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Ramen
One of the representative tastes known as a specialty of Hokkaido. "Ramen Alley" in Susukino and the "Sapporo Ramen Republic" in the vicinity of Sapporo Station ? in which dozens of ramen shops can be found clustered together ? are popular tourist spots. In addition, a concentration of much-vaunted shops has also begun to develop in the area around the Tanuki-koji shopping arcade. A characteristic of ramen is the difference in flavors between each region, with Sapporo proud of its miso, Asahikawa its shoyu (soy sauce) and Hakodate its shio (salt) flavored soups.
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Soup Curry
In recent years this curry has been enjoying explosive popularity, especially in and around Sapporo, and is now establishing itself as a local specialty. One of the major differences from normal curry is that the sauce has a liquid soup-like consistency into which the largely uncut ingredients are added almost in their original form. The soups incorporate elements of Western-style cuisine, which seem to evolve each time a new establishment is opened.
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Wine
Hokkaido's cool climate means that crops can be grown using less pesticides compared with mainland Honshu, making it ideal for the cultivation of high-quality grapes. Furthermore, low-temperature fermentation and maturing acidifies the grapes, producing sharp-tasting wine with a rich bouquet. The main wine-producing areas include Tokachi, Yoichi, Furano, Otaru, Hakodate and Otobe. The Tsurunuma Winery in the town of Urausu in Sorachi Subprefecture boasts the largest area of wine-grape vineyards in the country.
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Station Lunchboxes
Many ekiben, or railway station lunchboxes, containing seafood that reflects local tastes, can be found in Hokkaido. Typical examples include Mori Station's "ikameshi" squid and rice dish, Akkeshi Station's "kakimeshi" oyster and rice dish, and Oshamambe Station's "kanimeshi" crab and rice dish. The "ikameshi" ekiben was originally developed in 1941 and is one of the most famous station lunchboxes in Japan. The trunk of the squid is stuffed with glutinous and non-glutinous rice and stewed in a salty-sweet sauce, and is enormously popular nationwide.
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Asahikawa Asahiyama Zoo
The northernmost zoo in Japan. As of the end of November 2005, a total of 723 animals representing 143 species were being raised at the zoo, which boasts a "Seal Aquarium," a "Fierce Animal Exhibit," a "Polar Bear Aquatic Park," a "Walk-through Penguin Aquarium," a "Monkey Mountain" and an "Orangutan Trapeze." The zoo's "behavioral exhibiting" style of showing the animals in their dynamic, natural form has proved extremely popular, with the monthly number of visitors in July, August and September 2005 seeing Asahiyama Zoo overtake Tokyo's Ueno Zoo as the most visited in Japan.
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Otaru Glassware
The tourism-oriented city of Otaru is known for its glassware, with numerous shops and emporia lining the streets near the city's famous canal. Kitaichi Glass is one of the shops that helped establish the "glass craft" image of the town. At the Kitaichi Venetian Art Museum (Museo Del L'Arte Veneziana), work portraying the traditions and high-level craftsmanship of over 1,000 years of glass craft from the ancient Italian city of Venice is on display.
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Dairy Products
In the "dairy-farming kingdom" of Hokkaido, dairy products such as milk, cheese, butter, yoghurt, and ice cream are also well-known specialties. Distinctive dairy products are manufactured and sold throughout Hokkaido, especially in the southern and eastern regions. "Creyl" in the town of Kyowa became the first privately owned natural-cheese factory to be established in Japan, and recently in eastern Hokkaido there has been an increase in the number of small manufacturing factories dedicated to creating appealing products.
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Ham and Processed Food
Because of the abundant natural surroundings ideal for raising livestock such as pigs, chickens, cows, and so on, Hokkaido's dairy farming regions also produce delicious ham, sausage, bacon and the like. Free from baking powder, preservatives and monosodium glutamate, the real flavor of the meat is retained, and recently sausages have been produced using "whey pork" from pigs fed on the whey produced during the cheese making process, which improves the flavor of the pork's fat content.
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Genghis Khan
Genghis Khan is a dish made with lamb or mutton, and can be enjoyed in Hokkaido at specialist Genghis Khan restaurants, beer halls or as a standard homemade dish at camp barbeques and cherry blossom-viewing parties. Lamb is the meat of sheep less than one year old, while mutton refers to the meat of adult sheep at least two years old. The calorific and cholesterol content of lamb and mutton is less than that of beef or pork, and because it contains large amounts of the fat-burning substance carnitine, Genghis Khan is currently attracting attention nationwide as a dish for the diet conscious.
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Beef
Hokkaido produces approximately 80,000 tons of beef per year, which accounts for approximately 15% of Japan's total production, making it the nation's number one beef-producing region. Cows raised by grazing on pasture in Hokkaido's vast natural environment produce healthy meat, and according to a report compiled in March 2005 by the Japan Meat Information Service Center (Tokyo), which registers brand beef, of the 229 varieties of branded beef in Japan, 47 are from Hokkaido. Among these brands are the highly acclaimed Biratori and Shiraoi beef from the high-quality black-haired Japanese cattle, as well as Soya Black Beef from the country's largest-scale cattle farm, the Soya Misaki Beef Ranch.
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Japanese sake
Hokkaido is also one of Japan's best rice-producing areas, and has long-since been a thriving sake-brewing region. The Takasago Brewery (Asahikawa), Kita-no-Homare Brewery (Sapporo), Otokoyama Brewery (Asahikawa), Kobayashi Brewery (Kuriyama), Tanaka Brewery (Otaru), Kinteki Brewery (Shinshinotsu), Kunimare Brewery (Mashike), Usui Katsusaburo Brewery (Nemuro) and the like are all Hokkaido breweries that have continued to produce distinctive sakes since the Meiji era.
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Processed Seafood
In 2003, the top seafood catch in Hokkaido was scallops at 450,000 tons; Alaskan pollack was second, salmon third, Atka mackerel fourth and saury fifth. Seafood processing that utilizes such marine resources thrives in Hokkaido, with many processing plants located near the fishing ports. These plants produce various products that take advantage of the ingredients' natural flavors, and as souvenirs these products help support Hokkaido's fishing industry.
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Confectionery
The dairy and agricultural-product region of Hokkaido also produces a wide range of Japanese and Western-style confectionery from high-quality ingredients. The Tokachi region is Japan's number one adzuki bean producing region, and the headquarters of the famous confectioners Rokkatei and Ryugetsu are based in the city of Obihiro. In addition, since 2003 the city of Sunagawa has been attracting attention for its Sunagawa Sweet Road, on which a number of confectioners have opened shops as part of a town-planning project to revitalize the area. Typical Hokkaido confectionery such as white or handmade chocolate is extremely popular throughout Japan.
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Asahikawa Furniture
At the end of the Meiji era, many carpenters and cabinetmakers from Honshu relocated to Asahikawa, which developed into one of the most prominent furniture producing areas of Japan thanks to an abundance of timber and skilled craftsmen. By utilizing the timber distribution base and precise manufacturing processes using high-quality wood, furniture from the region became highly acclaimed in the Honshu market, and from the 1970s the brand name of "Asahikawa Furniture" established itself nationwide. In recent years, inroads have also been made into overseas markets. The International Furniture Design Fair Asahikawa, which is held every three years, is based around a design competition for high-quality furniture from around the world, and attracts attention from young designers from various countries.
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