Tag Archives: Hokkaido

My Food Journal Drawings from Japan!

Food, Mini Sabbaticlas, ,

I just got back from my Japan trip on Friday, and it was awesome ❤

I doodled while I waited for my flight to Japan :D
I doodled while I waited for my flight to Japan 😀

In this visit, I didn’t actually go home. Instead, I visited my parents in Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan, where they spent the summer this year.

my parents by the Lake Mashu. It was the most beautiful and peaceful lake I've ever seen!
my parents by the Lake Mashu. It was the most beautiful and peaceful lake I’d ever seen!

Hokkaido is so big and spacious!

They have a huge commercial agriculture and farming industry up there. I felt like I was in Montana or somewhere in the midwest half the time 😀

This was a typical view while we drove around.
This was a typical view while we drove around.

The nature was absolutely breathtaking. My parents took me to see some of their favorite spots.

Lake Mashu, Ashoro, Hokkaido
Lake Mashu, Ashoro, Hokkaido
A Garden at Takushin Kan, Photo Gallery, Biei, Hokkaido
Beautiful cosmos at Takushin-Kan Photo Gallery, Biei, Hokkaido
Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido
Daisetsuzan National Park, Hokkaido

Pretty magical, isn’t it??

And another highlight of my Japan trip was, of course, the food! Hokkaido is known for many foods, like potatoes, corns, beef, pork, and seafood to name a few.

I ended up drawing what I ate every day during my stay. Here are some of my favorites!

(I had plenty of meat-y dishes, and they were all good. But I want to highlight more seafood dishes here because I think turned out prettier :D)

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My parents and I had dinner at New Chitose Airport the first night I arrived. I had to try their seafood donburi. It was delish!!
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What I enjoyed the most was a simple meal with rice, grilled fish (here I had Hokke) pickled veggies, and miso soup. I appreciated they offer a wider variety of fish in Japan!
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We stayed at an onsen (hot springs) inn in Ashoro. Onsen inns typically serve you dinner and breakfast that consist of seasonal local foods in tiny dishes. I love these tiny dishes ❤
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Here is what we had for breakfast at the onsen. So simple and delicious ❤ I wish we could’ve stayed there longer!
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My mom and I went shopping in Asahikawa and ate at the same restaurant I had the simple grilled fish earlier. They’d started serving Sanma, which is a very common fish you get in Japan but not in the states. Sanma had just come in season, and it was GOOD!
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We had sushi at the airport before I left. Yes it was at the airport and it was the conveyor belt sushi (the conveyor belt sushi is actually pretty good in Japan) – BUT we thought it was the best sushi we ever had. WE ATE SO MUCH. I was high from all the glorious sushi for hours afterwards.

I can’t believe how quickly 10 days went by. It’s always so hard to say good bye at the end of my visit. My mom and I usually can’t get too many words out of our mouth because we’re crying… 😦

Mom!
Mom!

I also noticed we’ve gotten closer as we got older.

Maybe I’ve become more mature? and am more compassionate towards them… I think my daily meditation practice also helped me stay calm every time they pushed my button 😀 Oh parents.

I hope we all stay healthy and get to enjoy many more visits together! Thank you for the lovely vacation, mom and dad! ❤

xo Yuko

Yuko Miki Honeyberry Studios Headshot