sources only fresh, locally bred Suffolk Cross and Icelandic lamb
breeds for their sweet, tender flesh. He’ll also ensure you’re
sipping a frozen lemon wedge sour while perusing the menu that
includes smoked offal and custom-made sausages. Furarito
Passageway (and nearby Pari gai) is lined with family-run
restaurants like Izakaya Fukurotei which displays a huge selection
of the region’s superb sake – perfect for marrying with its velvety
crab croquettes, rare venison with grated wasabi and potato salad
made from Hokkaido’s illustrious crops, which are also the
foundation of some fine provincial shochu. The old-school
atmosphere of Yashiya Yakitori is best absorbed sitting at the
counter, eating house-made pickles, and observing the elderly
master fluidly alternating between fine-tuning charcoal and
dipping sides of shinko-yaki (grilled young chicken) and salt pork
chops (both specific to Asahikawan ‘stick-joints’) into soy and mirin
glaze. While Sapporo-ites are stalwarts for miso ramen and
Hakodate prefers lighter shio (salt) ramen, Asahikawa’s style sits in
between, with shoyu or soy ramen, although it always comes
down to personal taste. At institution Hachiya, punters come
specifically for the deeply roasted pork and chicken essence
with a charred, slightly oily finish. Play nicely and you might even
score a home-cooked meal of ishikari nabe (the region’s Ainu-
originated salmon hotpot).
If you swoon over Japanese tableware, spend half a day
wandering the forest-backed enclave of Arashiyama Pottery
Village for ceramics, hand-blown glass and modern hand-crafted
wooden objects. Don’t miss Taisetsugama, Brown Box or the
chance to refuel at Café Totto. Set inside a private home, you’ll
befriend the entire family, including the cat, over coffee and cake.
For something more traditional, visit Fukuyoshi Café for grilled-
to-order red bean-centred tokiwa yaki, a pastry of sorts, modelled
on neighbouring Asashi bridge – best washed down with a
matcha latte. And visit Furano, a small ski town an hour’s drive
away, to explore their steadily propagating wine and cheese trail.CLOCKWISE: Communal
areas at Asahikawa’s
OMO7 Hotel; Jingisukan
lamb barbecue at
Hitsujiya (inset);
OMO7’s stylish
restaurant and bar;
pan-style cheese and
pork gyoza; Yashiya in
Furariito Passageway.GLOBAL.
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