利尻らーめん味楽 (Miraku on Rishiri Island, Hokkaido)

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利尻らーめん味楽

Although my 2020 Hokkaido adventure was a short one, it was full of new experiences. A big reason I wanted to visit this year was to head up to the northernmost islands of Rishiri and Rebun. A famous chef from Tokyo had introduced me to a konbu fisherman, and the time of gathering this umami-rich kelp the natural way is limited. Of course, no trip to Rishiri Island would be complete without a visit to Miraku, the island’s famous ramen shop.

The plane from Sapporo flies north along a rather mundane stretch of coast. This is the part of Hokkaido least visited by tourists. I’ve been here on my motorcycle. It has its charm and free campgrounds, but not much else.

Touch down. That’s Rebun Island in the distance. More on that later.

In a time of decreased travel, getting to and around these islands was rough. Fewer flights and fewer ferries. And for some reason, the ferry situation and flight schedules just didn’t line up. One night in Rishiri. Ferry to Rebun the next day. One night in Rebun. Ferry back to Rishiri the next day. One night in Rishiri. Fly back to Tokyo on the only flight the next day. I like my vacations leisurely, but this was the only possible route of travel.

The other issue was that our flight from Sapporo landed at 1:45 pm and Miraku closed at two. We called from the tarmac, and they assured us we could make it. One $50 taxi later and we were slurping away.

Yaki Shoyu Ramen (焼き醤油らーめん). Local kelp makes up the backbone of the dashi in this shoyu bowl. Rishi konbu is some of the most expensive in Japan, and this bowl wouldn’t be possible unless it was made at the source. While most ramen uses konbu to give an umami hit, the soup here has a distinct kelp flavor. It’s a memorable one for sure.

The soy sauce tare used in the ramen is wok-fried to give it a more robust flavor.

Hokkaido-made Nishiyama Seimen noodles and Danish pork finish out the kodawari of the bowl.

Such a wonderful experience. Gochisosama!

I posed with Abram the Ramen Beast and the master Mitsugi Esashika. Our hotel was on the other side of the island, and the overpriced taxis in this remote corner of Japan weren’t happening, so we asked where the nearest bus stop was.

The Esahika family wasn’t hearing it. “Do you have time? I’ll drive you to your hotel and give you a tour of the island.”

Are you serious? Of course, we had nothing but time and eagerly accepted the invitation.

He told us to wait for a minute at his son’s cafe down the street. They serve a Hokkaido-style soup curry made from Miraku’s leftover soup.

And some solid ice cream.

Both soup curry and ice cream are everywhere in Hokkaido, but this one just hit different.

I told Esashika-san that I was very interested in konbu fishing and was headed to neighboring Rebun Island to learn a bit about it. Our round-trip tour of the island began with the local konbu harvest.

This natural way of harvesting konbu can only be done in July and August, and only on sunny days. Rishiri Island is a magnet for rain, so this means the days are numbered. Everyone on the island helps out with the manual labor. Ramen shop masters, clinic owners, and high school students join the actual konbu fishermen to get the job done.

It’s no surprise to hear when you see the markup on this stuff. Half a kilo of the perfectly prepared stalks can run around 5000 yen. It gets graded based on color, size, and thickness, though the flavors are generally the same. As long as it comes from the sea, dries in the sun, and ages in a controlled warehouse, this stuff will make its way to gourmet kitchens around Japan and the world. When I visited Noma in 2016, chef Rene Redzepi confided that the only imported ingredient he uses is konbu from this part of Japan.

Konbu is aged for a few years to bring out the flavors in massive warehouses. Green gold.

Rishiri-Fuji Mountain. I hike this many years ago. My tip is this. If there are no clouds in the morning, hike. If you see even one, give it up.

Local spring water. Esashika-san told me that there is a pipe running from this source to his part of town, and his ramen uses Rishiri’s heaven water. Speaking of heaven water, the sea around the island is clear and full of life.

Taking a closer look into the clear water, we saw hundreds, maybe even thousands of sea urchins. Rishiri and Rebun is home to some of the most sought-after uni in Japan. Where there is quality konbu there is quality uni.

Still pricey, but make sure you eat this when you come. The rainwater collects nutrients from the mountain, which in turn feeds the konbu. The uni eats the konbu. I’ll eat both.

Over on Rebun island the next day we tried the local famous food. Hokke chanchanyaki (ホッケちゃんちゃん焼き) is a local mackerel grilled with miso. Although we stayed in a top-end hotel with a luxury dinner, this casual dish at a local restaurant (one of only a dozen restaurants on the island) was a highlight.

This is Bunpei Yamamoto, a local konbu fisherman. He is epic.

I recommend the short documentary Dashi Journey to see what’s going on. Bunpei’s konbu is prized by some of the top chefs in Japan. Michelin 3-Star Tabelog Gold chefs source their konbu from him. The man himself is a goofy snowboarder with a dog who does this for a few months and basically bums around the rest of the year. Kind of the dream life.

Unfortunately, the weather was iffy that day so no fishing in action. Use the mouth-held viewing tube to search for konbu, then grab it with the specialized fork and twist it like spaghetti. It takes a delicate touch, as the beautiful unbroken strands are worth more than the stunted ones. It all tastes the same though.

Thank you to everyone who helped with introductions on this trip. It was great to actually learn something about the ingredients that make up our ramen.

I hope to be back, but it’s a journey to get here.

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