Full of Hokkaido gourmet food! 21 gourmet spots along National Route 12

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Sapporo City is the largest city in Hokkaido, and Asahikawa City is the second largest. Along National Route 12, which connects these two cities, there are many sightseeing spots and gourmet spots. In particular, National Route 12 in Sunagawa City has been named "Sweet Road," and it is a famous spot lined with various confectionery shops. In this article, we will introduce gourmet spots in Hokkaido that you should stop by while driving along National Route 12. There is no doubt that you will be satisfied both in your stomach and in your heart!

1. Trattoria/Pizzeria Terzina

Trattoria/Pizzeria Terzina is an Italian restaurant located inside the Sapporo Factory, a commercial facility facing Route 12. Here, you can enjoy exquisite Italian cuisine created with the desire to "make Hokkaido's vegetables, meat, and seafood delicious" and "revitalize Hokkaido through food."

As you would expect, Hokkaido is known for its delicious wheat-based dishes such as pizza and pasta. The pizza in particular is a thin crust that is crispy yet chewy, making it a Terzina specialty.
Authentic pizza is also on the lunch menu, so if you want to enjoy it at a reasonable price, lunchtime is recommended.

In front of the restaurant, there is a stylish greengrocer that sells carefully selected Hokkaido vegetables. Not only can you enjoy Hokkaido ingredients to your heart's content, but you can also purchase them on the spot as souvenirs. The brick interior has a stylish atmosphere, making it perfect for a date.

2. Yorozuya Mikey

Yorozuya Mikey is a curry restaurant with a homey atmosphere. They serve soup curry, one of Hokkaido's local delicacies. The most popular dish is the "Special combination soup curry with lots of vegetables and chicken legs." This is a gourmet dish with a lot of volume, with two main ingredients in one dish.

The main ingredients are more than 20 kinds of fresh vegetables grown at the owner's family home in Furano, and chicken legs simmered until they were tender. Both are delicious and very satisfying.

If you don't like chicken with bones, we recommend the chicken steak. This has a crispy texture and is sure to become addictive. If you can't decide which one to choose, there is also a special trio curry that allows you to add more main ingredients. Choose the toppings and spiciness to suit your taste.

3. Sankatei

Sankatei is a yakiniku restaurant that was opened with the desire to let people taste delicious meat in Hokkaido. It is a famous Hokkaido yakiniku restaurant that is a must-visit for those who want to eat yakiniku that is unique to Hokkaido. A lot of beef from Hokkaido is used, and traceability is clearly displayed inside the restaurant.

Popular menu items are "O Kalbi" and "Top-grade White Tongue Salt". "O Kalbi" is a Korean-style rib where large pieces of meat that have been marinated in sauce are grilled and cut with scissors. "Top-grade White Tongue Salt" has a soft texture like marbled meat, and is such an exquisite menu that it is said that once you try it, you will never be able to eat tongue anywhere else. Only a small amount can be obtained from one cow, so it is limited in quantity.

Another popular menu item is the chewy "Special Cold Noodles" made with the restaurant's original noodles. For those who want to eat both meat and cold noodles, a half-size is also available. The lunch menu is a great value, with a choice of meat, soup, salad, kimchi, rice, and an after-meal drink. Cold noodles and stone-grilled curry are also available at a great price.

4. Buta King Cannabis R12 Store

Buta King is a mega-sized ramen restaurant in Ebetsu, Hokkaido. You can adjust the amount of garlic, vegetables, fat, and thickness to your liking, and the noodles are thick and chewy. It is recommended for gourmets who want to eat a lot of ramen in Hokkaido.

Buta King serves mega-sized ramen that overflow from the bowl, but they also have a playful side to them, with stomach medicines placed on the table among the chopsticks, spoons, and condiments. This way, you can rest assured even if you overeat. The
main dish at this restaurant is miso ramen, but soy sauce flavor is also available at the Oasa 12 store.

5. Ramen Shin

Ramen Shin is a sister store of "Shin.", a famous tsukemen restaurant in Hokkaido and Tohoku. The signature dish at the Atsubetsu store is "Miso Ramen," a Hokkaido specialty. It is an irresistible dish with a seafood broth packed with the flavor of dried sardines and a rich pork bone flavor. As the restaurant originally started out as a tsukemen restaurant, you should also check out the "tsukemen," which is highly acclaimed for its deliciousness.
"Atsuri" is also available in limited quantities.

6. Ichimonji Curry Shop

Ichimoji Curry is located just after turning onto the road that intersects with National Route 12 in Shiroishi Ward, Sapporo. Soup curry is famous as a Hokkaido delicacy, but Ichimoji Curry offers both soup curry and roux curry. Curry lovers might want to try both and compare them.

The rich European-style roux curry topped with fresh cream and the rich soup curry with chunks of deep-fried vegetables are both equally popular. Another plus point is the wide range of choices available in terms of toppings and spiciness. You can also get a large portion of rice for free during lunch.

7. Fuwamochi House

Fuwamochi Tei is a donut and bagel specialty store located in Atsubetsu-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido. Compared to other breads, bagels are low in fat and are very popular among women and health-conscious people. The bagels are carefully made with wheat from Hokkaido and natural yeast, and as the name Fuwamochi Tei suggests, they are fluffy and chewy.

There are more than 80 types of bagels on sale, including limited-time items! There are also more than 60 types of donuts. There is a wide variety of donuts, from side dishes to sweets, so they are recommended as both a meal and a snack. They can also be boxed for gifts, so they can be used as souvenirs.

If you want to experience the fluffy and chewy texture right away, please visit the cafe on the second and third floors. Here, you can enjoy a plate menu centered around bagel sandwiches and French toast. Fuwamochi Tei is always popular at Hokkaido product fairs, and it can be said that it is one of the gourmet foods you cannot miss when you come to Hokkaido.

8. Kappei

Kappei in Ebetsu City is a ramen shop run by an owner who trained at "Sanpei", the restaurant that originated miso ramen. In this nostalgic restaurant, you can enjoy traditional miso ramen that has inherited the flavor of Sanpei at an affordable price.

The gyoza dumplings, which are served steamed instead of grilled, are also delicious and offer excellent value for money. The voluminous wonton noodles and tekka noodles, which come in three levels of spiciness, are also popular. If you like spicy food, be sure to give the tekka noodles a try.

9. Shirakaba Chaya

Shirakaba Chaya is a restaurant famous for its chicken rice, a local delicacy from Bibai City, Hokkaido. The ingredients are very simple, but that is why the delicious flavor of the chicken carcasses really comes through. The rice is cooked in chicken stock that has been simmered slowly the day before, and the ingredients are added after the rice is done.

In addition to chicken rice, Shirakaba Chaya also offers a variety of other dishes such as curry rice, ramen, and soba noodles. They also offer set menus of rice and noodles, so even gourmets who want to try both chicken rice and noodles are sure to be satisfied.

10. Sugiura Bakery

When talking about popular bakeries along National Route 12, you can't leave out Sugiura Bakery. Aiming to make bread that is indispensable to customers' dining tables, the bakery's breads are made with safe and secure ingredients and are truly the bounty of Hokkaido.
Each bread has a gentle taste that makes the most of the ingredients' flavor, and you will feel warm and happy when you eat it.

Sugiura Bakery's diverse lineup is attractive, including the "Hokkaido Wheat Bread" series, which uses wheat from Hokkaido, and the "Hokkaido Rice Bread" series, which uses rice flour from Bibai. They also offer chiffon cakes and breads made with rice flour, so even those with wheat allergies can enjoy them with peace of mind. In addition to bread, you can also enjoy the special soft-serve ice cream from Iwase Farm in Sunagawa City.

11. Soba Restaurant Takumian

If you want to try the specialty dish "torimeshi" (chicken rice) and homemade soba noodles, then we recommend "Sobadokoro Takumi-an" along National Route 12. You can enjoy their proud Nihachi soba noodles, made with 80% buckwheat flour and 20% wheat flour, freshly ground, made, and boiled. From each seat in the restaurant, you can see the owner making the soba noodles.

Many soba restaurants serve soba noodles with wasabi as a spiciness, but "Sobadokoro Takumi-an" uses spicy radish from Bibai, Hokkaido, to further enhance the flavor of the soba. The soba soup is made by adding hon-gaeshi (a type of bonito flake) that has been left to sit for more than 10 days to a dashi stock made from a blend of bonito and bonito flakes and is made without any additives.

Business hours are from 11:00 to 18:00, but please note that they close early at 15:00 during the winter period from November to March.
By the way, they are closed on Wednesdays.

12. Yakitori Tatsumi

Yakitori Tatsumi is a restaurant where you can enjoy Bibai's specialty, Bibai Yakitori. Unlike ordinary yakitori, Bibai Yakitori is characterized by its main ingredient being offal. The offal is skewered with parts such as skin, onion, liver, heart, and kumquat, and finally covered with thigh meat.

Most yakitori restaurants use long green onions, but since onions are harvested in abundance around Bibai and they go well with chicken, most Bibai Yakitori restaurants use onions. Bibai Yakitori is a dish that brings together ingredients unique to Bibai, Hokkaido.

In Bibai, Hokkaido, it is customary to take yakitori home and eat it with everyone at family gatherings and ceremonies. For this reason, there are many yakitori restaurants that specialize in takeout. In the food plaza called Ebina Square near Yakitori Tatsumi, there is also a prefabricated Tatsumi that mainly serves takeout.

13. Mikasa Roadside Station

Mikasa Roadside Station is the first roadside station registered in Hokkaido. Its symbol is a large waterwheel with a diameter of about 10 meters, and it also has a hot spring facility, a park golf course, and a museum. The adjacent shop, Shoku no Kura, sells local Hokkaido agricultural products, specialty products, and homemade soft-serve ice cream.

While you can enjoy a variety of Hokkaido gourmet foods such as charcoal zangi and chicken sauce, the most recommended is the Mikasa Yakitori sold at Shiki no Aji Kuishinbo. Since it is grilled on the spot, the savory aroma of the yakitori spreads throughout the surrounding area, stimulating your appetite.
The yakitori, made with large, thick chicken meat and onions grilled over charcoal, is voluminous, soft, and satisfying.
The price is reasonable, so many people buy 10 or 20 pieces at a time. While enjoying Hokkaido gourmet food at Mikasa Roadside Station, soothe your tired body after driving on National Route 12 in the hot springs.

14. Kitakaro

Kitakaro is famous for its many hit delicacies, such as Baumkuchen, cream puffs, and Kaitaku Okaki rice crackers, all made with ingredients from Hokkaido. Did you know that its main store is located along National Route 12 in Sunagawa City? Inside the main store, there is a cafe corner equipped with a fireplace, sofas, bookshelves, and more, where you can enjoy sweets and light meals.

The most popular item is the cake set. The cake set at Kitakaro Sunagawa Main Store is a great value set that includes your choice of cake, chiffon cake, soft serve ice cream, and a drink of your choice. It is also a famous sweets store that represents Hokkaido, so it is definitely worth a visit.

15. Shiro Cafe

Laurel Co., Ltd., which deals in skincare products, created their own brand, Shiro, in 2015. Shiro Cafe, located in Sunagawa, is a cafe that boasts menu items that make the most of the natural ingredients used in Shiro's products. The store above the cafe sells not only Shiro's own products but also fresh vegetables and processed foods.

The most popular item on the extensive menu is the Cheese Cream Pancake. This dish is a timeless dish with a well-balanced combination of cheese cream made from mascarpone cheese and sweet and sour rhubarb jam, which is also used in skincare products. For those who want to fill up, we also recommend the Vegetable Chunks Grilled Curry, which is baked with three kinds of cheese. It is a hearty dish that allows you to taste the deliciousness of the vegetables themselves.

The coffee served at Shiro Cafe is supervised by Morihiko, a long-established cafe that represents Hokkaido and is fully equipped with an Italian espresso machine, making it a truly authentic experience. With skincare products and Hokkaido's unique gourmet food, you can be sure to care for your body from the inside out.

16. Nakaya

Nakaya is a long-established confectionery shop founded in 1949 on the "Sweet Road" of National Route 12. It is known for its wide variety of sweets, including its specialty "Karintou Manju," its exquisite "Apple Pie," and its pudding.

The signature dish is, of course, the "Apple Pie." It is made by hand using fermented butter from Hokkaido and simmered Fuji apples, which have an exquisite balance of sweetness and sourness. It is crispy yet moist, and it is no wonder that it has received such great support. They bake as many as 2,000 apples a day.

It gets very crowded on holidays, so you often have to get a numbered ticket and wait for the pie to be baked. But it is worth the wait. If you don't want to wait too long or are short on time, it is a good idea to make a reservation in advance. It is recommended to visit the store just after it opens at 9:00.

17. Salta Second

Salta Second is a bread and sweets shop located in Takikawa City, Hokkaido. Its homey atmosphere and nostalgic taste have long made it a favorite with people from both inside and outside Takikawa. They have a wide range of products, from cute sweets that are perfect as gifts to filling sandwiches.

The cooked bread with a large fried food is very satisfyingly large, but reasonably priced, making it an excellent value for money! The sandwiches are engraved with the store's name, and the mille-feuille has a ticket-like sticker with "To Customer" printed on it. These little cute touches are sure to warm your heart.

Salta Second opens at 5:30 a.m. and you can also eat in the cafe space inside the store. They also have a wide selection of drinks and sweets, so it's recommended to go out early in the morning and have breakfast, or stop by as a rest stop during a drive.

18. Seven Stars

Nanatsuboshi is a 100% buckwheat soba restaurant in Fukagawa, Hokkaido. It is a small restaurant with an old-fashioned exterior, but you can enjoy delicious authentic soba noodles in Fukagawa, a famous soba production area. They start making the soba after the order is placed because they want to provide their customers with freshly made delicious soba.

It's amazing how fast they are. Mori soba and Zaru soba are ready in less than 10 minutes after ordering. The buckwheat flour used is from the local Fukagawa city, Hokkaido, and they do not use any binders. It is chewy and easy to swallow, so you can finish it in no time. Some people eat five or six pieces in one go.

If you like warm soba, try the "Nankotsu Soba" or "Curry Nankotsu Soba" topped with melt-in-your-mouth spare ribs. Even when dipped in warm soup, the soba is firm and flavorful. The two large spare ribs on top are also very satisfying to eat. If you like soba noodles, be sure to come to Nanatsuhoshi!

19. Roadside Station Riceland Fukagawa

Riceland Fukagawa is a roadside station in Fukagawa, Hokkaido. In addition to a direct sales store selling local vegetables and specialty products, there are cafes, restaurants, food wagons, and more. This is a roadside station with a "rice" theme, and you can buy and taste rice from Fukagawa.

The large "Oyako Onigiri" rice balls filled with salmon roe and salmon are a popular item in the takeout corner. They are large and packed with ingredients, making them the perfect companion for a drive. If you want to enjoy the taste of Fukagawa rice itself, please visit "Ajishirube Ekitei" where you can taste "Kama-taki Gin Shari". The rice is cooked in a kettle after the order is placed, making it glossy, plump, and satisfying to eat.

TEMARI which opened in 2018, is a shop that specializes in temari sushi, as its name suggests. In addition to the wide variety of menu items, such as carrots, mentaiko, tamagoyaki, mayonnaise chicken, simmered stew, meat and miso, green onion salt, curry, and seasoned rice, they are bite-sized and easy to eat, which has made them very popular since they went on sale. Their cute appearance has already become a hot topic on social media. Fashion-conscious girls should definitely check them out.

20. Paparagi

Phantom Pampaparagi is a bakery located in the suburbs of Asahikawa City, Hokkaido. It is open only three days a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and opens from 12:00. It is a truly "phantom bread" that is hard to get because it is open only a few days and closes when it is sold out. It sells out in about 20 minutes, so if you are interested, please come early.

Phantom Bread sold at "Paparagi" comes in four flavors: milk, cheese, raisin, and chocolate. All of them have a fluffy texture, a subtle sweetness, and a gentle mouthfeel. Another point is that it is soft and can be easily torn by hand. It is a perfect place to stop by as an afternoon break during your Hokkaido drive on National Route 12.

21. Daikokuya

Genghis Khan Daikokuya is a popular Jingisukan specialty restaurant in Asahikawa, Hokkaido. Raw lamb becomes tough if it is cooked too long, but at Daikokuya, the staff will cook it for you at the beginning, so you don't have to worry. Raw lamb has no odor and is easy to eat even for lamb beginners. It is the perfect place to make your Jingisukan debut.

The shop's top recommendation is the "thick-cut rack." The extra-large bone-in lamb meat is just like the meat eaten by cavemen in anime. The free all-you-can-eat grilled vegetables are also a plus. If you add special spices to the excellent sauce, you can enjoy it endlessly. If you want to taste authentic Jingisukan in Hokkaido, head to Daikokuya!

◎Summary

It would be nice to enjoy Hokkaido's unique cuisine while driving on National Route 12. Your trip to Hokkaido will be even more wonderful if you can enjoy the journey, not just head to your destination. A drive on National Route 12, where you can find a wide variety of Hokkaido's specialty foods such as sweets, bread, ramen, Genghis Khan, and pork bowls, is also recommended as the main event of your Hokkaido trip.