I should have known that the airport ramen wouldn’t be very good. I mean, it’s airport ramen. Any rational person would tell you that it’s not going to be very good.
About 90 percent of the things I eat while I’m travelling are either based on research or popularity (i.e. if I see a line for food, I’m probably going to stand in that line regardless of what it’s for).
Occasionally, however, I’ll see something like the dorayaki ice cream sundae at Sazae x Ishiya. I hadn’t heard anything about it, and there were no crowds. But come on: look at that thing. That’s way too delightful to pass up. I had to try it.
After my sub-par experience at Aji No Karyu, I knew I couldn’t leave it at that. I had to eat at least one more bowl of ramen in Sapporo so that me and the city could part on good terms.
Among other things, Hokkaido is known for the quality of its local dairy. A nice side-effect of this: ice cream shops are everywhere here.
Though you can find cheese tarts all across Japan (and across the world — at least a couple places have opened in Toronto that serve these things in the last few years), they’re originally from Hokkaido.
Soup curry is one of those local dishes that you pretty much have to try; it’s a Hokkaido specialty that features a spice-packed, long-simmered soup crammed with veggies and meat, and served with rice on the side.
If you’re in Sapporo and you want to learn about Sapporo Beer, you’re all set. You can either stay inside the city and visit the Sapporo Beer Museum, or you can hop on a train and tour their factory (which is about an hour outside of the city).
Well, regardless of whatever else I do/see in Sapporo, I’m already incredibly glad that I came here if only for the ramen at Amewa Yasashiku.
I might have gone a little bit overboard with the ramen in Tokyo, so I made a conscious decision to avoid ramen in Sendai. As much as I love ramen (which is a lot, clearly), there’s so much great food in Japan to try.
But I obviously couldn’t leave without having at least one bowl. I mean, what do I look like, a maniac?
Matsushima Bay is a very quick train ride from Sendai (it’s about a half hour away), and the consensus is that it’s one of the most scenic spots in Japan. Obviously, if you’re in Sendai, you’ve gotta check it out.