Hokkaido is cold. It's so cold that I'm about to freeze to death but today You're going to explore some of the most popular foods across the region and see how much awesome food we can eat We're starting our trip here at Hakodate morning market, lots of fish, absolute blizzard. Let's go and see some food Hokkaido is Japan's second-largest island the most northern prefecture and considered by many to be Japan's seafood capital given it's one of the only prefectures in the country to have access to the Pacific and Sea of Japan and the Fertile fishing grounds of the Tsugaru strait however it's not just seafood Hokkaido is also the home of miso ramen and is Japan's dairy capital producing over half of the nation's milk Joining us on our trip is real-life American boy and dare I so friend Chris Okano the cameraman So the main thing in Hakodate is the fish, you can't go anywhere without seeing fish lots of crabs as well So we're gonna try a bit of crab some crabs legs and just lots of fish. It's about what? 9:30 a.m.. In the morning now Ask most people What dish comes to mind were they're here Hokkaido in that dish will usually be crab as you wander through Hakodate's morning market? You're presented with an endless supply of crabs With exciting sounding names like snow crabs and king crabs which are recognizable for their terrifyingly long legs Which when spread out can reach up to a meter in length That said there's no doubt the creature is a truly 'crab'tivating sight. Fun fact That's the second best crab related pun in this video Absolute blizzard outside, but we're here in our first place to try our first dish of the trip Which is some crabs legs. I say, that's the first thing we're gonna eat today I've already had my first snack of the day Which was some some squid with sesame seeds in it a guy at market stall and I've lured me into eating it I don't really like squid It's got very strong pungent kind of scents to it And I bought it just to be nice. Looking forward to 'crabby' little caught crab, Chris? He's already full of crab Crabs legs just arrived it literally smells fantastic she lifted off the lid and a whole cloud of steam Just sort of rose up. But the only thing is, I don't know how to eat it. How do you eat it? It's like watching a medieval king Tearing apart a chicken or something. what a disgrace That's how you eat it, Chris. Do you eat crab often? In Japan not so much hard to find in Japan actually What are you actually always has the texture of chicken? Chicken breast It's a pretty bad description of crab is not yes Very succulent very juicy very fresh well. I literally saw the crowd get killed about 10 minutes ago You say I feel a bit bit guilty but guilt aside We've got the plate of crabs legs freshly grilled And we've got a donburi kind of a mixture of different fish on a bed of rice We've got salmon salmon roe and hotate, usually you dip the fish in the soy sauce then eat it what you're supposed to do here Is put the soy sauce in the bowl with some wasabi mix it up, and then pour it over the fish So that's the first time I've ever done that. That was supposed to be really slick shot We put the soy sauce and wasabi on I just tipped it all over the table anyway Somebody had told me a few years ago. I'd be eating raw fish for like breakfast quite often I don't think I would have believed it, but after living in Japan for a few years You will need to get used to it, and I'm still getting used to salmon roe salmon egg. Very-very salty. I feel like I'm being bullied today as Chris is behind the camera - laughing as I eat What is that they're camera gloves camera glove as you can easily hit the buttons with these two fingers Oh, you're a genius. Yeah, except. You're not found a statue of Chris the cameraman Do you look a bit like that? Market shuts around midday the best time to get here is about eight to ten feet 10 a.m. Didn't think I'd be eating a cantaloupe at fish market That's a really weird line, that sounds really wrong Hokkaido's Yubari melons are famously some of the most expensive fruit on the planet famed for their almost perfectly round Appearance making it a popular gift amongst friends and family and whilst the slice of cantaloupe. I bought costs just 250 yen That's a drop in the ocean compared to the price of two perfectly round Yubari king melons which was sold in an auction last year for the obscene sum of 3 million yen. I just hope the perfectly round melons were worth it although. Call me mr.. Cynical I can't can't see how how they were at all really just just fruit isn't it? But, what do I know? So a little bucket to wash your hands afterwards as well very convenient, and it's warm water my hands are freezing That's that was quite refreshing If you are a lover of all things ramen Hokkaido is one of the original homes of miso ramen with a rich tangy broth containing oily chicken or fish And often with dairy products such as butter with it typically with a bit of corn on as well and whilst Hokkaido is famous for miso ramen, different regions across the prefecture Also specialize in their own variants here in Hakodate for example the local specialty is shio ramen literally salt rather the two most popular flavors of ramen in Japan are miso and shoyu my favorite shoyu this is salt ramen Shio ramen I don't think I've ever had it before actually because it's quite rare to be found throughout Japan But in Hakodate that is the kind of local famous food So Chris accidentally ordered two portions He thought it was a just a big big bowl now. So this is two people's worth Yeah, so typically they get two people so it just means two noodle in one bowl But they actually need two bowls both fit multiple broth The verdict, that's good Compared to shoyu I kind of like it actually it's very really light So typically like what you have shoyu miso or now salt I guess this salt was obviously the lightest taste mmm miso shoyu being more heavy a lot more fatty - this is very very clean Clean taste very smooth in the the broth is pretty good, but it's not quite strong enough in flavor to me I like a nice kind of rich shoyu flavor however the star of the show here is this nice fatty Cut pork which is so succulent and magical I feel like I could write a song about how much I like this pork. That's the star of the show That is the reason I would order this again Do you think that you can actually eat both? hmm if I don't drink the soup, Let's just see buddy. let's see if you can do it Go jog off ramen Last stop on our trip is another warm dish. That's particularly popular in the winter months and has its roots in Sapporo. It'd be a crime to come to Hokkaido without trying soup. Curry so on a cold winter's day such as this There's one dish that you need when you're in Hokkaido, and that is curry soup. You probably know that in Japan Curry is really popular this kind of thick curry that goes with rice and usually you get pork but in Hokkaido They have a soup and I'm gonna let Chris take over because he's just been speaking to the shop owner And he's an expert on curry soup now. So Chris tell us about curry soup So, talking to their owner a lady of this restaurant And she said the main difference between soup curry and regular curry in Japan is that First of all, they don't use flour in this soup curry so the taste is very very light. It's very very easy to go down But this only this wasn't very something that is way in the past this was something that started 40 years ago around give or take And it was in Sapporo first There's one store that became really popular and its soup curry from then just kind of blew up in all of Hokkaido Just like Chris said, it's basically you know it's very cold here, so soup curry kind of fits the environment very well, but while you were speaking to the shop owner about the History of curry and learning it quickly for this piece Something happened to half of your sausage Sausage half gone I didn't get a sausage on mine, so I had to see where you got really close where it man got chicken and Roots root vegetables which is great, but it's not sausage is it? Enjoy the rest of your sausage and a good job appreciate explaining your food forget it so Chris prefers normal curry I actually prefer this because it's much lighter and With when I have normal curry. I feel really tired afterwards because it's really thick whereas this is something You could kind of just drink every day But it's quite hard to find on the mainland so Probably won't be drinking it or having it that often unfortunately. We're actually in a really nice restaurant that We we were driving through the middle of nowhere between a hot spring resort in Hakodate, and we pulled out Google typed in curry soup We found this place in a kind of remote town and when there it's almost like a basement my guess isn't it? filled with lots of antiques and run by this middle-aged couple and it feels like a a set a Film set out to kill bill' movie or something I feel that something terrible is about to go down Especially as we are the only customers at the moment Description Whether you're planning on visiting and Hokkaido's vibrant capital city of Sapporo driving across the island Or diving into Noboribetsu's hot spring resort We hope this three-part Hokkaido series will be useful to you on your travels and whilst this is the end of the series I hope to return again in a warmer season and of course invest my life savings in a Yubari melon But for now though guys if you've enjoyed this series. Please be sure to LIKE the video and as always many Thanks for joining us on our journey. We'll see you next time
