お猿と狸
It's hard to imagine the location from the address of Hachiken in Nishi Ward, Sapporo. This might be super local trivia. Do you know where Hachiken Station is located? There is only one izakaya in front of Hachiken Station, and there is nothing else around, no major streets either, do you know that? So, it's a bit difficult to find this restaurant, right? It's located next to a school? Haha, who comes to such a place? It would be a shame if they went out of business after coming all the way here.
Oh? It's lunchtime on the weekend... Excuse me. It's almost full... There is one table available and we are being seated, but the elderly gentleman in charge of the hall asks if it's okay to take some time. We are in no hurry, so it's not a problem at all. I'll take my time looking at the menu. The old man has a habit of ordering a large serving with tenkasu. My partner, who rarely orders cold kitsune soba, seems to have chosen that. I took a book about the Russo-Japanese War from the bookshelf near the entrance and started reading about the outbreak of the war... Hey, Korea, you haven't properly taught this in history, have you? I somehow got carried away alone.
I was prepared to wait, so it's not a problem at all, but the hall owner is too cute! He must have worked as a salaryman and is now helping out after retirement... His flustered behavior is strangely heartwarming. If I were in the position to hire, I might get annoyed, but today I have the luxury of waiting patiently and leisurely observing his movements with a smile. I'm getting carried away by delving into the Russo-Japanese War.
We were served the soba for the old man and kitsune soba for my partner. The kitsune soba is... I see. It's a bukkake style, with soba instead of udon, and since it's a clean white sarashina soba, there's no visual discomfort from my point of view. My partner says it's delicious, and it seems like there's a lot of food... Is it okay? With a worried look, we started eating the soba. The clean white soba has a slightly soft texture and a good bite, just like its appearance, so it's delicious in its own way. The broth is a bit sweet and can handle a lot of dipping, so let's go!
Slurp! Slurp slurp! The soba is so short that you can slurp it in one bite, so I put it in my mouth with a slurp and gulp. It's good! It's delicious. The soba mountain for the old man is being conquered at a rapid pace. I added some tenkasu halfway through and enjoyed the sweetness. The tenkasu is pretty... They must be skilled at frying tempura, or maybe they make it neatly for the tenkasu? The amount of tenkasu is enjoyable, and it's almost like a raccoon situation, seeing the raccoon and fox... The soba-yu, which is almost transparent like the boiled water, is the same as the broth, so it was enough to finish with this type of soba.
Oh? The hall owner recommended complimentary coffee. I'll have plenty, thank you. The customers are changing rapidly, but there's no real line forming, and everything seems to be running smoothly, so I take a little break and relax. It's amazing that this place is so popular in a residential area like this. It's probably a manifestation of the long-standing service spirit and consistently delicious soba that they have been doing honest business. It must be a grateful place for the locals. Heartwarming, able to study history, and grateful for the delicious soba. Thank you for the meal!