Travel Food Japan
Recently returned from our yearly snowboarding trip to Japan, I’ve found myself in withdrawals from the delicious ramen and tasty treats Japan has to offer 😭. Here’s a run down of some must haves if you are ever in Hakuba for the winter.
Marutama Ramen & Bar - The best spicy pork Ramen you’ll ever have! Squishing into this tiny ramen bar (especially us westerners haha) is all kinds of worth it. Everyone we take there says its some of the best ramen and Gyoza they have ever had. Bring a sweat towel cause when you get the spicy ramen - YOU GET THE SPICY RAMEN!
Just outside Marutama they have a Gyoza vending machine… Yes you heard that right - GYOZA VENDING MACHINE! Japan is famous for having vending machines for pretty much anything you can think of, so when your feeling a bit peckish your always able to find something to snack on.
Koubo-Nikki Bakery - I’m a plain-Jane kinda guy and loooove me some well made sour dough bread. I’ve come back to Koubo-Nikki so much over the years that the owner now knows my face when I come in to get my fix. Her bread is 10/10 and she always uses the most interesting and delicious accent ingredients in here sour dough inventions! Orange & cashew, blue cheese walnut, cheddar cheese, chocolate and figs to name a few.
Mon Pigeon - Now when you are craving the sweets, Mon Pigeon is the place to go! Walking inside what feels like a witches gingerbread house, you’ll find a french trained Japanese old lady and her 2 overweight golden retrievers baking the most delicious cakes and treats. I would rush there quick because she is retiring at the end of this year 🥲 and we will dearly miss her next time we visit. (lemon meringue tart is my favourite)
7 ELEVEn - If you’ve ever been to Japan on a winter holiday, you know the feeling when you find yourself just wanting some real fruit. 7 ELEVEn thank you so much! In each 7 ELEVEn now they have these smoothy cups of frozen fresh fruit that you grab from the freezer and put in the blending machine on the counter and it makes your smoothy there and then! The strawberry was my favorite and we found ourselves grabbing one every morning on the way to the mountain.
Convenient Store Beers - Along with the spicy fried chicken, pancakes and rice balls I love from 7 ELEVEn and Lawsons, another quirk is the Japanese beers you can buy there. I’m not a drinker but this shot I had to get as its so foreign to see beer like this just chilling in a convenience store. (yes I turned them all straight for the photo😅)
Our boarding trips to Japan are always a highlight of the year. Be sure to check out my Travel Portfolio for more of my travels.
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