Umami Mart

I’ve had many a bowl of ochazuke in my life but never expected to be blown away by a rendition from a random little izakaya called Aburiya in Kushiro. Ochazuke, or “tea rice,” is usually as humble as its name sounds, but here it was taken to the next level. First, the rice ball was grilled […]

I paid a quick visit to Washo Ichiba, a sizeable fish market in Kushiro near the city hall. Some of the best and freshest seafood in Japan comes from Hokkaido, and there’s plenty of it here. Many of the stalls at Washo Ichiba sell shoyu-cured ikura (salmon roe) made from locally-caught fish (duh). I desperately wanted to […]