Tsugaru Joppari Isariya Sakaba — Restaurant in Aomori

Was lucky to get 2 seats walk-in at 6pm-ish. The staff once arranged seats started lighting a mini pot of pork in front of each of us and gave us 2 small cold appetizers plus an egg to dip the pork in. So interesting that they got such variety of appetizers right at the start. We ordered rice, since the pork went v well with a staple plus whipped egg.

We ordered grilled chicken thigh on an iron plate, quite peppery and good to pair with sake and liquors. Their signature grilled scallop miso was nice but not a must-try to me, esp when the scallops were cut into tiny pieces and the flavor a bit masked by eggs and miso. The fish soup was mentioned on the menu to be made by cod bones and head/collar, but the one we got actually made by salmon? But portion-wise and flavor-wise, got nothing to complain about. Just would be nice to specify, i bet.

They got 三味線 live performance at 7pm, and it was played by a well-seasoned musician lady. Couldn't understand what she said in japanese, but could feel the emotion she put into each song, particularly like one that's kindly a sad medley, or so i guessed... When some pause between notes added an extra touch. Recording or photos are not permitted during the performance, but i think it's cool, cos then patrons can focus on the music.

And the staff gives you homemade crispy senbai before you leave, and also sends you off with a traditional act of rubbing flints together around you. With the translation from a nice lady who was waiting for seats, it means for good luck and you return home...

It is a izakaya (bar) in Aomori. Everyone stayed in for meal have to order a wine. It means this bar need a minimum order. They will put the glass in a woody cup (I think it is a traditional Japanese cup) and pour wine to "totally" full. The surplus wine will flow in the woody cup (see picture). Total process of pouring wine thinks polity to the customers.

The inner decoration is special and panache for taking picture. However, I think the quality of the sashimi is not good (I felt some fishy smell to the scallop), which is not compatible with the cost. I think the quality of seafood in Hokkaido is...

Izakaya (horse sashimi, miso paste, crab korroke, Kani miso, Senbei-jiru, Clam Soup, Tori Karaage, Grilled Ika). Got lucky when this hole in a wall izakaya accepted our group to squeeze in a table meant for 4. We had so much food and also tried the horse sashimi. The senbei-jiru (rice cracker hotpot) is another specialty of Aomori which doesn’t really excite me. The scorched miso paste is interesting but not for those who are cautious about their salt intake. There was even a live music instrument performance to entertain us midway into our meals. Definitely recommend this really...