sweet | Blue Lapis Road

KITAKARO SAPPORO HONKAN (北菓楼札幌本館), Sapporo (札幌), Hokkaido (北海道), Japan, 2019.06.24

Day 10 (3/6).

During our Hokkaido trip, we visited three works by Japanese architect Tadao Ando (安藤忠雄): the Chapel on the Water in Tomamu, the Hill of the Buddha in Makomanai Takino Cemetery, and in Sapporo, the Kitakaro Sapporo Honkan (北菓楼札幌本館). The Japanese confectionery store is housed in the two-storey brick masonry building that was once the first library (北海道庁立図書館) and the first ever art museum in Hokkaido. Then, after being used as an archive of public records, the most recent renewal by Tadao Ando opened the building to the public once again. Ando’s team has done a great job in preserving the masonry structure and interior features of the original building such as the elegant stair at the building corner. They also created an airy atrium space with white cross vault ceiling and large bookcases on the upper level to remind visitors the building’s history as a library. Today, the lower level serves as a flagship store selling Kitakaro’s confectionery while the upper level is a popular cafe.

The historical library building (北海道庁立図書館) is a beautiful piece of architecture dated to 1920’s.

The original masonry facades are well preserved.

Little contemporary touches give new life to the former library building.

The main entrance of the confectionery shop, a glazed box attached to the side of the history building, presents a visual contrast to the original structure and suggests a sense of respect to the heritage building by not mingling a “fake antique” with the old.

The original stone stair is well kept. It leads visitors up to the cafe on the upper level.

This stone stair has become a popular photo shooting spot for visitors.

The ground level is occupied by the confectionery store. Here visitors can appreciate the white vaulted ceiling overhead and the airy atrium.

The red brick walls are well preserved, while the new vaulted structure is completely detached from the old masonry facade.

From the upper level visitors can appreciate the variety of the colourful boxes of sweets available.

The interior design of the cafe is inspired by the building’s former use as a library. Bookcases are used as feature walls that stand out from the white surroundings.

The cafe is popular with both locals and tourists .

It is pleasant to dine in such an airy environment with super high ceiling.

Spaghetti with scallop in cream sauce. The cream sauce is surprisingly light but rich in scallop flavour. The cream sauce has the subtle sweetness of the fresh scallops.

This is Kitakaro’s Special Omelet Rice. What lies underneath the layer of fresh and soft omelet is a combination of rice and Hokkaido beef. It is served with a rich sweet sauce. This dish might look simple but the combined aromatic flavor from the fresh Hokkaido ingredients is really remarkable.

The famous cream puff with smooth and silky cream that melts in the mouth, leaving behind a milky aftertaste that lingers.

Hokkaido is famous for its lavender fields in the summer. Just like Ando’s Hill of the Buddha, lavender is used at the Kitakaro Sapporo Honkan (北菓楼札幌本館) to give some pleasant colours to the historical structure.

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Introduction
HOKKAIDO ROAD TRIP, Hokkaido (北海道)

Day 1 – from Tokyo to Shiretoko Peninsula
Day 1.1 TSUKIJI OUTER MARKET (築地場外市場)
Day 1.2 ARRIVAL IN SHIRETOKO, Utoro (ウトロ)

Day 2 – Utoro
Day 2.1 SHIRETOKO FIVE LAKES (知床五湖)
Day 2.2 UTORO FISHERMAN’S WIVES CO-OPERATIVE DINER (ウトロ漁協婦人部食堂)
Day 2.3 FUREPE FALLS (フレペの滝)

Day 3 – Rausu
Day 3.1 RUSA FIELD HOUSE (ルサフィールドハウス)
Day 3.2 JUN NO BANYA (純の番屋)

Day 4 – Rausu
Day 4.1 MOUNT RAUSU (羅臼岳)
Day 4.2 FANTASTIC ORCAS, Nemuro Strait (根室海峡)

Day 5 – Lake Mashu & Lake Akan
Day 5.1 SUNRISE AT LAKE MASHU (摩周湖)
Day 5.2 MOUNT MASHU TRAIL (摩周岳) , Teshikaga (弟子屈)
Day 5.3 SILENT NIGHT AT LAKE AKAN (阿寒湖)

Day 6 – On the road from Lake Akan to Furano
Day 6.1 FISHERMEN BELOW MISTY OAKAN (雄阿寒岳), Lake Akan (阿寒湖)
Day 6.2 TREATS OF OBIHIRO (帯広), Tokachi (十勝)
Day 6.3 ARRIVING IN FURANO (富良野)

Day 7 Furano & Biei
Day 7.1 LAVENDER BUDS, Nakafurano (中富良野)
Day 7.2 FARM TOMITA (ファーム富田), Nakafurano (中富良野)
Day 7.3 BI.BLE, Biei (美瑛)
Day 7.4 PATCHWORK ROAD & PANORAMA ROAD, Biei (美瑛)
Day 7.5 NINGLE TERRACE (ニングルテラス)

Day 8 – from Furano to Otaru
Day 8.1 CHURCH ON THE WATER (水の教会), Hoshino Resorts Tomamu (星野リゾートトマム)
Day 8.2 HILL OF THE BUDDHA (頭大仏), Makomanai Takino Cemetery (真駒内滝野霊園)
Day 8.3 SEAFOOD, CANAL, & HISTORY, Otaru (小樽)
Day 8.4 RAINY NIGHT IN OTARU, Otaru (小樽)

Day 9 – Yochi & Sapporo
Day 9.1 NIKKA YOICHI DISTILLERY (余市蒸溜所), Yoichi (余市)
Day 9.2 SOUP CURRY NIGHT

Day 10 – Sapporo
10.1 OKKAIDO SHRINE (北海道神宮 )
10.2 MORIHICO COFFEE (森彦珈琲本店)
10.3 KITAKARO SAPPORO HONKAN (北菓楼札幌本館)
10.4 SATURDAYS CHOCOLATE
10.5 GOTSUBO OYSTER BAR(五坪)
10.6 MOUNT MOIWA (藻岩山) & RAMEN HARUKA (ラーメン悠)

Day 11 – Sapporo
11.1 FORMER HOKKAIDO GOVERNMENT OFFICE (北海道庁旧本庁舎)
11.2 RED STAR & GENGKIS KHAN, Sapporo Beer Museum (サッポロビール株式会社)

December 27, 2019 | Categories: Hokkaido, Japan, Japan: Hokkaido 2019, Sapporo | Tags: Ando, Architecture, confectionery, design, Hokkaido, Honkan, Japan, Japanese, Kitakaro, Sapporo, sweet, Tadao, 北菓楼, 北海道, 北海道庁立図書館, 本館, 札幌 | Leave a comment

TREATS OF OBIHIRO (帯広), Tokachi (十勝), Hokkaido (北海道), Japan, 2019.06.20

Day 6 (2/3).

From Lake Akan (阿寒湖) to Nakafurano (中富良野) where we would stay two nights to explore the rolling hills and farmlands of Furano (富良野) and Biei (美瑛), we drove by Tokachi (十勝), a subprefecture in Central Hokkaido best known for its dairy and agricultural products such as wheat and red beans. Also known as the land of cheese, some say Tokachi produces about 60% of Japanese cheese. We didn’t plan to stay in Tokachi, but did make a stop in the subprefecture’s only city, Obihiro (帯広). There was only one reason: to sample the delicious food of the region. We weren’t after any fancy kaiseki ryori or seafood feast, but simple local dishes that make use of the best local ingredients of Tokachi.

There is nothing simpler to experience the best of Tokachi (十勝) than have a cup of fresh local milk.

In Obihiro, we made a first stop to Amamuekie, a simple pastry shop housed in a cool container. Originally worked in the music industry, the husband and wife of Iwamoto family (岩本夫妻) turned their interest in nature and healthy food and opened Amamuekie.

At Amamuekie, healthy pastry made with plant based ingredients without the use of white sugar and animal ingredients such as dairy and eggs are sold, including this cocoa pound cake made with rice flour.

We picked up several items from Amamuekie, including this hojicha (green tea) biscotti, a tasty fusion of east meets west.

On our way to Obihiro, we made our second stop at Sweet Factory Green, a delightful sweets shop in the small town of Otofuke (音更町).

The cakes, chocolate and ice-cream were all so tempting.

Causal seating were provided on the lawn next to the sweets shop.

Sun was high and sky was blue, what a perfect moment to enjoy local ice-cream, a piece of fruit cake and a cup of good coffee.

Finally we arrived in downtown Obihiro (帯広), and parked our car in one of the outdoor parking lot near the main train station.

It took us a little while to figure out the correct procedure to activate the parking sensor for our stall.

Our destination, Butadon Pancho (元祖豚丼), situates right across the street from Obihiro Railway Station.

Butadon Pancho (元祖豚丼) offers just one thing in the menu: Butadon (豚丼) or pork bowl. After about 20 minutes in the queue, we finally got a small table in the small restaurant. Founded in 1933, Butadon Pancho claims to be the pioneer restaurant that offered butadon.

Originated from Obihiro, butadon is basically a bowl of rice served with several pieces of local pork, topped with sweet soy sauce and green peas. The bowl also comes with takuan (沢庵) or pickled daikon radish and miso soup. Nothing fancy, just a simple local dish but made a perfect lunch for us.

After a little over an hour on the road, we arrived at Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, a vast resort compound that offers a variety of activities for visitors, from skiing in winter to hiking in summer.

The main reason coming to Tomamu was to check out the famous Chapel on the Water by architect Tadao Ando.

Unfortunately, the opening times of the chapel was quite limited. Quite often, the chapel is occupied for private wedding ceremonies. We had to leave it for another time, and moved on on our journey to Furano, where we would stay for the night.