RichieCski 0 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Hi all- New to the forums. I just paid my deposit for a 10 day trip to Niseko to ski with Black Diamond Lodge in late January. Big thanks to MitchPee for the advice. Anyway, it's my first time to Japan so I really want to engulf myself culturally...beginning with food. Due to the immense wealth of knowledge on this site I was hoping you guys might give me a short list of some can't-miss places in and around Niseko where I can grub hard. Not really looking for a list of pubs/bars where I can hang out with Aussies (no offense), my focus for the trip is more on the skiing/local culture than nightlife. So if you got 3-5 places you know that are great I would love to hear it. Thanks. Think snow. Link to post Share on other sites
Slippery Jim 65 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 The Black Diamond restaurant is a good place to start After that, grab a copy of the Niseko Guide when you get there -- lists dozens of restaurants. Probably everyone who goes up there has their favorites, and places they'd suggest missing, and that's all personal preference that might not work for you. Have you ever eaten Japanese food? Do you have anything particular you like, or are interested in trying? What about Chinese cuisine? or Korean? or Indian? or Thai/Vietnamese/Middle Eastern? You can find all of those (I'm pretty sure) in Niseko, or definitely in Sapporo. And since you're in LA and therefore I must assume you've never enjoyed good Italian food... Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post deanrobi 2 Posted October 27, 2011 Popular Post Share Posted October 27, 2011 My advice, get out of niseko village and hunt out some of the great eateries in and around Kutchan. Much better food and more japanese styled places,we tend to eat there 6 or 7 times each trip and I dont think I have had a bad feed there ever and it's cheaper. Now I think about it most nights the places have been pretty empty or just full of locals, very rarely are there many other aussie in these places. If you catch the free shuttle bus to Kutchan and get off at the Sports store, walk down any the side streets opposite the Sports Store and you will find heaps of little family run restaurants, a couple of nice bars full of locals and a few kareoke bars. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
dyna8800 3 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I have my favorites...the places where only the locals go, mainly because they can only be accessed by car, while most of the tourists are on the "walk around the village" plan. Staying at Black Diamond, you would need to arrange transport or ride the shuttle bus. There is a guidebook published by the Niseko Promotion Board, be sure to pick it up, as it has listings for many restaurants, including very good, detailed maps with the shuttle bus routes, etc. Suggestion for in village would be A-Bu-Cha, izakaya style, with a friendly vibe. Important: I would recommend making reservations, as most places get booked out very quickly during weekends/holiday periods. And if you must cancel, please be courteous and give them a ring, there is nothing worse than a no show, especially considering most of these places are small. Link to post Share on other sites
mitchpee 10 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Richie as DiGriz (as Jim said) BD restaraunt is good! I would recommend Jyuu (okonomiyaki) as well. Super tasty Japanese-like pizza. I absolutely loved that place. Niseko Pizza is good but SUPER expensive for what it is. Umm there's a couple places in Kutchan which are pretty good as well. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g1025639-Kutchan_cho_Abuta_gun_Hokkaido.html I can vouch for ezo seafood, soooo good! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Fonty 1 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Kabuki 1 is also great for tepanyaki and okonomiyaki. Although it is difficult to get into as you can't reserve unless you have a table of 8 + people. We went really early and were happy we did! I am sure there is another thread where there was talk of great eateries in Kutchan. We had some great food there as well but couldn't tell you where or what they were called. We would just stroll around and go in if there was room. If you want pizza or even cheese fondue??? (so not Japanese) try Yummy's. Shabu Shabu at Sou is also excellent. So that is my 3 "Terry Tourist" Restos in Niseko. Although, you can also go to the retail ready section of the Max Value in Kutchan and grab some great local food and just chill out some nights! Link to post Share on other sites
MrSingh 0 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Rosso Rosso! Link to post Share on other sites
RobBright 35 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 A mini review of my time there... J-sekka was tasty but pricey. A-bu-cha 2 had some great hokkai nabe Seikomart has/had wholemeal loaves of bread. Vale bar and grill was good but pricey. Minamina was the missus' favourite htough. Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 My favourite would have to be Kamimura. It is fine dining and quite expensive but Yuichi produces an incredible meal and I'll admit is a good friend of mine. The Barn has a great chef. He used to have a little restaurant in Kutchan but his cuisine was little upmarket for the locals down there. Great quality food at a reasonable price. Although both Japanese chefs these restaurants are not Japanese cuisine. I guess when living there it was a real treat to not always go out and have Japanese. For Japanese food Abu-cha (the restaurant not the bakery on the corner) is a pretty good izakaya style restaurant. Ichimura Soba down at the traffic lights on the way down towards Kutchan before the bridge has some truly excellent soba noodles. Probably my favourite Japanese dining experience though is Bouken Restaurant set in an old school house down on the corner of route 5 after the bridge to Kutchan. Great setting, lovely hosts and sensational food. In Kutchan my favourite places to eat are Tori Matsu, a great little yaki tori restaurant and Nami Chan Chi, a little izakaya that's not overly pretty but has really good food. Link to post Share on other sites
RichieCski 0 Posted October 27, 2011 Author Share Posted October 27, 2011 This is all great info thanks so much, plenty of choices to be had it seems, just need to put in the effort to explore a little and be willing to ride a shuttle every now and then. Going to be tough to fit it all in only 7 days! Link to post Share on other sites
deanrobi 2 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 GN, any chance of highlighting on a map, like the attached, those recommendations? Bouken Restaurant sounds like a most try, thanks for the recommendations. Not familar with eithier the Barn or Yuichi but like so many places in and around town they can be tucked away in those side streets down in the lower village http://www.town.kutchan.hokkaido.jp/mpsdata/web/3415/Town_MAP2009_eng_2.jpg Link to post Share on other sites
Pillar of the community 0 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Don't you just love town mascots? What's that, a potato? Most mascots seem to be either vegetables, fruits or animals hey. Link to post Share on other sites
deanrobi 2 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 I think Hokkiado, and particulary the area around kutchan is famous in japan for its potatoes, thats what we got told one night by the owner of a kutchan restaurant who insisted that we try a bowl of potatoes wedges, with butter and salt on top, not bad to. Link to post Share on other sites
Pillar of the community 0 Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Yeah, I reckon I guessed that! Link to post Share on other sites
dyna8800 3 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Hey MitchPee, wonder how you found Jyuu, that is one of my hidden treasures...the owner rides a Gentemstick board. Forgot to mention a burger at JoJo's Cafe. The original poster did not mention a budget, but some of those places that Go Native mentioned are pricey...think Tokyo prices. Coming from Kali you will have sticker shock... Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 I'm glad that Go Native told us how lovely and 'wealthy' he is again, though. Hadn't heard a variation on that one for a week or so. I am going to campaign Wigan town to adopt a Meat & Potato pie as their mascot. Would be dead cool. Not that I would want to use them but do they have any fast-food places like McDs, Kentucky etc in Niseko? Link to post Share on other sites
mitchpee 10 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Hey MitchPee, wonder how you found Jyuu, that is one of my hidden treasures...the owner rides a Gentemstick board. Forgot to mention a burger at JoJo's Cafe. The original poster did not mention a budget, but some of those places that Go Native mentioned are pricey...think Tokyo prices. Coming from Kali you will have sticker shock... I'll keep it quiet for you just went there one day....pretty easy to do when you live 1 mile from it. Link to post Share on other sites
Tubby Beaver 209 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 I'm glad that Go Native told us how lovely and 'wealthy' he is again, though. Hadn't heard a variation on that one for a week or so. I am going to campaign Wigan town to adopt a Meat & Potato pie as their mascot. Would be dead cool. Not that I would want to use them but do they have any fast-food places like McDs, Kentucky etc in Niseko? I didn't see any McD's, KFC etc.....prob some in Kutchan though. Link to post Share on other sites
mitchpee 10 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 I'm glad that Go Native told us how lovely and 'wealthy' he is again, though. Hadn't heard a variation on that one for a week or so. I am going to campaign Wigan town to adopt a Meat & Potato pie as their mascot. Would be dead cool. Not that I would want to use them but do they have any fast-food places like McDs, Kentucky etc in Niseko? I didn't see any McD's, KFC etc.....prob some in Kutchan though. Not that I know of. No major American fast food giants there. It's kept pretty well Japanese. Link to post Share on other sites
grazza 2 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Kamimura is extraordinary. A very, very good restaurant (with prices to match). Link to post Share on other sites
deanrobi 2 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 I'm glad that Go Native told us how lovely and 'wealthy' he is again, though. Hadn't heard a variation on that one for a week or so. I am going to campaign Wigan town to adopt a Meat & Potato pie as their mascot. Would be dead cool. Not that I would want to use them but do they have any fast-food places like McDs, Kentucky etc in Niseko? Luckily No Link to post Share on other sites
Go Native 70 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 I'm glad that Go Native told us how lovely and 'wealthy' he is again, though. Hadn't heard a variation on that one for a week or so. I am going to campaign Wigan town to adopt a Meat & Potato pie as their mascot. Would be dead cool. Not that I would want to use them but do they have any fast-food places like McDs, Kentucky etc in Niseko? Glad to see you've only entered a thread to have a go at me again and to bring up Wigan once again even though none of us could care less about that shithole. Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 That really hurt very muchly. I wasn't having a go at you, I sincerely enjoy and always look forward to hearing how comfortably well off you are. Oh so misunderstood. Link to post Share on other sites
HelperElfMissy 42 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Thankfully the closest to western fast food is Niseko Pizza - which the kids nagged for all the time despite there not being a whole load of value compared to other meals elsewhere. My faves that would need repeating: A Bu Cha (whole family happy, every time) The Brick (even though we are pretty sure the baby bear cracked his cheekbone falling down the steep stairs on the way out one night) and a little Okonomiyaki place in Kutchan I have forgotten the name of now (YUM). Link to post Share on other sites
pie-eater 207 Posted October 28, 2011 Share Posted October 28, 2011 Good to hear it's not overrun with all those fast food places. The Brick, now there's a good name for a place! Link to post Share on other sites
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