11 Dynamic Seafood Cuisines of Hokkaido

1. Ikura Rice Bowl (Tsukkomeshi -つっこめし)

Hachikyo is an eatery famous for 'Tsukkomeshi' 「つっこめし」, a bowl of rice with all-you-can-eat salmon roe (ikura- イクラ) piled on top. Ikura from the eastern sea coast of Hokkaido are served for this dish, together with cheerful yellings from the staff. They will keep serving ikura till you say when. 

Rausu Ryori Hachikyo Honten (羅臼料理 はちきょう 本店)

Miyako Bldg. 1F, 3 Nishi, Minami 3-jo, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi,Hokkaido北海道札幌市中央区南3条西3 都ビル1F

http://www.atomsgroup.jp/ (Japanese only)

 2. Fresh Seafood Platter (Kaisen No Moriawase - 海鮮の盛り合わせ)

Kibarashi serves hearty dishes of  seafood. Sashimi Platter 「刺身盛り合わせ」is a selection of fresh native seafood chosen by the chef-owner, which is rather substantial.  The platter of raw fish comes with sea urchin and salmon roe, which is guaranteed to go down a treat for sashimi lovers. We also recommend a dish of tasty seafood curry. 

Kibarashi (酒房きばらし)

Hasegawa Building 1F, Nishi 6-chome, Minami 7-jo, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido

http://kibarashi.info/ (Japanese only)

3. Squid Sashimi (Ika Sashi - イカ刺し)

Live squid sashimi is one of the highlights of dining in Hokkaido.  This restaurant uses squids brought straight from Hakodate and kept live in a fish-tank till the minute they are cooked.  This is why the freshness is second to none. Live squid sashimi will still be moving after it is prepared. The texture is wonderful and very tasty. 

Kaiyoutei Susukino Branch (開陽亭 すすきの店)

Shinjuku Street White Building B1,South 6 West 4, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido

http://www.kaiyoutei.co.jp/ (Japanese only)

4. Sea Urchin Rice Bowl (Uni Don -うに丼)

tatsuya.fukata/Flickr

This luxurious rice bowl is topped with generous amount of native sea urchin. The eatery is run by a sea urchin processing company in Hakodate. It uses unprocessed raw sea urchin with no added preservatives for this dish so you can definitely taste the difference! There are also many other good dishes using sea urchin. 

Hakodate Unimurakami Nippon Life Sapporo Building Branch (函館うに むらかみ 日本生命札幌ビル店)

http://www.uni-murakami.com/ (Japanese only)

5. Sea Food Rice Bowl (Kaisen Don - 海鮮丼)

This is a rice bowl with plenty of fresh sashimi. The eatery is situated within Sapporo Central Wholesale Market so the freshness of ingredients is top-notch. It's open from 7am and closes in the afternoon, so make sure you get there early. The rice bowl is good for breakfast, brunch or lunch.  

Shokuji Dokoro Sakanayano Daidokoro Sapporo Central Wholesale Market Branch (食事処 魚屋の台所 札幌市中央卸売場外市場店)

2F, Nishi 22, Kita 11-jo, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido

http://www.sakanayanodaidokoro.com/ (Japanese only)

6.  Grilled Herring (Nishin Yaki -ニシン焼き)

This restaurant serves tasty set meal of grilled fish. It's by the sea in Otaru and always busy with tourists. The secret behind its popularity is that the tasty fish is being grilled in front of customers. Not only herring but also a wide variety of seasonal fish are grilled and  pleasant aroma surrounds the entire place. Those who aren't keen on raw fish can most definitely enjoy the well cooked dishes. 

Minshuku Aotsuka Shokudo (民宿　青塚食堂)

3-210 Shukutsu, Otaru-shi, Hokkaido

http://www2.odn.ne.jp/aotuka/index.html (Japanese only)

7.  Crab Meat Tempura Rice Bowl (Kani Tendon - カニ天丼)

This is a bowl of rice topped with tempura using plenty of red king crab. The eatery is located in the famous morning market in Kushiro and opens as early as 7:30am.  You can taste the sweetness of fresh crab meat together with crispy texture of tempura. This should definitely make it to your wish list when you are in Kushiro. 

Soba/Shokuji Dokoro Rofuuan (そば・食事処　露風庵)

8. Kobore Zushi (こぼれ寿司)

This is a decadent dish of sushi rolls topped with abundant fresh sea food.  The portion is huge and suitable for those with big appetite (no offence but the name of the restaurant suggests this tavern is for 'men'), or even for sharing among a group.  It's a crab meat, salmon roe, and tuna fish galore.  

Otoko No Izakaya suEzou JAPAN (男の居酒屋 suEzou JAPAN)

South 3 West 7-2, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido

https://gurunavi.com/en/h325901/mp/rst/

9. All-You-Can-Eat Sea Food Buffet (海鮮食べ放題ビュッフェ)

The eatery serves fresh seafood buffet. The likes of hairy crab and red king crab are piled high in front of you. Shellfish such as scallops, sushi and various fish are also staples on offer. You can eat them all to your heart content for good 90 minutes. You can even grill them at your table. 

Nanda Sapporo (海鮮 バイキング 難陀)

B2F, Nishi 2, Minami 5-jo, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido

http://nanda-sapporo.jp/ (Japanese only) 

10. Seafood Ramen (Kaisen Ramen - 海鮮ラーメン)

It's quite staggering to find one whole snow crab in a ramen bowl. The restaurant is by the seaside and constantly packed with customers coming to the beach during summer. The ramen broth made of seasonal seafood is amazingly flavorsome. We recommend you finish the noodle first before tackling the snow crab or it can get rather messy.   

Maehama (前浜)

10-17 Atsuta, Atsuta-ku, Ishikari-shi, Hokkaido 

http://tabelog.com/hokkaido/A0107/A010702/1008361/ (Japanese only)

11. Seafood Champon (Kaisen Champon - 海鮮ちゃんぽん)

This is fried noodle with thick seafood sauce. The dish  (Ankake Yakisoba- あんかけ焼きそば in Japanese) counts as one of the popular dishes in Otaru and there are many restaurants serving the seafood version within the city. This one is particularly good. The thick sauce is full of flavor from the rich broth of native blue crab and truly delicious.    

Umibouzu (海坊主)

1-31-29 Shioya, Otaru-shi, Hokkaido

http://www.namaraumai.net/otaru/umibouzu/index.html (Japanese only)