Tasting Hokkaido’s Secret Food Scene & Exploring Japan’s Snow Capital | DIRT Japan: Hokkaido

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In our final episode in Japan, the DIRT team went road-tripping through beautiful, snowy Japanese landscapes—and tasting everything in sight. A crown jewel in the northeast corner of Japan, Hokkaido may be famous among skiers and snowboarders for the luscious “Japow,” but way beyond the tourist trail there’s a burgeoning new food scene and a unique and vibrant history. Though, if we’re honest, Josh probably could’ve spent the whole trip carving up the mountain and been a happy camper.

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#adventure #food #japan #snowboarding #travel #culture

– Hot coffee.
Hot coffee, cigarettes,
ice cream.
(upbeat music)
Here I am as a kid.
Now I’m a washed up pro snowboarder,
dad and curious food nerd,
hell bent on new adventures.
I’m Josh Rosen.
Food and adventure
have led me to some of the
most interesting places.
So we’re off
on a mission to source
the freshest ingredients,
all while taking it in through
the lens of the locals.
And each adventure ends with a feast.
This is "Dirt."
For thousands of years,
only the native Ainu
people were tough enough
to hunt and fish this rugged land.
(upbeat ambient music)
Modern civilization eventually
made its way up from mainland Japan,
and western influences
weren’t too far behind.
The people here are wild and resilient,
the seafood is some of
the best in the world,
and the snow just keeps falling.
Welcome to the island
of Hokkaido.
(Josh chuckles)
Hokkaido is the island
furthest north in Japan,
and we’re hitting the ground
running in its largest city,
Sapporo, the city of snow,
averaging 20 feet of snowfall a year,
more than any other
major metropolitan city.
And now we find ourselves
deep inside the tunnels
of a subway station,
looking for a tucked
away little restaurant
along with my old friend, Rip Zinger.
– Man, it’s Hokkaido, sick.
– If you could have anyone
guiding a trip in Hokkaido,
it’s Rip.
He grew up skating in Tokyo
and has traveled around the world
sharing his love for
adventure and wholesome food.
– That fun.
(machine thumping)
– Tonight we are feasting with
a buddy of Rips, chef Kenji.
And he’s starting us off
with shotgun shell oysters.
Ooh, okay.
Kenji’s mission for this dinner
is to give us a crash
course in Hokkaido cuisine.
First dish, Shirako.
Translate that to English, cod sperm.
Lucky for us, it’s in
season and plentiful.
– [Everyone] Hmm.
– Oysters, wheat,
and dairy are famous on this island.
This dish, combining all
three is Kenji’s specialty.
One bite or two?
– One bite.
– Next, a simple dish
eaten by the indigenous Ainu people.
Kenji’s grandma’s secret
fried chicken recipe.
And yes, more plump local oysters.
(chef speaking in foreign language)
This is a lump sucker fish.
And now we are going to preserve
its eggs, Hokkaido style.
(upbeat music)
First, remove the eggs,
add konbu and Kagoshima soy sauce,
a touch of rice wine, and
it’s ready to be jarred up.
(upbeat music)
And lastly, a final soup
made from the leftovers
of the lump sucker fish.
In Japan, the word
"Mottainai" is a philosophy
centered around respecting
resources and their value.
Nothing is wasted in this kitchen.
(people laughing)
Thank you Kenji for this crash
course in Hokkaido flavors.
Thank you so much.
(man speaks Japanese)
Oh, amazing.
(upbeat ambient music)
I’m in my happy place,
a landscape covered in fresh snow.
– Cheese.
– [Speaker] Road trip.
Road trip.
– Snacks have been acquired
and so begins our search
for some of Hokkaido’s best ingredients.
We’re heading west
where farmland is surrounded
by tree covered mountains
and the ocean is never too far away.
Ah, sweet, sweet island life.
You may be asking yourself
why we’re at a farm in
the middle of winter?
Well, four feet of snow
isn’t stopping this couple.
Under this thick blanket of
snow are crispy green cabbages
that they grew this summer.
Coming in.
And the Yamashita’s reason
for leaving them in the snow
all winter is quite practical.
(woman speaking Japanese).
And you know what’s really neat?
When buried in the snow,
the cabbages convert
their starches into sugars
to prevent their cells from freezing,
a defense mechanism
that makes them crispier
and sweeter than ever.
I would eat that all the time.
Farmers all over Hokkaido
have been burying vegetables
under the snow for centuries.
A simple example of how locals here
have turned hardships into opportunity,
and in this case, sweet,
crispy fruit-like cabbage.
Thank you.
And off we go.
(water gushing)
The ocean is very much alive up here.
(upbeat ambient music)
It’s pretty cool to imagine
that these winds are coming
all the way down from Siberia,
then crossing over the sea of Japan,
pushing swell right into
us here in Hokkaido.
I mean, the waves look terrible,
but Kate said after we got
our first ingredient today
that I could get some surf time in.
Oh, it’s a train.
(people laughing)
So Insane.
(upbeat music)
One mushy wave when it’s 31 degrees out,
current ripping towards
the seawall of death,
we’ll count it.
Surfing in those types of conditions
makes you a certain kind of hungry,
and I heard about a secret spot.
This guy doesn’t want you to know his name
or where his sushi restaurant is,
so we’re not gonna tell you.
It probably has to do with the fact
that the sushi counter
only has eight seats
and serve some of the most
incredible sushi on the planet.
So who does my guy’s hair?
Woo-hee.
Hokkaido’s freezing ocean
makes this fish extra fatty.
And as we know, fatty fish
makes for delicious sushi.
Thank you for having us.
Well, a few things are for certain,
cold water keeps the lineup empty,
and the sushi insanely fresh.
I’m a 45-year-old froth monster child.
Face pressed to the window,
snowboards in the back.
If I see a hillside, I’m
gonna ask if we can stop.
Does this count?
(upbeat music)
Sorry guys, we can keep driving now.
Wait, is that a ski resort over yonder?
It’s gotta be. Might even be better.
We’ll come back to that shortly.
(upbeat ambient music)
A quick backstory on the
ski industry in Japan.
First, Hokkaido held the
1972 Winter Olympics,
a financial boom in the 80s
and Japan became obsessed.
Almost overnight, 700 ski
resorts opened up around Japan.
But when the bubble popped in the 90s,
nearly 250 of these
resorts closed for good.
But Iwanani Resort, despite
all the abandoned lifts,
has managed to stay alive.
And the new owners has
taken a different approach
to running this local ski hill.
And that gives us a lot to party about
because the only way to
access this resort now
is by a handful of snowcats,
which pretty much means
no people anywhere.
(upbeat music)
– Oh what?
(upbeat music)
– [Group] Bye.
– Since the first time that I met Rip,
he’s been making sure that we are fed
and fed really amazing food.
– Eat Ride Rad is my philosophy.
I want to represent a good eating
for the people who skates and surf,
and play in the mountain snowboarders.
So eat rad, ride rad.
– [Josh] Gotta eat rad to ride rad.
There’s no doubt about it.
I feel like that aligns
with the ethos of this show quite well.
(upbeat music)
Low-angle Japow at an empty ski resort,
fun for the whole family.
(upbeat music)
We were told not to be late
to our dinner at the Ryokan.
Maybe it’s because the seafood
was trying to walk itself off of the plate
before we got there.
In Japan, there is a
concept called, omotenashi.
It literally means to
wholeheartedly look after guests.
This mindset of hospitality
centering around care
rather than expectation
is a window into the culture here,
we’re experiencing this firsthand.
(tranquil ambient music)
That’s Mount Yotei, a volcano in the sky,
one of the focal points
in the Niseko Valley.
80,000 tons of mineral rich spring water
flows down this mountain daily.
(upbeat ambient music)
And you know these resourceful locals
aren’t passing up the
opportunity to fill up.
We sure aren’t going to
pass up some of the world’s
best spring water for our final feast.
And neither is Mr. Akiyama,
whose business is right next
to this public fountain.
(water gushing)
For thousands of years,
people have been thinking
of creative ways to eat soybeans,
and this is one of them.
Tofu fresh off the press.
(man speaking Japanese).
Local soybeans are soaked
in the mineral rich water,
then grinded up and separate
it from the soy milk.
(upbeat music)
The soy milk is simmered
just like how cheese is made.
A salt mixture called nigari
and cold spring water is
added to coagulate the milk,
then curds begin to form.
Meanwhile, the leftover soybean husks
are sent to local farms for compost.
The curds are then pressed into mold,
soaked again in cold
spring water and packed.
This tofu is all sold locally
and a handful of varieties are available.
And a mochi ball treat
just before we leave.
Tasty.
Next stop, another producer
who utilizes the magical
spring water from Mount Yotei
old school family run,
fat cats everywhere.
Mr. Mizogushi’s family
has been brewing sake
with spring water and
melted snow since 1916.
– Ice, ice, and then smells and taste.
(man speaking Japanese).
– Hmm.
(man laughing)
Wow.
– Oh.
– It’s alive.
Local rice is used
along with water from different
springs all over Hokkaido.
Each one has a unique
mineral quality and flavor.
And what is Mr. Mizogushi’s
preferred sake you ask?
Well.
(man speaking Japanese)
(people laughing)
– Oh.
– Throw the sake when
they clean the machines.
So this is the whole leftover.
– This is bottom of the barrel.
– Bottom of the barrel.
– Mix of everything.
– Mix everything.
– Whew, it’s a beauty.
– And he loves it.
– Nice.
And nothing like some spicy miso ramen
served by a cute little robot
to round out our beautiful
first day in Niseko.
Beep-beep, boop-boop,
little guy, can you bring me some soup?
(car speeding)
(upbeat ambient music)
(people laughing)
(people cheering)
This slope side guiding up
makes it their mission to track
down the best snow around.
The light and fluff.
Face shots for everyone.
The drop of echinacea roof
from my travel doctor,
and we’re ready to head out
with Mako and Omu for the day.
And up the mountain we go,
on a search for what people travel here
from all over the world for.
Remember those cold
Siberian winds from earlier?
And the sea of Japan?
Well, when those cold winds
meet the warmer currents,
steam is formed and sucked into the sky
forming dense clouds.
And the first thing those
clouds hit are these mountains
creating near daily storms
of some of the driest and
lightest snow known to man.
(upbeat ambient music)
Basically, Niseko is
the motherland of power,
and these guys took us right to the spot.
(upbeat music)
– That was good.
But, I want to know maybe.
(upbeat music)
– We made it.
(people cheering)
(Josh laughing)
Japanese snowboarding is another example
of this culture’s connection to nature.
These guys ride with the
snow, not against it.
One with the mountain,
that’s the vibe, right?
The magic isn’t only in the
snow, it’s in the forest.
Unlike the evergreens in
the Pacific Northwest,
these birch trees allow
for a longer line of sight
and less branches in the face.
(upbeat music)
The best part about tomahawking
down a mountain here
are the on slope rehabilitation centers.
Yep, that building right there.
(footsteps crunching)
(upbeat ambient music)
That’s okay.
Par for the course.
(people laughing)
(woman speaking Japanese)
A quick soak in these sulfur rich baths
is just what the doctor ordered.
The water here is a gift,
from the mineral springs
to the boiling own scent,
to the Siberian powder snow.
(indistinct speaking)
(people laughing)
Even Sapporo Classic beer
is made from the local spring water.
Classic Sapporo.
– Yes.
– Classic, all time, best day, best life.
Bye-bye.
– Bye-bye.
– Ooh.
– Bye-bye.
– [Josh] If we tally up the things
we’ve learned on this trip so far,
it’s that the ocean provides,
the water and snow are perfect
and that 7-Eleven is always open.
– And a convenience store
is just a piece of (beep),
but if you asking me which snack to get,
Jagariko is the (beep).
Once you step into Japan,
there’s two things you have to eat,
one is pino.
Dried potato, this is hoshi-imo.
This is the best thing.
Dried persimmons.
And (indistinct).
Of course, when your kids is crying
and they’re screaming around, just boom,
run to the 7-Eleven buy this eclair,
and then this world’s gonna, all good.
– Chocolate eclair secured,
this world is going to be all good.
You rarely drive over mountains in Japan,
instead, you drive through
them, lots of them.
Hold your breath.
Out of the mountains,
leaving the tourist trail,
trading in snow for ice.
Kushiro is a large industrial port city,
think coal, paper mills and fishing boats.
But at its heart is a warm fire.
Downtown, there are now over
a hundred robatayaki restaurants.
Based off of the old
communal coal-fired hearths
used by Japanese fishermen in the past,
and Grandma Nakajima
carries on her aunt’s robata
in the same location
it was opened in 1953,
and some believe that this is
the first robata ever opened.
There’s nothing
like sitting around a
hot fire and eating food.
(upbeat music)
With ice like this,
you better believe this city
has two Olympic speed skating medalists.
And a pretty competitive
co-ed hockey league.
(upbeat music)
Do my roller skating skills
translate here to speed skating?
Let’s find out.
This is way harder than it looks.
Apollo Ono, hats off to you, brother.
Okay, now it’s time
for a late night snack.
Tiny restaurants are all
over this part of town.
Choose wisely.
Nope, not that one.
(upbeat music)
This 10-seater claims
to have invented Zangi,
fried chicken, Hokkaido soul food.
The chicken is marinated in
soy sauce and spice first,
different than karaage, better.
(cart whirring)
Bright and early,
it’s a brisk two degrees out,
but the hunt for ingredients
must never stop, ever.
(man speaking Japanese)
And we’re here to harvest
Japan’s favorite fungi,
which is a fundamental element of umami.
(man speaking in foreign language)
(bell tolling)
(car speeding)
We are in a small town built
on oysters and whiskey,
and we are with the king of oysters.
That’s actually his name,
Oyster King, true story.
(man speaking Japanese)
Wow.
4000 years.
So the heritage is richer than Jesus.
(somber music)
Woo, beautiful.
Ah, so cold, it’s like.
(man chuckles)
Hmm.
(people laughing)
(somber music)
We open oysters from the
other direction here.
And the oyster flip is common.
Sake oysters is also
my new favorite combo.
And now is the time
that we start to get weird on these trips.
Hey, look who showed up.
Kenji found his love for
oysters through (indistinct).
And this afternoon we’re
warming up together
and feasting with a good crew.
(birds chirping)
(somber music)
(indistinct)
It’s quieter on this side of the island.
Not gonna lie, it’s pretty nice.
(cup hitting)
Thanks for the oysters and a great time.
(upbeat ambient music)
We’re officially beyond the
wall, but no white walkers here.
There isn’t much of anything actually.
Just point break after
empty snowy point break.
(somber music)
We’re on the far eastern side of Hokkaido,
and we’ve reached the end.
We’ve been to some version
of this in every episode,
this one really feels like the end.
(thunder rumbling)
That might even be Russia
over there.
Around the bend is our final stop, Rausu,
which in Ainu means
where the men have spirits of beasts.
Kate is concerned.
This is Kazumi Ishida,
the unofficial mayor of Rausu
and the head of the local fishing fleet.
He’s the guy who will be
catching our final ingredient
and hosting the final dinner.
He’s also caught most of the
fish we are sharing tonight.
And at two in the morning,
the captain will board
his 10-man fishing boat
for a 12 hour shift in
the dark, out at sea,
just like he does six days
a week, 52 weeks a year.
(upbeat ambient music)
In the meantime, we’ll stay busy
until the fishing boats
come back with their catch.
I feel like we all deserve
an onsen at this point.
Wow, did I just manifest that?
(upbeat music)
We’ll take in some of the sites
and grab another ingredient.
Every summer, many of the fishermen
take time off of catching
fish and turn their focus
to hand harvest this local hearty kelp,
a delicacy known as kombu.
– Hey, Josh, nice to meet you.
– It’s not being harvested now,
but we have been given access
to the secret curing room
by the Willy Wonka of Konbu.
(man speaking Japanese).
Hmm.
This ingredient is so important
to the flavor of Japan,
and the quality of it here is
a sign of a healthy ecosystem
and even a reflection of the
care this community takes
for its culture and natural resources.
Well, that was fun.
Now back to the docs.
So we’re just watching
the unloading process,
these guys have been out
since two in the morning.
They’ve done about three
truckloads of these fish.
There’s lots of different variety of fish,
mostly cod it seems.
But the process is incredible,
just using all of these boxes
and moving around super quickly
to manage all of their catch through
and into the weighing area.
It’s like a ballet,
it’s like an orchestra,
everything is timed perfectly.
Every day of the week, the
fish are immediately sorted,
weighed, and auctioned off
at local restaurants and factories,
and still using pen and
paper, not so different
from how they’ve been auctioning
the fish for centuries.
And here is our beautiful salmon.
Oh, wait and a bonus
ingredient, cod sperm,
so, so much cod sperm.
(lighthearted music)
We did it,
we’ve gathered enough
ingredients from a frozen world
to pull off a feast,
harvesting from above and
below the feet of snow,
sourcing from volcanic
springs and icy oceans,
and of course, our beloved 7-Eleven.
For today’s meal,
we are keeping it cozy
at the Ishida residence,
and it already smells delicious.
Also, don’t mind me as
I build a jump out back.
(upbeat music)
(people laughing)
Finally, somebody
appreciates my snowboarding.
(people laughing)
We are really beginning to feel at home
in this house on the
opposite side of the world.
This final dinner is a reminder
of the unmatched hospitality
that we’ve been met with
at each stop along our trip.
(woman speaking Japanese)
The people we’ve met have been rugged,
yet kind, hardworking, and fun.
(people laughing)
Yeah.
And damn, the food has
been absolutely next level.
That is amazing.
(upbeat music)
– Okay.
– [Josh] Japanese use the
term (speaking Japanese)
as a way to show gratitude and respect
for everyone and everything
that existed to create
the meal in front of them.
So as we’re surrounded by new friends
and amazing food produced by the people
and places we’ve experienced on this trip,
I say (speaking Japanese).
We’re humbled and honored by all of you.
(glasses clinking)
Thank you Hokkaido.
All right, I guess that’s a wrap.
Oh wait, wait, one final tip,
always help with the dishes.
(upbeat music)