Hanako-kun x Princess Cafe (プリンセスカフェ＆ショップ大阪新館) in Osaka

Although I had not yet read any of the manga or watched the anime, I went to the Jibaku Shonen Hanako-kun themed roll ice at the Roll Ice Cream Factory. After that, I also agreed to go to the Hanako-kun themed cafe in Osaka, so I made it a point to get into the manga just a bit so I can at least identify the characters before going. You know what, though? The art is pretty, the characters are cute, and the story is unique, so it’s worth the read.

The Princess Cafe is in Den Den Town (the Osaka version of Akihabara), so there are blocks full of anime and electronic shops nearby. Their collaboration menu is simple with only a few main dishes, four colorful drinks, and a few sweet treats.

I opted for the Tsukasa Omelette Rice Curry for 1300￥ ($12 USD) and the Strawberry Milk for 800￥.

My friends ordered the teishoku set, melon Calpis drinks, and jelly desserts. As with many other cafes, we were also given a coaster for each food item ordered as part of the theme.

The drinks came quickly and they were very cute with the printed edible characters atop each item. The food was simple, but well made and also undeniably cute. I suppose the same could be said about the desserts but I did not personally order one.

While I wouldn’t say this was the most elaborate cafe, especially compared to the Final Fantasy Eorzea Cafe, I’d say it was an enjoyable experience for Hanako-kun fans!

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

Ajino Sapporo Onishi (味の札幌 大西) in Aomori City, Aomori

Ajino Sapporo Onishi is arguably one of the most famous ramen restaurants in Aomori. Their most popular is a Miso Curry Milk Ramen for a very reasonable 830￥ ($7.50 USD). It seems unique enough to draw a crowd fairly late on a weekday evening, apparently even being featured on local TV. So I braved the hour-long line and tried it myself. Starving for a good meal, I ordered the large size for only 100￥ more.

Placed down in front of me was undoubtedly what I consider a “large.” The bowl, soup, and ramen portion was definitely great for the price. The smell of miso and curry was certainly distinct. But how was the taste?Amazingly, it was a nice and flavorful, yet medium-light broth with distinctly rich miso and the aftertaste of a creamy curry, giving it a uniquely smooth feel that I really enjoyed. The thick noodles complemented the ramen with soft flavors and textures all around.

However, I expected a clearer “milk” taste given the name, but it wasn’t quite as milky or creamy as I hoped. Once the butter melted into the ramen, the butter taste was all but swallowed up by the curry and miso. I think if it had one more slice of butter, I think it would have been perfect.

They certainly earned their popularity with this uniquely delicious ramen at a great price. If you’re ever up in Aomori eating their famous apples, check out this famous local establishment, too.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

Menya Teru-no-Suke (麵屋 輝之介) in Fukui City, Fukui

While I don’t live near Fukui City, I go there often enough to try many of their ramen shops and sometimes, I am quite surprised. Spoiler alert: Teru-no-Suke Ramen is one such restaurant that I really enjoyed recently. For us single diners, they have a few “single booths” that are comfortable, wide, and offer a nice view of the street. Overall, the decor seemed quite clean and modern, leading to a good first impression.

Their menu had six total variations: Black, Red, White, Chinese-style, and Black and White varieties of Tsukemen “dipping-style” ramen. Their Black is what they recommended, so as my first time, I always try to go for the shop favorite. At 850￥ for the regular and 1000￥ ($9 USD) for the large, the bigger size was my choice this time, along with an unusual curry rice side for 190￥ more. Their Black is so named because of the charred garlic oil-based broth, combined with tonkotsu. This should give it a creamy savoriness from the pork bone soup with a salty, rich, and deep garlic taste.

And that it did. I was actually surprised at the strong, flavorful broth, with the black part of the soup the oil and the remainder tonkotsu. A quick taste of the black only revealed an incredibly savory, garlicky, and slight bitter flavor. Mixed together and the broth was sublime, a bit on the heavy and oily side, but amazingly delicious.

The rest of the dish was also amazing, as the plentiful, thick, and soft noodles soaked up and carried all the broth flavor. The bamboo shoots were firm, but soaked in a bit of flavor. The chashu was also quite flavorful and would be worth ordering an additional topping of it next time.

The only minor downside was the egg which was salty and tasty, but a bit overdone.

And lest I forget, the unusual (for a ramen restaurant) curry and rice side dish. While small, at only 190￥ it was well worth the price, as it was chunky, slightly spicy, and quite good to complement the richness of the ramen. Though it is slightly sweet so it’s similar to what you may have eaten at other Japanese curry restaurants.

As you can see, I quite loved their ramen and I will definitely leave it on my list to try again in the future.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

Hōheikyō Hot Spring (豊平峡温泉) ONSEN Restaurant (ONSEN食堂) in Sapporo, Hokkaido

The Hoheikyo Hot Springs are amazing. The huge outdoor area has plenty of space and nice, sulfur-y hot water at a perfect temperature. I just wished there was a sauna area too, but overall it was a great, relaxing experience.

However, you didn’t come to read about the onsen, did you? Half the reason I went there was because of a recommendation to check out the attached Indian restaurant! In fact, it seemed pretty popular online and at the time, with quite a few customers waiting. For a place literally in the boonies, it was surprising.

They have a huge plastic food display so I can browse the options. I chose the Chicken Masala Curry at a hot spice level for 980￥ ($9 USD) which comes with a regular naan along with a Cheese Naan for 480￥. I really struggled at that latter choice, though… it was between cheese and the local ? berry. At that moment, cheese won over.

Now, I’m pretty familiar with Indian / Nepalese Curry Restaurants in Japan, as I have two within a few minutes from my house and I have visited some dozen or so around the country. I’m not an expert nor am I very knowledgeable, but I think I can say I safely know how it should taste.

That being said, I was pretty disappointed with this place. The curry lacked the depth and spicy flavors of true Indian curry, as it felt it was heavily adjusted for “Japanese” tastes, moreso than other similar shops. I liked the chicken though, oddly enough, the predominate note reminded me of tomato-sauce. I was even imagining it was made from pre-made curry packages with some tomato soup mixed in… not at all Indian.

To add insult to injury, the pricey cheese naan had little cheese and no hints of spices as found in most other places and the regular naan was actually… lukewarm. If the regular naan had additional free servings, it might have been acceptable.

Perhaps it’s unfair for me to say, but I cannot recommend this place due to many of the other better shops like Spice Town in Tsuruga. (Not to say they are “the best,” but comparatively speaking, they are better.) ONSEN Restaurant might be considered good for Hokkaido, but not for Hokuriku.

It was also a mistake to eat after my onsen because of the lingering curry smell, but it was still worth the relaxing trip down to the outskirts of Sapporo.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

Aji no Daio (味の大王) in Tomakomai, Hokkaido

Curry soup is a food famous in Hokkaido, but Aji no Daio also offers a curry ramen version. Although I know it is not the typical curry soup I really wanted to try, my trip to Hokkaido was meant to be a ramen one, so when I was doing a bit of food research, I came across this chain around Hokkaido. And I just happened to be driving by the honten main store in Tomakomai, Hokkaido!

As expected, there was a line even though it wasn’t the peak lunch hour. Their menu has a few options and a few toppings, but I came here for their speciality. What goes great with curry? Cheese! I ordered one of their popular options, a Cheese Curry Ramen for 950￥ ($9 USD). After placing the order, I got a numbered ticket and took a seat. Around 7 or so minutes later, they called my number.

The smell of the curry was quite evident and the cheese looked absolutely mouth-watering. While it definitely is not the most beautiful of dishes as curry tends not to be, I couldn’t wait to dig in. The noodles were soft and the portion very reasonable, every ramen bite carrying the curry flavor. The curry broth itself was not simply just “watered down” curry, as it had plenty of meaty, rich taste. Since the soup was so strong, the cheese was simply not necessary and couldn’t really be distinguished. The chashu, too, was lovely and soft, but I wanted more.

Unless you’re a huge curry lover, though, I found myself halfway through the ramen wanting to cut the taste with some rice or some veggies to lighten it up. Still, it was worth having if you’re in town.

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.