Obihiro in Hokkaido Japan is an interesting city. The city is quiet during the day and come to live after 5pm. Lights are up and the music is on. Tokachi no Nagaya and Kita no Yatai are the alleyways filled food stands that open after 17:00 or 17:30. These two alleyways each has about 20 food stands with very few seats. They are more like Izakaya (pubs with snacks and food). People come here after work for a drink and snacks. Locating around 10 minutes walk from Ohibiro Station, the two alleyways are conveniently located in the city center. It is pretty interesting at night. There is a toilet in the middle of each alleyways which make it easy for the customers. Visiting during the winter, I am not too sure if these food stands have heat inside. okachi no Nagaya has more lighting at night, the restaurants look more modern and there is a management company. The address is: 10 Nishi 1 Jominami, Obihiro 080-0011, Hokkaido

Want something warm, cheap and cheerful for lunch and dinner around Sapporo Station in Hokkaido? Instead of having ramen all the time, soup curry is a good alternative. Some said that curry began in Hokkaido Japan and started to spread all over the country. On the Internet, you may find the history of curry introduced to Japan by the British back in Meiji Period (1868-1912) when India was still a colony. Since then the Japanese has improvised curry to their own taste: sweeter I think. I still remember that the traditional “Japanese curry” was a kind of thick sweet curry with a bit of meat (mostly beef) to go with rice. In recent years, soup based curry with Indian taste has become a food trend. Soup curry usually comes with lots of fresh vegetables in Hokkaido. There is an option of adding chicken, beef and pork, and a choice of spiciness.