Hokkaido is food heaven. When there is a Hokkaido fair in Yokohama (or anywhere in Japan) it is always packed with people. Everybody have their own Hokkaido favorite and will rush to the fair before it sold out. I also have my favorite Hokkaido delicacies, I am a food lover, I therefore wanted to try all the craved Hokkaido gourmet but that wish will never come true in just 2 days. How can I get an overview of Hokkaido goodies in one shot?? We came up with an idea, breakfast at a hotel. Not just an hotel but an old established one.

北海道と言えば食べ物。二泊三日で食べ切れる訳も無く、どうすれば手軽に北海道を味わえるんだろうと思いついたのがホテルでの朝食。和風より洋風の朝食が今回の気分。

We picked Sapporo Grand Hotel, the first western style hotel in Sapporo city. It’s an old hotel so some of the menu might be out of date but my priorities was not trending dishes but just a glass of really fresh milk, yogurt, cured meat, some regional dishes and if lucky, a croissant made with real Hokkaido butter.

朝食ありきで札幌での宿泊先を決めました。最後に残った候補は２ヶ所。悩んだ結果、札幌グランドホテルに決定。老舗ゆえ、乳製品は外さないだろう。ホテルのスペシャリテ的な特別メニューと言うより、道内の方々がこれが定番と言える物を食べてみようと言うのが狙いでした。新鮮で美味しい牛乳、ヨーグルト、ハム、ソーセージなどの加工されたお肉にその土地ならではのお料理と美味しいバターで作ったクロワッサン辺りが体験出来れば良いなと。

I’m not a milk lover, I don’t like the after taste that lingers in my mouth. I can’t digest it well to, so therefore we never have milk in our fridge. I only buy it when I need them for cooking. Hiro once told me how good the fresh milk is in Hokkaido, if I ever go, I have to give it a chance. I so therefore did. It was sweet, fresh with no after taste left in my mouth. Wow, a good introduction of Hokkaido indeed. I couldn’t try all the dishes at the morning buffet because there was tons to choose from but managed to get hold on fresh yogurt, sausages, some regional dishes and a good croissant.

私は牛乳ラバーでは無い。飲んで口に残る、あの独特な後味が嫌い。あと、私は牛乳を消化するのが苦手（？）ラテの中の牛乳を飲みすぎるとお腹が張る事がおおし。（余談ですが、朝のコーヒーから牛乳を排除してから半年後ぐらいから生理のサイクルが正常に戻ったの。40代ぐらいになってからかな？あんなに悩まされていたのに、ピタリとサイクルが正常に。）

Our flight back to Yokohama is in the afternoon so we did some morning stroll around our hotel checking some of the famous confectionary in the area. Kitakaro Honten is located just around the corner from our hotel, it’s main branch building was a library builded in 1926. In 2016 the interior of the building was renovated by Tadao Ando the renown Architect. Kitakaro is famous for their rice crackers and their soft Baumkuchen. Next we visited Rokkatei Honten which is my favorite Hokkaido confectionary. They make my favorite raisin butter sandwich and many more sweets. Their motto is always keeping their products down to earth & simple, recreating old school favorites by using the best Hokkaido ingredients.

今日は札幌の最終日。帰りのフライトは博一の翌日の仕事も踏まえて、午後便。空港に移動することも考えると自由時間は午前しか無いので、ホテルをチェックアウト後、このエリアを散歩することに。先ず行ったのがホテルの裏手にある北菓楼札幌本館。お菓子を買うと言うより安藤忠雄設計の内装を見たくて。その後、私のお気に入りの六花亭札幌本店へ。あれこれ買うのかなと思ったら、意外と何も買わなかった（その後、少し買った）。行けた事で満足してしまったのね。（笑）

Next we made a quick stop at D&Department Sapporo to check some design oriented products. 90% of the products was same as the store in Tokyo with just a small corner featuring Hokkaido products. We found some fragrance inspired by Hokkaido forest. D&Department is a concept store established by a product designer Kenmei Nagaoka and you can read about their philosophy here.

時間がまだ少し有ったのでバスでD&Department Sapporoへ。デザイン目線から北海道グッズがあるかなと。行ってみると、東京の店舗と品揃えはほぼ同じですが、小さい北海道コーナーが有った。香りもので面白い物を発見。同じビルの２階にも素敵な雑貨屋が有り（ろばのこ）子供の絵本がメインなのですが、スウェーデンの老舗テキスタイルブランド「エーケルンド」の代理店で品揃えが素晴らしかった。布ものに弱いのよね、私。

Shopping tips in Sapporo: In any department stores in Sapporo. Check there food floor which is usually in the B1 or B2. There is a store called Kita Kitchen in Sapporo city and airport which specialized in Hokkaido products (mainly food). The last minute shopping but the best is at the Shin-Chitose Airport. I couldn’t belief the amount of merchandise in an airport shopping mall. If shopping in airport, be prepared, you will need at least an hour or two to fully enjoy the place. >>> To be continued with our last post on Hokkaido, what I shopped and took back home from Hokkaido.

札幌でのお買い物：札幌通ーでも無いのですが、私的に思ったのはデパ地下は手軽で良い。あときたキッチンのセレクトも良かった。でも、新千歳空港のお買い物エリアの凄さに驚いた。広すぎ、物販が多すぎ。１時間でも回りきれんよー。今度はもっと時間を取って攻めます！次は北海道ポスト最終回、私のお買い物をご紹介します。お楽しみに。＞＞＞