AEON Asahikawa Ekimae — Local services in Asahikawa

I absolutely love this place: for food (as a chef) I'd like to think I have high standards, but coming to Japan I get spoiled every time. The farmers, purveyors, and various vendors have such high standards in this country, that most of what you can get here will beat anything you can find in the most upscale markets in the US. All the produce is fresh and blemish-free, all the snacks and confections are in pristine condition when you open the packaging, and all the meats are extremely fresh and well-kept. Even the fast food vendors maintain a high value of professionalism; from the service they provide to the customer, to the food they serve. The Japanese versions of these American or European fast food chains take the product to a whole other level; with the quality, flavor, and presentation. The products will look almost EXACTLY like the ads, unlike what we get back home. Also, due to the high quality of ingredients they have to work with, their products end up tasting that much better. If there is a counterpart or comparison from back home, the Japanese version will almost always...

We boarded the bus on March 2nd at 4:10 PM. The staff who helped look after the bus No. 47 forced us to buy a ticket before boarding the bus leaving from Asahikama Zoo.

Even though other people can pick up tickets in the car, the staff told me to hand this ticket to the driver when getting off.

I think the ticket is weird. The date and time are not the trip we will take. And this bus line, when using cash, hand it to the staff. The staff does not put the cash into the machine but puts it on his hat. This has happened to many tourists. I think it...

This mall opens at 8am along with the super market and Starbucks. There is a small daiso in this location. Like many of Japan's station, this mall is filled with cute cookies/ confectionary items. There is a food court on the first floor. There are more restaurants located on the top floor. Surprisingly I saw a pet store. It also has a sugi bee which has great honey and soft serve.

There is a small arcade too! A good place to spend some time or shop for luggage. The luggages were not cheap, most were Asian brands ( 15000+ yen), did see one...