On a Thursday afternoon, October 16, 2025, as the autumn air slowly deepened, I enjoyed a bite of red-fleshed melon from Yasunori Watanabe Farm in Hokuryu Town. The rich aroma spread softly, and the melting flesh gently touched my tongue. […]
Thursday, September 25, 2025 Our neighbor, the Nakajima Family, has a natural garden where a wide variety of vegetables and flowers are lovingly cultivated. A faint pink glow peeks out from the soil. This is the Nakajima Family’s […]
Friday, September 12, 2025: Exquisite Hokuryu Macarons from Asahikawa's long-established Umeya. The endless blue sky and two million sunflowers blooming toward the sun. In the fertile soil of Hokuryu, Hokkaido, a town that has made the sun its ally, […]
September 10, 2025 (Wednesday) Golden ears of rice, green mountains swaying in the pure breeze—September is the month when the land of Hokuryu sings of bountiful harvests. The annual autumn festival of Shinryu Shrine was held. Every year, I look forward to this day when the neighboring Kitajima Sango […]
Thursday, July 17, 2025: After patiently waiting for the sunflower melon to reach its full ripeness, I enjoyed a melon parfait with ice cream and a melt-in-your-mouth sunflower melon! The over-ripe melon was super sweet!!! The mellow […]
June 11, 2025 (Wednesday) - June is here, and the season of "Mangzhong" is upon us! The air is humid, and the plants are beginning to take on rich colors. A refreshing treat for this season is kuzu manju topped with a generous sprinkling of Kurosengoku soybean flour. […]
Wednesday, May 31, 2025 Hokuryu Portal: Savor Spring's Bamboo Shoot Rice! Hokuryu's bamboo shoots burst with l […]
Friday, May 23, 2025: A veggie-packed sandwich made with Shirokuma Bakery's Kurosengoku Soybean Baguette (Sapporo City)! Shirokuma Bakery's Kurosengoku Soybean Baguette: A veggie-packed sandwich filled with Kurosengoku soybeans. […]
May 1, 2025 (Thursday) I received the first spring wind of the year: fresh bamboo shoots! I enjoyed the flavors of spring to the fullest with bamboo shoot rice and stews. The rice dish included bamboo shoots, carrots, dried daikon radish, and shiitake mushrooms! I also had bamboo shoot stew with hijiki seaweed, carrot […]
On Tuesday, April 8, 2025, we will be enjoying botamochi rice cakes with "Kurosengoku An and Sakura An" while eagerly awaiting the cherry blossoms. Feeling the breath of life and the budding of spring, we will be enjoying the taste of botamochi slowly while praying for a bountiful harvest this year. While cooking the mochi rice, […]
Monday, April 7, 2025 I recently received some experimentally grown Kurosengoku bean sprouts from Hokkaido, so I decided to give them a try! I'm going to try the Kurosengoku bean sprouts with a generous amount of Kurosengoku sunflower oil dressing! First, I'll start with boiled Kurosengoku […]
Friday, April 4, 2025 As April arrives, the snow is finally melting and spring is in the air. Spring Celebration Chirashi Sushi Celebrate the arrival of spring with "Spring Celebration Chirashi Sushi"!!! Salmon, salmon roe, squid, sweetfish, and more are served on vinegared rice. […]