次郎長新千歳空港店

I had a day in Hokkaido. Rephrase that one; I had 12 hours in Hokkaido. Such is the nature of my weekend work. And such nature had me up north with exactly one hour of free time. One hour at the airport.

Luckily, Sapporo’s New Chitose airport has enough to keep a foodie busy for hours. Hours of above-average chain shops representing all the famous Hokkaido cuisines. There is soup curry, crab, and about eight places that sell milk flavored ice cream, a sweet synonymous with the area. There is also a ramen stadium, bringing nine ramen shops into one convenient location.

I wanted miso, and Jirocho serves miso.

Famished as I was, the first few bites were great. As time went on, though, boredom set in.

I don’t like to consider myself a miso elitist, but I’m consistently underwhelmed with the stuff I’ve had in Hokkaido. I’m looking for a Kururi impact, followed by the creamy aftertaste of Oyaji. The decadent broth of something like 3SO, with a solid all-round taste like Hanamichi.

Of course, in my seven years in Japan, I’ve only spent one night in Sapporo, so I’m still hopeful for the future.

Open from something like 10am to 10pm

Ramen Adventures

次郎長 (Jirocho at the Sapporo Airport)

えびそば一幻 (Ichigen at the Sapporo Airport)

無頼庵 (Buraian in Kyodo)

次郎長 (Jirocho at the Sapporo Airport)

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えびそば一幻 (Ichigen at the Sapporo Airport)

無頼庵 (Buraian in Kyodo)