March 3, 2026 (Tuesday) Enjoy three-color pressed sushi on March 3 (Tuesday), the Girls' Festival! The Girls' Festival (also known as Hinamatsuri) is a traditional Japanese event celebrating the healthy growth of girls. The three-color sushi rice includes green edamame (zunda) and […]
Friday, February 13, 2026. Amid the silence of snow-covered Hokuryu Town, the flame of a candle lit by a window brings the warmth of early spring. This Valentine's Day, our table will be decorated with dishes packed with the bounty of Hokuryu Town.
On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, we will be enjoying Ehomaki (sushi rolls) from Restaurant Kazeguruma at Sunflower Park Hokuryu Onsen, a traditional Japanese hot springs restaurant, to ward off evil spirits and pray for the health and safety of our families. The Ehomaki, which embodies the blessings of the Seven Lucky Gods, and the luxurious Shrimp Cutlet Roll […]
Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Kagami mochi, the rice cake in which the New Year deity quietly resides. The Kagami-biraki ceremony is a ceremony of gratitude to share a small portion of the deity's sacred power. Since ancient times, the vermilion color of azuki beans has been believed to ward off evil spirits, and is said to bring good health, safety in the home, and happiness.
January 7, 2026 (Wednesday) The New Year's holiday has passed, and the New Year's mood has subsided a little. Today is Jinjitsu no Sekku, a day to cherish others. On a bitterly chilly morning in Hokuryu Town, steaming hot rice porridge with seven herbs […]
Tuesday, January 6, 2026: The first three days of the New Year have passed, and quiet times have returned to Hokuryu Town. While savoring the flavors of New Year's dishes, we made colorful "Kotobuki Oshizushi" (pressed sushi) to pray for good health and happiness in the coming year. [...]
On Friday, January 2, 2026, snow quietly fell, painting the world in white on New Year's Eve. As if to break the cold, tense silence, the warm spirit of Hokuryu Town was delivered to my home. Masao Fujisaki, a resident of Hokuryu Town, used his skills and […]
Monday, December 15, 2025: Hokuryu Town is enveloped in a soft blanket of snow. In stark contrast to the silvery world outside the window, vegetables bearing memories of the sun are blooming vibrantly on our table. The silence of winter and the color of the dinner table […]
Monday, November 17, 2025 The purple color of new rice and new beans is created by the new rice "Yumepirika" grown in Hokuryu Town and the rare "Kurosengoku soybeans." Cooking them together creates a vibrant purple rice ball. The plump […]
Monday, October 20, 2025 Before the footsteps of winter approach, a light-filled parfait featuring red-fleshed melons plays. The lavishly sliced orange flesh resembles a jewel that captures the sun's bounty. The lustrous drops, with their mellow fragrance and melting taste, […]
Friday, October 17, 2025 Autumn quietly deepens, and the gentle lights of Halloween begin to illuminate our hearts in mid-October. A lovely gift, crafted by farmer Hiroko Kawada with her magical hands, arrived. […]
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 […]