Hokkaido | Hello from the Five Star Vagabond

Ezo Seafood Oyster Bar

February 12, 2020 by David Herd

Ezo Seafood Oyster Bar

Ezo Seafood Oyster Bar is ranked #4 of 328 Restaurants in Kutchan-cho Hokkaido. The following photos were taken by my friend Hamish Elton who was in Nisenko for 10 days skiing.

Even though Hamish & his friends dined at many other restaurants including the Michelin starred Kamimura, Ezo was his favourite , in his opinion it had the best and most unique range of fresh seafood.

Bring on the oysters

Hamish & I live in Pattaya Thailand & his nickname there is “Oyster Man”. 🙂

Big & Juicy

I must admit I am also an Oyster, a couple of years ago I had some wonderful huge oysters in Sendai, please check out THIS LINK.

Very expensive compared with Sendai

6,600 Yen or $89 AUD.

Ezo Seafood Oyster Bar fabulous scallops

These look wonderful. Here is their web page for bookings & information.

King crab

The pièce de résistance without a doubt.

Say no more….

How good does this look?

Hairy Crab

The hairy crab (kegani in Japanese) or horsehair crab is found in the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan. It gets its name from the spiky hairs that cover its entire body. This little critter is smaller than the snow crab and the red king crab, making many people say it is more difficult to eat, but it has a dense , sweet flavor, making the effort of cracking open that shell well worth it. People who call themselves true crab lovers will often choose the horsehair crab. It is often boiled in saltwater to bring out its rich original flavor, then cut into sections and eaten by hand.

Ezo Seafood Oyster Bar

As I said earlier Hamish said Ezo was his favourite restaurant in Niseko, put it on your bucket list.

Thanks for visiting my Ezo Seafood Oyster Bar photo blog. Before you leave check out Sushi Kato.

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Kamimura Michelin Starred Restaurant

February 11, 2020 by David Herd

Kamimura Michelin Starred Restaurant

Kamimura Michelin Starred Restaurant is located in Niseko Hokkaido, Japan’s premier ski resort. The owner/chef is Yuichi Kamimura spent his early years in his parents’ restaurant. Finally when he met renowned chef Tetsuya Wakuda in Sydney, he became fascinated by both Testuya’s culinary philosophy and proficiency.

Take plenty of money. 🙂

My good friend Hamish Elton & his colleague Paul Elmsie are not shy about spending a fortune on food & wine. They enjoyed the 11 course degustation menu with the appropriate wines for a mere 63,000 Yen, or $850 AUD.

Chef’s Degustation 18,000 yen per person

The menu is a chef’s ‘Omakase’ tasting menu, as a showcase of Hokkaido ingredients and challenging to some new tastes, exploring the treasure of food.

Such a romantic setting

Hamis, what a shame it was just you & Paul. 🙂

Strawberry & black pepper tart

Hamish took most of these photos on his Google Pixel 3 phone, thus the high quality. I’m only guessing the names of certain dishes so I could be wrong.

I have no idea which dish this is….

I’ll have to see if Hamish can remember.

I’m betting this is the Wagyu

Plus I bet it tastes sensational.

How good does this look

If it tastes half as good as it looks it will be terrific. 🙂

Quite a small serving

Lucky there are eleven dishes in total. 🙂

The magical mystery tour continues

Works of art everyone of them.

Could this be the pumpkin ravioli?

Your guess is as good as mine. 🙂

Another mystery dish

My apoligies for not knowing the correct names.

Kamimura Michelin Starred

Thanks for visiting my Kamimura Michelin Starred restaurant photo blog. Before you go please check out. Sushi Kato.

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Sushi Kato Niseko Japan

February 10, 2020 by David Herd

Sushi Kato Niseko Japan

Sushi Kato Niseko Japan is an interesting restaurant in Japan’s number one snow resort which is located in Hokkaido, a 2.5hrs drive from Chitose Airport. There are 4 interlinked ski resorts here – Grand Hirafu, Hanazono, Niseko Village and An’nupuri .

First thing you will see is the rustic Bar Kato pictured above, a whiskey and sake bar that serves as both the waiting room for the restaurant as well as a perfect spot to unwind over a quality drink.

Sushi Kato Niseko Japan Set menu

Most of the photos here were taken by my friend Hamish Elton who enjoys food more than he enjoys skiing. 🙂

Sushi Kato offers three different set menus, Matsu (pine), Take (bamboo) and Ume (plum). The restaurant solely practices Kaiseki style of dining, meaning it is a prescribed set course dependent on the seasonal produce.

Hairy crab

This opening dish was appropriately the restaurant’s staple ingredient; hairy crab served in its shell accompanied by cod roe and ponzu jelly garnished with citrus flowers.

Just bring out the food

The owner Kato-san, Chef JJ and their impeccable team, have brought true authentic Japanese sushi to Niseko.

Portions are rather small

As you would expect with so many dishes on the set menu.

Tempura

More wonderful hairy crab, too much hairy crab is never enough. 🙂

Sushi Kato Niseko Japan

Shiraoi Beef grilled on a hot stone. The selected beef is Japanese Black beef, raised locally in the nearby town of Shiraoi which provides the perfect combination of weather, food and an abundance of water allowing the farmers to craft their prize cattle into some of the best produce on the globe.

Some sweet tasy fruit to finish

Thank you for visiting my Sushi Kato Niseko Japan photo blog, & thanks to Hamish Elton for sharing his wonderful experience. Before you leave check out this Michelin Starred restaurant.

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Counter only started June 16 2020.

This gallery contains 1 photo.

Sapporo TV Tower Hokkaido

June 17, 2018 by David Herd

The observation deck is 90 meters high.

Sapporo TV Tower Hokkaido

Sapporo TV Tower Hokkaido Japan offers a great view of the city and surrounding mountains, the observation deck is 90 meters high & certainly worth a visit.

Observation deck.

Not many people here today.

Sapporo is Japan’s 5th largest city.

A population of almost 2 million people.

Sapporo TV Tower Hokkaido

The blue sky make such a difference when taking photos.

Leafy boulevard in the city center.

Always nice to see some green breaking up the concrete jungle.

My hotel is in the bottom left hand corner.

APA Hotel Sapporo-Susukino-Ekimae was in a very good location next to the metro station. For a terrific room rate just book through THIS LINK & pay later, free cancellation if your plans change.

One of Sapporo’s modern buildings.

Other than shrines, temples & castles you don’t see many old buildings in Japan, they just knock them down & build a new one.

Photo opportunity

A nice park surrounds the TV Tower with lots of colourful flowers.

Time for lunch

After leaving the TV tower I headed straight for Doutor, one of my favourite cafe’s for a ham & salad roll with a hot latte.

Thanks for visiting my Sapporo TV Tower Hokkaido Japan photo blog. Take a look at the Beergarden & other restaurants before you leave.

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Hokkaido Island Sapporo Japan

June 16, 2018 by David Herd

Very impressive norther Japanese city.

Hokkaido Island Sapporo Japan

Hokkaido Island Sapporo Japan is the countries 5th largest city. Lot’s of things to see in the interesting northern Japanese city.

Airport bus 3 minutes walk from my hotel.

This was far easier than taking the train, 2 or 3 buses every hour arrive at the airport in 70 minutes.

Airport bus leaves from in front of Sushizanmai.

Sushizanmai is my favourite chain of restaurants in Japan.

Hokkaido Island Sapporo Japan at Shushizanmai

When you dine at one of there great restaurants you know exactly what to expect.

Sapporo at night.

Lots of bright lights is this big exciting city.

Bistro Masuya Sapporo

Very good food and service at this nice restaurant.

Warm casual atmosphere.

Only 5 minutes walk from my hotel.

Roast beef salad at Masura

A very tasty dish.

Posing with the statue in Sapporo.

Under a beautiful clear blue sky.

Another nice photo opportunity.

A cute little girl in the park near the TV Tower.

Sapporo TV Tower

A terrific view of the city & the mountains from the observation deck 90 meters high.

Sapporo Clock Tower.

The Clock Tower is a symbol of Sapporo. The building was constructed during the early period of Sapporo’s development in 1878 as a drill hall of the Sapporo Agricultural College. In 1881 a clock purchased from Boston was installed.

Sapporo Beer Garden

Popular in the beer halls are all-you-can-drink beer and all-you-can-eat mutton BBQ, a popular local dish named after the great Mongolian ruler Genghis Khan (Jingisukan in Japanese).