Sukiyaki Asari Honten is a long-established sukiyaki restaurant in Hakodate, Hokkaido, founded in 1901. For more than a century, the restaurant has preserved its traditional sukiyaki flavor while serving carefully selected Japanese black beef.
The restaurant’s sukiyaki is prepared with Japanese black beef from Kyushu and fresh vegetables from Hokkaido. The ingredients are simmered in a specially prepared warishita sauce, a sweet and savory seasoning broth whose recipe has remained essentially unchanged for more than 100 years.
Sukiyaki is enjoyed throughout Japan, with different regional styles found in places such as Tokyo and Osaka. Asari’s version has its own distinctive character, shaped by the restaurant’s long history and its carefully preserved seasoning.
The combination of tender, richly marbled beef, fresh vegetables and the restaurant’s traditional warishita creates a deeply satisfying flavor. For visitors who want to experience an authentic Japanese hot-pot meal in a historic setting, it offers a memorable taste of Hakodate’s culinary heritage.
On weekdays, the restaurant also offers reasonably priced lunch options, making its traditional cuisine accessible even for travelers looking for a more casual meal.
The second floor features atmospheric private Japanese-style rooms. Guests remove their shoes before entering and can relax in a traditional setting reminiscent of old Japan. Sitting around the hot pot in a quiet room creates a leisurely dining experience where the meal becomes as much about the atmosphere as the food itself.
Just before the sukiyaki restaurant was established, Asari Butcher Shop began providing high-quality meat in Hakodate. For more than 100 years, the butcher shop has continued to offer carefully selected cuts of meat and has become an important part of the Asari tradition.
In addition to fresh meat, the shop sells sukiyaki lunch boxes and prepared foods. Its croquettes are particularly popular with local residents and are widely praised for their delicious flavor.
Dining at Sukiyaki Asari Honten is an opportunity to experience more than just sukiyaki. The restaurant’s long history, traditional Japanese rooms and carefully selected ingredients offer a glimpse into Hakodate’s enduring food culture.
For travelers exploring Hakodate, a meal at this historic restaurant is a chance to enjoy tender Japanese black beef and Hokkaido vegetables around a steaming hot pot, following a culinary tradition that has been cherished for more than a century.