Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations Visits Hokkaido May 21 2011, 11:22am via blog.freshpowder.com

Interested in Hokkaido? I would highly recommend checking out Anthony Bourdain’s recent visit to Sapporo and environs. It not only explores unique aspects of Hokkaido’s cuisine and culture, but also touches on life in Japan during the post-quake recovery.

I think Bourdain sums up the unique Hokkaido experience perfectly:

“It’s cold here. It snows a lot. It looks different from the Japan you think you know. Settled around the same time as the US wild west, a similar kind of frontier mentality developed here. There is a certain freedom to mix influences; to depart from tradition… Hokkaido was Japan’s last frontier. It’s been called the ‘least Japanese’ of all the main islands, and in a way that’s true, especially when it comes to food.”

Note – the TV program contains some strong and/or objectionable language.

Anthony Bourdain – No Reservations Hokkaido

His encounter with Sapporo ramen reminds me of my first experiences with Hokkaido’s unique cuisine and freshest ingredients.

“You think you know ramen. I know I did.

I didn’t. I didn’t know Hokkaido ramen… Miso ramen is a Sapporo thing, invented in the ’30s. Freaky. They use butter, and corn? That’s not Japanese. Freakier still, it’s awesome!”

I know you are going to ask me which Niseko izakaya Bourdain says is better than Tokyo – that’s got to be Torimatsu, a little yakitori shop tucked away just behind Kutchan’s nightlife district. (It is not actually in Niseko-cho, but the neighboring Kutchan-cho.)

You think you know chicken skins?

Bourdain comments on the chicken skins (tori-kawa) — I agree you have got to try them if you go. Tori-kawa normally consists of skin folded onto the skewer – a tasty, if greasy way to use up excess skin. At Torimatsu, he selects the best parts of the skin and cuts a small amount of meat along with it – keeping the crispy decadence of roast chicken skin layered with the juiciness of the meat. It is truly a next-level yakitori maneuver.

The visit also covers Annupuri, Shiraoi, and Noboribetsu.