I had a meal at Kururu no Mori, so I also stopped by the direct sales store. They sell pudding at the rural restaurant for 200 yen. The pudding is a dark brown color, not bright yellow, and it's sweet with caramel that isn't too bitter. They also sell vegetables, fruits, rice, and more. They have bento boxes and side dishes available as well. My companion bought pudding from Eikou Farm. Thank you for the meal.

[Takeout] This is a direct sales store for agricultural and livestock products located on the premises of Kururu no Mori operated by Hokuren Shop. The store is located along a prefectural road connecting the Oomagari and JR station areas in Kitahiroshima City. On my first visit at 12:30 on July 21, it was completely different from what I had imagined. In addition to vegetables, they also sell fresh meat, alcohol, cheese, and various retort products - it's like a supermarket. It was quite crowded, so even though I was wearing a mask, I quickly did my shopping and headed home. I only bought beets and radishes, and as usual, I ate the radishes raw and the beets boiled as sweet vinegar pickles. The vegetables are of good quality and fresh, and the prices are reasonable. It may require some effort to get here from Shin-Sapporo, but I'm not sure how far it is, but I really liked this place. ♬

As soon as people from outside Hokkaido see the "Hokkaido Fair," they immediately flock to the products. If the Hokkaido Fair were held all the time... I originally came here to visit the forest cafe, but it had closed for the season on 10/25. What a shame. Instead, I visited this place... and it was fantastic. Cheese, milk, meat, vegetables... everything as far as the eye can see is from Hokkaido! Is this paradise? I love eating locally sourced foods, so I am thrilled. I purchased drinkable yogurt, Korochi cheese, Kitakari croquette, pumpkin mochi, amazake, pudding, and hittsumabushi of saury. The pudding itself is not too sweet, but the caramel sauce is, and mixing them together was delicious. The pudding itself is not overly sugary, relying on milk and eggs. I like it. The drinkable yogurt is incredibly creamy with a strong milk flavor! It feels like you're just eating yogurt. This is truly Hokkaido! Thank you for the meal. I want to recommend the Hokkaido Fair to all my friends who love Hokkaido Fair and food enthusiasts!

I came here to buy meat for New Year's. It's Shiraoi beef. 500 grams for shabu-shabu costs 4000 yen. It's a brand beef, yet it's priced at this level. What surprised me is that they are selling Shiraoi beef tendons at a bargain price. Meat feels quite cheap in Hokkaido. Even domestically produced fillet meat is surprisingly cheap. I used to buy fillet steak at Costco, but if domestic ones are priced like this, I will buy it here. There are plenty of Hokkaido-produced items here, and I love it here.

Hokkaido's top-ranked town for people wanting to move, Kitahiroshima City, seems to be gaining even more momentum with the addition of the Nippon-Ham Fighters baseball team. The new town development centered around the stadium is set to greatly change Kitahiroshima's future and have various influences on Japan's sports world. When I visited Kururu the other day, I also stopped by the local produce market. Inside the store, alongside the locals, many drive-in customers were choosing fresh vegetables. There were many products that are not typically found in regular supermarkets, and the high-quality selection got me excited. However, my wife, seeing this, said, "You don't need to buy such nice things," and did not give permission to shop, so I ended up buying discounted bread close to the expiration date. We just nibbled on it in the car. The bread with plenty of nuts was packed with flavor and had a great texture! We ate it eagerly, fighting over it with the kids. Next time, I want to have the kids experience farming activities.

The difference between the plain and garlic chive dumplings in the style of Ho'ei was almost negligible, both being chewy.

I visited during Golden Week. I bought a yakitori rice bowl because I was a little hungry. It wasn't too crowded, so it was nice and relaxing.

July 2018. Day 3 of my trip in Hokkaido. On the way from Obihiro to Sapporo, I stopped by "Kururu no Mori" in Kitahiroshima City. It seems to consist of a farm produce direct sales store, a rural restaurant, Mori Cafe, farming activities, and cooking experiences. First, I visited the farm produce direct sales store. They had fresh farm produce and processed goods from various regions in Hokkaido. I bought Anastasia (fruit pepper) for 150 yen, Furu Furu no Mi (Hokkaido mini tomatoes) for 180 yen, and Yotsuba's buttermilk pancake mix for 540 yen. I brought them back home. Anastasia: It's a black pepper with a vibrant color, but inside it's white, kind of like an eggplant. When I tried it, it was sweet. It had the highest sweetness level among all the peppers I've tried before. (It seems to be rich in polyphenols too.) Furu Furu no Mi: At first glance, it doesn't really look like a tomato, but when I tasted it, it was sweet! Personally, I prefer tomatoes with a bit of acidity, but as a fruit, it was very delicious. I recommend eating both Anastasia and Furu Furu no Mi as they are. Eating these vegetables might help reduce children's aversion to them. I also made pancakes with the buttermilk pancake mix. (Please ignore the appearance, it's not the best looking haha) Despite the look, even an amateur like me was able to bake moist and fluffy pancakes, and they were delicious. Thank you for the meal!

I stopped by here on my way back from Mitsui Outlet. This time, I purchased ●arabiki wieners● and skin-on potato fries (Inca's Awakening). The arabiki wieners were boiled and had a crispy and juicy texture with a rich meaty flavor. The price was around 300 yen. There were also larger ones available. The skin-on potato fries are cut into large pieces and come in a 1kg pack. Inca's Awakening are yellow potatoes similar to sweet potatoes or chestnuts, with a sweet taste. They are sweeter than regular potatoes, almost like a dessert. There are plenty in the pack, so they will last a while. I would like to purchase the skin-on potato fries (Inca's Awakening) again.

Kururu no Mori is always bustling in April 2016. The fresh vegetables are very attractive and they have a wide variety of specialty products. This time, I purchased two cooking breads from the bakery An Yuitt in Kitahiroshima City, as well as sweet potatoes, and vegetables. They asked if I wanted to put sauce on the sweet potatoes, but I chose not to. The bread was delicious, especially the vegetable curry bread. It had a sweet curry sauce on a pie crust, topped with broccoli, cherry tomatoes, and eggplant. The Stick Senor bread was also tasty, with a salty boiled taste and olive oil coating. It had a broccoli-like flavor with a hint of bitterness, and a nice crunch. Even the stem was delicious and could be made into tempura. The sweet potato mochi was fried and had a chewy texture, but seemed to have absorbed quite a bit of oil. Thank you for the meal! ✿ฺ(๑´ڡ`๑)✿ฺ.

Located in Hokkaido, in the city of Kitahiroshima, there is a popular facility called "Food and Agriculture Interaction Farm" operated by Hokuren. It is a complex building where a vegetable direct sales store, a popular restaurant, cafe, and other facilities are gathered. It is situated in the outskirts away from the city center, surrounded by greenery, with a wooden building that resembles a red silo, giving it a very Hokkaido-like feel. I visited the "Kururu no Mori Agricultural Products Direct Sales Store" for the first time, and even on weekday mornings, it was very crowded! The store offers a variety of vegetables where you can see the faces of the producers, know the origin, and the shipping date, making shopping enjoyable. During this season, autumn flavors like sweet potatoes, pumpkins, and mushrooms are in harvest, and many people buy them in boxes. The variety of each type is abundant, with famous varieties like Kitakogane, Toya, and Danshaku, as well as new varieties evolved from Inca no Mezame, making it exciting to see. In addition to vegetables, there are also meat shops, a bread corner, side dish sales area, and bento sales area. The bread, made by "Handmade Bread Agri" from Hokkaido Welfare Association, uses Hokkaido wheat and is handmade without additives, offering safe bread. Since the weather was nice, I bought some side dishes and bread from the side dish sales area and decided to have lunch outside on the lawn. - 3-color bean bread: A bread with sweet potatoes, usuisu beans, and azuki beans. It uses "Yumechikara" Hokkaido wheat. The chewy texture of the dough is delicious. - Imomochi: Made from Hokkaido potatoes and starch made from Hokkaido potatoes, this "imomochi" is sold without sauce, but they will add a sweet and spicy sauce if requested. I love imomochi, it's delicious. They also sell bento boxes like pork bowl, pork onion bowl, Hokkaido vegetable soup curry, and croquette bento made with Yubari potatoes. Most items are around 500 yen each, making them affordable and they looked quite delicious. I would love to visit again if I'm near the area.

This place is a popular facility that gets congested on weekends and holidays. It gathers carefully selected vegetables and processed products from Hokkaido, so the variety is abundant. Unlike ordinary roadside stations, the vegetable displays are well organized and the quality is high but not expensive. Truly, it's from Hokuren. Behind the facility, you can see a deep primeval forest. Looking at it, the forest seems scary. Here, I purchased a chiffon cake from Le Calme in matcha and coffee flavors. They are made without any food ingredients or additives, and you can immediately taste the deliciousness and gentle flavors. I found the coffee flavor to be more delicious than the matcha flavor. I also bought three pastry buns made with Yumechakara wheat from Hokushimafukushikai Aguri-san. The carrot anpan (white bean paste) has carrots kneaded into the bread with white bean paste inside, highlighting the deliciousness of the white bean paste. This direct sales store also sells "side dishes." The ohagi (kinako and red bean paste) for 200 yen each has red bean paste inside. The sticky rice retains its grainy texture, is not hard, and the red bean paste is not too sweet, making it delicious. The price of 100 yen per piece seemed cheap to me. The croquette for 100 yen each comes in various types, but the Yotsuba-produced Kitakari croquette and the Yotsuba-produced Kitakari beef croquette for 100 yen each were delicious. The sweet potatoes are truly delicious. The beef croquette has beef filling inside. It is not mixed with sweet potatoes. I had it for dinner and wanted to come back to buy croquettes (^-^) (but I won't go back). And the curry and bento for 500 yen looked so cheap and delicious that I wanted to buy them here and eat them outside. I took pictures for reference and information for the next visit. This direct sales store, which is promoting Hokkaido extensively through commercials, is truly impressive!! I was told by a female staff member here to "please refrain from taking photos," so I won't upload them. Truly a group with a strong sense of privacy. I also complained to them. The vegetables on the curry I ate at the on-site cafe were raw and hard, which was terrible. ☆ The TPP agreement was put on hold on a southern island across the sea, but here at this direct sales store, there seems to be no sense of urgency from the government.

- 8/29 - Today, I had a construction meeting at a site in Higashi Ward starting from 1 pm. After the meeting, I thought about having lunch, but I had to navigate through narrow scaffolding in 5 different locations (*_*; It took over an hour and a half, and my legs were exhausted (/ _;) After the meeting, I was hungry, so I took a break and bought a meat bun and coffee at a nearby Lawson. That was my lunch for the day (laughs). For dinner, I requested natto rice. The natto that came out was "Kuro Senkoku Small Grain Natto" from Mamezou, which I bought at Kururu no Mori the other day. Mamezou is located about 5 minutes from my house, but their direct sales store is currently closed, so I always buy it at Kururu no Mori. I mixed it with the sauce, put it in a bowl, and mixed it again. I put two packs on the bowl (laughs) and dug in. Delicious! Even though I have a small appetite, I can easily finish a bowl of natto rice and grated yam rice (^o^)／ Satisfied! Satisfied ♪ Tomorrow, I will check the site conditions in the city center, so I wonder where I should have lunch (laughs). - 4/10 - Visit - I visited in the evening after checking the site in the afternoon (laughs). It was crowded in the evening (bitter smile). This is a direct sales store filled with the thoughts of Hokkaido's JA, producers, and local consumption, organized by the Hokuren Agricultural Cooperative Union. I have been using it frequently since it opened, but this time, I will review it for the first time. They handle fresh vegetables, fruits, rice, meat, eggs, as well as processed products from various regions in Hokkaido, dairy products, sake, etc. There is also a side dish corner made by the mothers of the direct sales store. I often buy various natto here, especially, I like the natto from Mamezou. Mamezou is located very close to my house, but it has hardly been open recently (bitter smile). I always buy "Tsurunoko Natto," which has large grains. This time, I also bought "Kuro Senkoku Small Grain Natto." After buying natto, I bought Sapporo yellow onion soup, perfect for me who loves onions, and walked around the store before heading to the cashier. Hmm! Why is there "mountain wasabi" in the basket? I wonder what happened? (?_?)

Eldest daughter said she wanted to go to "Mitsui Outlet Mall," so even though it was a weekday, we decided to go. We were hungry, so I searched on Tabelog for a place to eat. I really wanted to eat ramen, but when I saw "Kururu no Mori" on Tabelog, I immediately decided to go there. The restaurant opens at 11 am, so I wrote our names on the reservation paper and then stopped by the direct sales section. There were a variety of items at reasonable prices, so I ended up buying quite a few things, including thick burdock and thick chives. I accidentally bought three burdock roots for 150 yen, thinking it was a good deal. When my daughter pointed out that it was from a different town, I realized my mistake. I also bought some chives, which turned out to be a mix of chives and garlic plants from a local cooperative. Despite the mix-up, I had a fun time shopping at the direct sales section. I made cheese at home, which my daughter had actually put in the basket without me noticing. We also tried the chives and garlic mix, which was being sold by the local cooperative this year, and it was delicious. It was my first time trying fresh pasta at home, and it was chewy and tasty. Overall, it was a fun experience at the direct sales section, and I would definitely like to go back again.

◎Date of visit: May 2015 ◎Purpose: Purchase of vegetables and bread ◎Companion: My wife ◎Ordered items: Various types of bread and vegetables ◎Impressions: You can buy cheap and fresh agricultural products. They also sell bread from Hokuren Welfare Association. This facility is officially called "Hokuren Food and Agriculture Interaction Farm Kururu no Mori." It has a farm experience area, a restaurant, and a direct sales store, making it a great facility to visit. Today, we visited at the request of my wife. We have been coming here quite often since last year. This is my first review, but this direct sales store offers vegetables, rice, meat, and processed agricultural products at affordable prices. Just hearing the word "direct sales store" gets me excited. My wife bought a variety of items, while I only purchased bell peppers and cucumbers for my solo living starting the next day. I also bought bread from "Hokuren Welfare Association Aguri." I love bell peppers and cucumbers, so I made tempura with the bell peppers and a cucumber and seaweed salad with the cucumbers. The bread is a soft type with low fat content, perfect for breakfast. I enjoyed everything I bought, and next time, I plan to focus on buying leafy vegetables as they become more available in the season. ************************************ Kururu no Mori Agricultural Products Direct Sales Store 377-1 Oomagari, Kitahiroshima City, Hokkaido ************************************

Well, it's the 4th day of Golden Week. As the long weekend comes to an end, I decide to spend the day quietly around the house, in my usual holiday mode. However, I can't just sit still, so I decide to go check out some vegetable seedlings. Heading towards Eniwa once again, I encounter heavy traffic on Route 36. The continuous traffic jams over the past few days are starting to wear on me. Even the nearby national highway is congested, showing that Golden Week is still in full swing. With out-of-town license plates standing out, it seems like the rest of the world is still in the midst of a big move. Suddenly, I notice a sign on the side of the road and decide to change my plans to Eniwa and head to "Kururu no Mori" instead. It's a relatively close location, so I manage to leave the highway and make my way to "Kururu no Mori". This place is actually my first time visiting. I had heard of it before, but never had the chance to visit, and it's not easy to find a reason to visit here, even by chance. There is a vegetable market here, and they also sell gardening supplies, so I decide to settle here for the day. Upon arrival, I browse through the flowers and vegetable seedlings. It's still too early to plant the vegetable seedlings considering the temperature difference between day and night here, so I decide to just look around. Then, I enter the "Farm and Livestock Products Direct Sales Office", where my wife buys vegetables and "Daichi no Takumi" milk (298 yen including tax). Also, for today's snack, I get a "Pumpkin" (257 yen including tax) and "Vanilla" (227 yen including tax) chiffon cake. Now, the sun is shining brightly today. I feel like eating something cold. [Later tasting results] - "Pumpkin" and "Vanilla" Chiffon Cake: I'm not very familiar with this kind of thing, but the package says, "Egg Shop's Chiffon Cake, Eikou Farm". So, I learned how to make this chiffon cake here: [YouTube links provided]. The taste is satisfying, with a moist and fluffy texture. Personally, I liked the "Vanilla" flavor, but I felt that the "Pumpkin" could use a bit more pumpkin flavor. Eikou Farm also puts effort into their homemade soba. I haven't tried it yet, so I'll definitely try it soon. - "Daichi no Takumi" Milk: I still had some of that "Biei Milk" from yesterday, so I decided to do a taste comparison. The result was that "Daichi no Takumi" was better than "Biei Milk". Looks like I unintentionally carried out a public execution. Even with milk, it's... deep.

On the way back from the trip, I visited my favorite farm stand, Kururu no Mori. I suggested buying melons and watermelons for my partner, but they declined. I bought frozen croquettes, tomatoes, and vegetables that my daughters love. I also bought three different types of corn to compare and enjoy: Pure White, Megumi, and Gold Rush. Even though it seems like we should have bought four since there are four people in the family, the corn was delicious! Thank you for the meal~!

This is a farm direct sales store located in Kururu no Mori. I visited in the early afternoon on a weekday. I was very interested in the chicken bowl, but for now, I purchased the necessary eggs (400 yen). I paid in cash. It was delicious. Thank you for the meal.

I bought komatsuna, enoki mushrooms, potatoes, and brown rice. I made a salad with komatsuna and enoki mushrooms. I cooked the potatoes with meat. I also want to find new types of vegetables next time I go shopping.