a0Most of the main courses fit within two categories, pizza (\u30d4\u30b6) and pasta (\u30d1\u30b9\u30bf), but there are other dishes available such as\u00a0beef stew (\u30d3\u30fc\u30d5\u30b7\u30c1\u30e5\u30fc) and omelettes (\u30aa\u30e0\u30ec\u30c4).<\/p>\n

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For my main course, I had “\u6d77\u8001\u3068\u30cb\u30e9\u306e\u548c\u98a8\u7092\u3081 \u30d1\u30b9\u30bf”, Japanese fried prawn and chive noodles (\uffe5950), and for my side dish, I ordered “\u30aa\u30cb\u30aa\u30f3\u30b9\u30e9\u30a4\u30b9”, onion slice salad (\uffe5200)!<\/p>\n

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Other Restaurants<\/h2>\n

Sadly, I didn’t have time to visit all of the restaurants in the area but\u00a0here is a list of some others nearby.<\/p>\n

Ekibasha<\/a>\u00a0\/Ramen<\/p>\n

Michi no Eki<\/a>\u00a0\/ Lunch and snacks (A restaurant on the road of the train station)<\/p>\n

Ofukuro<\/a>\u00a0\/ Japanese Izakaya<\/p>\n

Loop d’or Caf\u00e9<\/a>\u00a0\/ Bar<\/p>\n

Plus One<\/a>\u00a0(in Japanese only)\/\u00a0Japanese Izakaya<\/p>\n

Yakiniku kinaga <\/a>\/ Barbecue<\/p>\n

Hituji Biyori<\/a> \/ Cafe<\/p>\n

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Self-Catering<\/h2>\n

Some of the accommodation available in Koshimizu-cho offers self-catering. If you fancy cooking<\/strong> or eating at home, there are discount stores, grocery stores<\/strong> and convenience stores<\/strong> along the main road through Koshimizu-cho.<\/p>\n

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Need More Information?<\/h2>\n

Planning to visit Koshimizu? Or just want to find out more? Head over to the Koishimizu Tourism Association’s website<\/a>\u00a0(in Japanese only)for more information, or contact them\u00a0directly\u00a0here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Access<\/h2>\n

By Car<\/h3>\n

From Memanbetsu Airport,<\/strong>\u00a0 take Route 39 north, and then jump onto Route 246<\/strong> until Koshimizu-cho.\u00a0<\/strong>Duration: 45 minutes. Distance: 35 km.<\/p>\n

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\"IMG_7796\"<\/h3>\n

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By\u00a0Public Transport<\/h3>\n

The average journey time between Memanbetsu Airport<\/strong> and Koshimizu<\/strong>\u00a0is approximately 2 hours including connections.\u00a0The nearest train station to Koshimizu-cho is Hama-Koshimizu<\/strong> (\u6d5c\u5c0f\u6e05\u6c34), on the JR Semmo Line, but there isn’t a rail connection from Memanbetsu, so you will need to take the Airport Limousine Bus<\/strong> to Abashiri City<\/strong> (\u7db2\u8d70\u5e02) and then take the train<\/strong> from there.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_7406\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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  • From Memanbetsu,<\/strong> take the Airport Limousine Bus to Abashiri City. Alight at Abashiriekimae<\/strong> (\u7db2\u8d70\u99c5\u524d). Duration: 35 minutes Cost: \uffe5910.<\/li>\n
  • From Abashiriekimae<\/strong>,take the JR Semmo Line to Hama-Koshimizu.<\/strong> Cost: approx. \uffe5450. Duration: 30 minutes.<\/li>\n
  • From Hama-Koshimizu,<\/strong>\u00a0take the bus bound for Koshimizu<\/strong> (\u5c0f\u6e05\u6c34\u884c\u304d\/Koshimizu yuki\/Bound for Koshimizu). Duration: 25 minutes. Cost: \uffe5590.<\/li>\n
  • Or, there is a direct bus to Koshimizu from\u00a0Abashiri station<\/strong>. I think it might be easier to get there.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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    Airport transfer information can be found here<\/a>.
    \nTrain information can be found\u00a0    here<\/a>.<\/p>\n