ぱりそら
On the first day in Hokkaido, we stayed at Nest Hotel Sapporo Station. The room was a non-smoking room with breakfast included for under 7,500 yen for 2 people. The main reason we chose this hotel was definitely the breakfast! The highlight was the "Seafood Bowl (Katte-don)" where you could choose your favorite seafood toppings to your heart's content. The breakfast alone is said to be worth around 1,500 yen. The menu for the day included:
- Seafood Bowl Corner: Salmon, ikura (salmon roe), sweet shrimp, negitoro (minced tuna with green onions), tobiko (flying fish roe), hamachi (yellowtail)? You could pile your favorite ingredients on top of warm rice. The sashimi like salmon was slightly thin but flavorful, and the sweet shrimp was small but deliciously sweet and tender. I enjoyed a mini seafood bowl for my first serving and a parent-child bowl with salmon and ikura for my second serving.
- Japanese Cuisine Corner: Hokkaido kombu kelp, 3-color beans, salad konjac, natto (fermented soybeans), grilled salmon, hijiki seaweed, natto, thick rolled omelette, simmered vegetables, Matsumae pickles, white miso salad, chawanmushi (savory egg custard), and more. There were also warm dishes like miso soup (tonjiru?), and I think there was curry too. There were freshly fried tempura of mountain and sea delicacies, although they disappeared in an instant and I couldn't try them.
- Western Cuisine Corner: Wieners, scrambled eggs, Hokkaido onion croquettes, spicy chicken, and more.
- Salad, Dressing: Cabbage, cherry tomatoes, salami, block cheese, potato salad, etc. Various dressings like seaweed, Japanese-style non-oil, Caesar, and others were available.
- Drinks, Bread, Dessert: Cold drinks included oolong tea, apple, orange, grapefruit juices, tomato juice, vegetable juices, and more. There were also local-sounding "lactic acid bacteria drink Soft Katsugen" and even bottled Kurashima milk. Of course, there was coffee and tea too. There were only mini bread loaves and one other type, but having a toaster available was nice. There was also fruit granola, fruit punch, yogurt with various sauces, waffles with cream, coffee jelly in small cups, almond jelly, and more.
For tourists, there were some Hokkaido-style dishes available, and it was nice to be able to casually try the seafood bowl. I would definitely like to use this hotel again on my next trip to Hokkaido. Thank you for the meal!