Bo-yo-so — Restaurant in Kutchan

I've been here several times over the years. The owner is said to have been the first Japanese person to have climbed Mount Everest and he still works there!

Katsu: crispy breading and good cut of meat. Fat is easy to eat around and you get a clear flavor. A classic done well. It could've been a tiny bit hotter. (What I had today) Soba with vegetables: i can't remember too much of this one as I had it last year but it was what it said it was. Very warming and nice to have with good textures and flavors. Chicken and eggs: my instructor said that this one was very good!

There are pickled vegetables and ginger you can add to your dishes. You can pick between regular size and large. There is also an area to purchase snacks and little things. Even though we came early (11:45), it was still crowded with a bit of a wait for both seats and to order food. Despite that, food service itself is very rapid. It is a little difficult to find seating as it is quite a popular but small spot. They only take cash (as of posting this). I will continue coming here in the...

Let’s talk about Bo-yo-so. Boy, is this place a little weird, and I love weird.

Somehow, they put an authentic cafeteria-style Japanese restaurant right in the middle of an Australian colony. Bravo to whoever opened this place for a successful infiltration. It probably only worked because the building is hiding behind some trees half way up the mountain.

The fact that every day hundreds of foreigners manage to figure out how to buy meal tickets from a vending machine and comport themselves with relative grace and dignity in a tiny, confusing space is a small miracle. Bravo to the foreigners.

Lastly, no bravo to the oyakodon. It saddens me to give Bo-yo-so a 4/5, but the oyakodon had a pitiful amount of chicken. There is just no excuse for an oyakodon with three tiny pieces of chicken, even if I did order the small. It’s a “small,” not a “hold the chicken”.

The next day I got the tonkatsu curry and that was very good. If you only come...

Bo-yo-so was the best meal I’ve ever had on a ski slope. Over my few days in Niseko I came here a few times and tried the katsudon, the curry soba, and the ramen. The ramen was easily my favorite.

Something about snowboarding a full morning, entering this little hut with natural light flooding in and mogging a bowl of ramen along with some sake had my spirit at peace. It’s honestly pretty cheap for mountain food too, 1400 yen for a bowl of Hokkaido style ramen. Cash only tho.

For however long I am blessed to live on this earth, I will always look back on this memory fondly. Like most things in life, money comes and goes, but no one can take these types of experiences away from you.

IG...