[Yotteke Marutomi in Monbetsu] Very Fresh Seafood Rice Bowl with Crunchy Texture

Yotteke Marutomi

Kaisen Shokudo Yotteke Marutomi (海鮮食堂よってけまるとみ) is a popular seafood restaurant founded in 2001 in Monbetsu city located in the northeastern part of Asahikawa city, and is near Monbetsu Port. * The Yotteke Marutomi means "Hey! Drop by Marutomi" in Japanese. Marutomi Watanabe Suisan corp (有限会社丸富渡辺水産)., a marine product processing industry company, runs it, and also has a fishery store at the same building. The Yotteke Marutomi serves fresh seafood, so it is popular with local people, too.

The restaurant with an atmosphere of Izakaya is not so small, and counter seats and table seats are on the 1st floor, and small separate Japanese style rooms are provided on the 2nd floor, so I guess that even family customers and a large number of customers enjoy meals. But a line is expeted at lunchtime. By the way, a poster is put on a wall at the restaurant, and Ms. Kumiko Takeda that is famous for scallop shell bikini takes office as a scallop campaign girl in the Monbetsu city.

The Monbetsu is well-known as an drift ice town, and drift ice cruise can be enjoyed in a winter. As for tourist attractions in the Monbetsu, Lake Komuke, Komuke Primeval Flower Garden, Omusaro Primeval Flower Garden, Okhotsk Tokkari Center, Hokkaido Okhotsk Ryuhyo Park, Roadside Station Okhotsk Monbetsu, Monbetsu City Museum, Hokkaido Okhotsk Drift Ice Science Center "GIZA", Sea Ice Observation Tower Okhotsk Tower, Monbetsu Park, Okhotsk Sky Tower, Okhotsk Garden, Monbetsu Crab Claw Statue are relatively famous. Hot springs gush out in the Monbetsu, and a day trip onsen can be enjoyed in Monbetsu Onsen.

Drift Ice Sightseeing in Monbetsu

There are 2 sightseeing spots that tourists can enjoy the scheduled drift ice cruising in Japan. Monbetsu in the northeast of the Hokkaido faces the Sea of Okhotsk, and is one of the sightseeing spots for drift ice cruising. Drift ice drifts to the offing of Monbetsu around mid January. If common ships collide with the drift ice, those are broken, but Drift Ice Icebreaker Garinkogo2 (流氷砕氷船ガリンコ号Ⅱ) that can break the drift ice zone goes into service. A lot of tourists visit here to see the drift ice from early January to late March. The drift ice icebreaker Garinkogo2 goes into service from 5 to 7 each day, and cruising time is around 60 minutes. The tourists can get aboard a ship at Kaiyokoryukan boarding point (海洋交流館). Read More

Monbetsu Ryuhyo Festival

Monbetsu Ryuhyo Festival (もんべつ流氷まつり * The Ryuhyo means "Drift Ice" in Japanese) is a winter event held in Monbetsu city located in the eastern part of Asahikawa city, and has started since 1963. The festival is held at the side of Kaiyo-Koryukan (海洋交流館) during 3-4 days in mid February, and about 60,000 tourists come. There are ice sculptures, ice slides, food stalls, a public restroom at the site, and some events such as concerts are held, too. It is very cold, so you had better wear a warm outfit. Admission free. A parking lot is free of charge. Read More

Lake Komuke

Lake Komuke (コムケ湖) is a brackish water lake in Monbetsu city located in the northwest part of Abashiri city, and means "Bent Marsh" in Ainu language. The perimeter of the lake is about 22.7 km. The maximum water depth is 3.8 m. 3 large and small lakes are connected each other, and are collectively called the Lake Komuke. It is hardly become a sightseeing spot, and a beautiful scenery has been left in its natural state. A sandy road is between the Lake Komuke and the Sea of Okhotsk, and visitors can observe the nature along the road. But pay attention to stuck your car. A lot of flowers grow naturally in sandy beach, and I think that here is a primeval flower garden. The moderate salty lakeshore is suitable for coral grass, and some coral grass colonies are around the lake. It begins turning red in early September. It can be said a valuable place that the natural Coral Grass can be seen. Admission free. Read More

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By the way, an express bus "Ryuhyo Monbetsu-go (流氷もんべつ号)" runs between the Sapporo and the Monbetsu.

List of Means of Transportation

A highway bus services between the Monbetsu and the Sapporo. Refer to following the means of the transportation. As for car rental comparison websites, you can compare vehicle rental prices on Tabi-Plaza Rental Car Reservation (旅ぷらざレンタカー予約), Jalan Rental Car (じゃらんレンタカー) and Rakutem Travel Rental Car (楽天トラベルレンタカー).

Chuo Bus(中央バス)	From Sapporo to Monbetsu	HP	Jalan	Rakuten
Chuo Bus(中央バス)	From Monbetsu to Sapporo	HP	Jalan	Rakuten
Nippon Rent-a-car(ニッポンレンタカー)	Their office is at Monbetsu Airport.	HP	Jalan	Rakuten
Toyota Rental Lease(トヨタレンタリース)	Their office is at the Monbetsu Airport.	HP	Jalan	Rakuten
Ones Rent-a-car(ワンズレンタカー)	Their office is in the Monbetsu.	HP	Jalan	Rakuten
Rent-a-car Hiraoka(レンタカー平岡)	Their office is in the Monbetsu.	HP	Jalan	Rakuten

Seafood Rice Bowl

My friend recommended the Yotteke Marutomi to me, so I visited here around 11:00 on a weekday. But it was already full. A waitress said me "If you wait for about 20 minutes, you can enter the restaurant", so I decided to wait. I sat at a seat for waiting at the entrance, and read a menu. All dishes looked tasty. I was having trouble deciding "Salmon Roe Rice Bowl (いくら丼)" or "Seafood Rice Bowl (海鮮丼)", finally I decided to eat the Seafood Rice Bowl. In addition, evening dishes also looked tasty. Then the waitress shown my seat at an annex, and I sat down, and ordered the Seafood Rice Bowl. The price was JPY 1,600.

About 10 minutes later, the Seafood Rice Bowl was served with a bowl of freshwater clam miso soup and a dish of pickled radish. Fresh seafood such as a sweet prawn, surf clam, a scallop, seriola purpurascen, salmon, salmon roe, flying fish roe and so on were on rice. The gorgeous appearance looked tasty, and sharpened my appetite. I ate the seafood immediately. It was delicious! The seafood had crunchy texture. I could not stop eating. Thanks for the tasty meal!

Seafood Rice Bowl and Atmosphere of Restaurant Can Be Watched on Youtube

Movie of Seafood Rice Bowl

List of Accommodations

Refer to following websites for the accommodations in the Monbetsu. You can get information regarding online reviews and photos.

Monbetsu Prince Hotel(紋別プリンスホテル)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Monbetsu Central Hotel(紋別セントラルホテル)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Hotel Okhotsk Palace(ホテルオホーツクパレス)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Minshuku Sakura House Annex(民宿さくらハウス別館)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Minshuku Sakura House Main Building(民宿さくらハウス本館)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Kibarashikan(気晴館)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Tabi-no-Yado Karamatsu(旅の宿からまつ)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Business Hotel Stage(ビジネスホテルステージ)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Pension LOOP(ペンション LOOP)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Minshuku Marutake(民宿まるたけ)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Monbetsu Bay Area Automobile Campsite(紋別ベイエリアオートサイト)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Mt. Oyama Mountaintop Park(大山山頂園)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten
Komuke International Campsite(コムケ国際キャンプ場)	HP	Booking	Jalan	Rakuten