Don't you feel a sense of relief when you see the signs and buildings of convenient "roadside stations" while driving?
Take a break, have a meal, or find delicious local products at the souvenir shop.

"Michi-no-Eki Aioi," which is gaining attention for its local specialty "Kumayaki," is an attractive station that also features a souvenir shop, a station cafe, Aioi Railway Park, and a rural park where you can enjoy park golf.

Let me introduce you to the charms of "Michi-no-Eki Aioi" (Roadside Station Aioi).

[This article is based on information from January 2017.]

Table of contents
1. What is "Kumayaki," the original Aioi specialty?
2. The secret to the deliciousness and popularity of "Kumayaki"
3. Funakuma, a collaboration product with Funassyi.
4. "Aioi Products Center" is full of delicious treats!
5. Kurumi no Mori, a retro-style station cafe located within Aioi Railway Park.
Final thoughts

What comes to mind when you see or hear the word "Kumayaki"?

Since it says "yaki," if it's an object, I imagine something like a grilled item or a wooden bear carving, and if it's food, I imagine something hearty like a BBQ made with bear meat. Am I the only one who thinks that?

Actually, contrary to that image, "Kumayaki" is a sweet treat that is adorable in appearance and has a gentle sweetness!

This taiyaki-style sweet has been sold since 2010 at the "Michi-no-Eki Aioi Bussankan" in Aioi, Tsubetsu-cho, Hokkaido, as the original Aioi specialty "Kumayaki".

Its adorable appearance makes it almost too cute to eat, and since its release, it has become a hot topic, especially among women, and is now a very popular product.

Top left: Brown bear (red bean paste) Top right: Brown bear (soy milk cream) Bottom left: Raw bear Bottom right: Polar bear (Image caption)

The "Kumayaki" family consists of three animals: a brown bear, a polar bear, and a raw bear.

"Brown Bear" comes in two varieties: red bean paste and soy milk cream. "Polar Bear," which has a mochi-like texture due to the addition of tapioca flour, comes with red bean paste. And then there's the cold "Raw Bear," which is filled with red bean paste and fresh cream. All of them are irresistibly delicious.

The secret to its deliciousness is undoubtedly that each item is carefully handmade using ingredients sourced from Hokkaido.

The fluffy, pancake-like batter is made with Hokkaido-grown wheat flour and plenty of homemade soy milk, and the sweet red bean paste is made with 100% Hokkaido-grown adzuki beans. The slightly sweet batter and the rich red bean paste go together perfectly.

The homemade soy milk used in the dough and soy milk cream is the same rich soy milk used in our popular homemade tofu.

The "Kumayaki" design was conceived by Shigenari Onishi, an illustrator and sculptor from Tsubetsu Town, who is known locally by the nickname "Shige-chan."

It became a hot topic on social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram, mainly among women, with comments such as "It's too cute!" and "It's so cute!"

Onishi's artistic creation, "Kumayaki," has such an impressive design that you can't help but take a picture of it before eating it.

These "Kumayaki" (bear-shaped sweets) are now available as T-shirts! The handmade straps look just like the real thing and are delicious! These "Kumayaki" goods are also very popular.

This "Kumayaki" (bear-shaped pancake) suddenly became popular in 2016.

At a Hokkaido product fair held at Tobu Department Store Ikebukuro in January of the same year, the product was demonstrated and sold, with approximately 12,000 units sold in 6 days. Subsequently, at Tobu Department Store Funabashi, approximately 17,000 units were sold in 7 days, demonstrating its immense popularity.

In August of the same year, they made their first appearance in Hokkaido at the "HBC Freshly Harvested Market" held at "Akapura" in Kita 8-jo Plaza, Sapporo City!
I'm looking forward to seeing where "Kumayaki" will pop up next.

"Funakuma" is a bear-shaped pastry filled with pear jelly, produced by Funassyi, the unofficial mascot of Funabashi City. It was sold exclusively at the Tobu Department Store Funabashi branch in May 2016.

This collaboration product with "Funassyi" came about because Tsubetsu Town and Funabashi City have been continuing youth exchange programs for many years.

Funakuma, which was previously a limited-edition item, will now be available for purchase at the Aioi Roadside Station's product center every Sunday starting in February 2017!

"Funakuma" is a confection created by Chef Yasuhiro Takagi of the confectionery workshop Entre (Funabashi City), which involves adding bracken starch to pear jelly to make mochi (rice cake) and sandwiching it with sweet red bean paste.

This dessert features rich red bean paste with a refreshing pear flavor, and the slightly chewy texture of mochi (rice cake) adds to its appeal.

"Aioi Bussankan" has several specialties, one of which is its handmade tofu.

Made from homemade soy milk, this tofu is produced using a traditional method that has been passed down for decades, resulting in large, firm, and elastic pieces of tofu.

Whether served cold in the summer or as a hot pot in the winter, this exquisite dish offers a subtle sweetness and rich flavor no matter how you eat it.

Fried tofu and ganmodoki (a type of tofu fritter) made with this tofu are also popular products.
Another great service is that you get a generous bag of okara (soy pulp) with each block of tofu you purchase.

One of the highlights of Aioi Bussankan is the opportunity to savor handmade 100% buckwheat soba noodles, so delicious that soba lovers will want to visit again and again. These are carefully prepared soba noodles made on-site every day using locally produced buckwheat flour.

You can enjoy freshly made soba noodles at the restaurant inside the souvenir shop, and souvenir soba noodles are also available for purchase.

The homemade miso made from rare green soybeans grown in Tsubetsu Town is also exquisite!

Green soybean miso, which is produced in small quantities even within Hokkaido, has a milder and sweeter flavor than miso made from yellow soybeans.

"Ekisha Cafe Kurumi no Mori" is a retro building that utilizes the former Kitami-Aioi Station building in "Aioi Railway Park," retaining the nostalgic atmosphere of the Showa era.

In the warmer months, the former platform becomes a terrace where you can relax and enjoy the view of the birch trees, and in the colder months, you can gather around a nostalgic potbelly stove in the station's waiting room and enjoy a cozy time.

We offer our proud, in-house roasted coffee, primarily organic, and also sell coffee beans.

The sweets menu is based on the concept of "snacks that moms want to feed their families," and basically uses eggs and dairy products, making scones and brownies made with safe ingredients, as well as "Aioi donuts" which are filled with plenty of okara (soy pulp) from tofu, a specialty of Aioi. All of them go perfectly with coffee.

Inside the "Aioi Roadside Station Product Center," you can find "Betsu," a mini scone made with a blend of wheat from Tsubetsu, as well as coffee beans.

Final thoughts

Free rider house (blue passenger car in the foreground)

The passenger cars at "Aioi Railway Park" are open as a free guesthouse for motorcyclists, and can be used for overnight stays from May to around October.

These days, with the warmer months approaching, a travel style that involves staying overnight in your car at roadside rest areas (Michi-no-Eki) during your journey is becoming increasingly popular. Roadside rest areas are not only places to stop along the way, but also places to visit for enjoyment.

Why not add "Michi-no-Eki Aioi," a roadside station filled with delicious local food and Showa-era retro charm, to your travel plans?

[DATA]

Roadside Station Aioi
Telephone number: 0152-75-9101
Address: 83-1 Aioi, Tsubetsu-cho, Abashiri-gun, Hokkaido 092-0361 (along National Route 240)
Access: Approximately 60 minutes by car from Memanbetsu Airport
Opening hours: (Summer season, April to October) 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
(Winter season November to March) 9:00 to 17:00
Closed: Every Tuesday (If Tuesday is a public holiday, closed the following day)

Station Cafe Kurumi no Mori(Behind Aioi Products Center)
Telephone number: 090-3927-6663
E-mail: cafekuruminomori@gmail.com
Opening hours: 10:00 - 17:00
Closed: Every Tuesday, the first Wednesday of the month, and during the New Year holidays (occasional temporary closures may occur).
[Nationwide shipping of coffee beans]
Coffee beans (up to 500g) can be shipped via mail within Japan for 300 yen.
1% off on 500g of coffee beans
Please contact us by phone or email.

Free guesthouse for riders
Availability period: From May to around October (please confirm)
Telephone number: 0152-75-9101

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