【Asabu · Local Izakaya】Showa Charm and Fresh Seafood at 'Izakaya Furusato'
🏮 The Exterior—Steeped in Showa Atmosphere
Three minutes from Asabu Station, tucked into a residential corner, you’ll suddenly encounter a bright red sign flanked by rows of yellow lanterns. That’s Izakaya Furusato. The lanterns glowing with “Ichiban-shibori” lettering and the handwritten menu boards plastered outside are the very image of a classic Showa-era izakaya. Nothing here is aimed at tourists—the whole place radiates the feeling of a spot where local regulars keep coming back.
Furusato is part of a small group that traces its roots to a main store in Kotoni, but despite having multiple locations the Asabu branch feels nothing like a chain—each shop seems to have its own character.
📍 Essentials
- Name: Izakaya Furusato Asabu (居酒屋ふる里 麻生店)
- Address: 5-chome 3-10, Asamachi, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 〒001-0045
- Phone: 011-709-0505
- Map: Open in Google Maps
- Hours: 17:30–23:30 (subject to change; call ahead to confirm)
- Closed: Sundays
- Reservations: Accepted (groups: call in advance)
- Smoking: Non-smoking (or separated—confirm on arrival)
- Parking: None on site. Use nearby coin parking.
🚉 Access
- Subway: About 3 minutes on foot from Asabu Station on the Namboku Line (approx. 217 m)
- Also within easy walking distance of Shinkotoni Station
🍽️ Inside—Counter Seating and a Wall Full of Menus
Push open the door and you step into a retro space centered on counter seating. The walls are plastered with handwritten-style menu boards showing the day’s freshest catch and what’s in stock. Hokke sashimi, Soi sashimi, tuna, salmon, live abalone—the range of seafood is remarkable. Most sashimi is priced around ¥780–¥1,000, which is very reasonable for individual servings.
The kitchen is run single-handedly by the master chef, with just 1–2 floor staff, so expect to wait close to an hour for your food and plan accordingly. It’s not the place for a quick meal. On the other hand, settling in with a drink while you wait is the proper way to enjoy this spot—the unhurried pace is part of the charm.
💡 Reservation tip: Reservations aren’t required, but if you call to book a table, tell them right then which dishes you’re sure to order—sashimi platters and the like—so they can prepare. In-shell sea urchin and sashimi sets depend on daily stock, so securing them in advance is the smart move.
🦔 The Star Dish—Sea Urchin Served in the Shell
The highlight of the visit was the in-shell sea urchin. Four shells lined up on a black plate, each filled with brilliant orange roe. The ocean aroma is intense, and the moment it hits your tongue the natural sweetness and umami bloom. Availability depends on the day’s delivery, so call ahead to check if you’re making a special trip for this dish.
One plate alone is enough to understand why Furusato is cherished locally as a seafood destination.
🍢 Yakitori—Satisfyingly Substantial Pork Skewers
We also ordered the pork skewers (¥290 each). The meat is thick-cut and hearty, with a springy skin and the sweetness of the fat. They work just as well with salt for a clean finish as with tare for something richer. Chicken skewers, tsukune, white liver—the skewer lineup is extensive, so even if sashimi is your main goal, this place handles the “solid drinking food” side just as well.
🥗 Salad—More Than Meets the Eye
Between seafood and skewers, we ordered the vegetable salad (¥880). The stand-out feature is the mountain of thin crispy fried potato shreds piled on top—the portion looks enormous. It goes well with the dressing and acts as a refreshing reset in the middle of fried food and drinks. There’s also a Caesar salad and ramen salad on the menu, giving a sense of just how wide the choices are here.
🐟 Grilled Fish—One Whole Ayu, Simply Perfect
On this visit, we got ayu (sweetfish) salt-grilled—served as one whole fish, presented simply. The crackling skin and the clean, delicate flesh were impressive; the slight bitterness of the organs gave it that unmistakable summer character. A squeeze of lemon keeps it fresh, and it pairs beautifully with sake or highball. The grilled fish changes with the season—hokke, sohachi, capelin and others make appearances—so there’s always a different catch to look forward to.
🍶 On the Drinks
The wall displays a sake menu built mainly around local brews from Hokkaido and the Tohoku region, with several ginjo varieties among them. Sake is the natural match for sashimi and grilled fish here. That said, draft beer, highballs, and sour cocktails are all well-represented, making it easy to drink from the first glass to the last.
Summary
Izakaya Furusato Asabu is a no-pretense local izakaya where Showa atmosphere and peak-season seafood come together. Sashimi, sea urchin, pork skewers, grilled fish—a full range of drinking-food staples, all at genuinely reasonable prices. The one caveat: with the master running the kitchen alone, food can take close to an hour to arrive, which makes this a poor choice for a rushed evening—but an excellent one for a long, leisurely night of drinks.
If you’re booking, it pays to mention at reservation time the dishes you’ll definitely be ordering—that way the kitchen can be ready for you.
If you’re in the Asabu area looking for a good izakaya, this one is not to be missed.
Izakaya Furusato Asabu 〒001-0045 5-chome 3-10, Asamachi, Kita-ku, Sapporo / TEL: 011-709-0505 Hours: Mon–Sat 17:30–23:30 / Closed: Sundays View on Google Maps
