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Japan's northernmost and second-largest island of Hokkaido has a character that sets it apart from the rest of the country. The wide-open spaces of sparsely populated Hokkaido are home to some of the country's grandest national parks, with their soaring mountains, deep forests, rocky gorges and sapphire lakes.
One great urban exception to this picture of nature in Hokkaido does exist, however, and that is found in the shape of Sapporo. With a population of almost 2 million, Hokkaido's capital is a breezy, lively, friendly city, which, despite its size, somehow manages to retain the atmosphere of the frontier town it was just a little over a century ago.
As most visitors to the city know, Sapporo is the perfect place to enjoy the food for which Hokkaido has quite some renown, the seafood in particular being an outstanding treat. The cold waters around Hokkaido are rich in crustaceans, notable among which are king crabs, horse-hair crabs and botan shrimps, which when fresh are often best enjoyed simply boiled. The surrounding seas also abound in fish, and in this northern area the roe is a prized delicacy, especially that of cod and salmon.
For a fine accompaniment to the excellent seafood, it would be hard to find a better beverage than a clean-tasting sake, and here the brew of choice is Chitosetsuru. This line of sake is made by Nippon Seishu Brewery, which has been producing quality sake since 1872 and is the only sake maker in Sapporo. Within the Chitosetsuru series, the two names to watch for are prestigious Kissho and Setsugen no Mai. Appropriate for the far northern island where they are brewed, Kissho and Setsugen no Mai both have a crisp, dry flavor -- an intriguing, exciting character that once experienced is not easily forgotten. |
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