Milk-Miso Salmon Hotpot "Ishikari Nabe", Butter-Miso Iron-Plate Grilled Salmon "Chanchan-yaki" & Ainu Frozen Sashimi "Ruibe & Ikura-don"

Chum salmon (Akiaji or "Autumn Salmon") returning from the North Pacific to spawn in Hokkaido's pristine rivers between September and November have inspired the island's most iconic culinary traditions, led by "Ishikari Nabe." Originating during the Meiji era at the mouth of the Ishikari River near Sapporo—where fishermen celebrated massive salmon hauls at the historic restaurant Kindaitei—this hearty hotpot simmers fresh salmon fillets, head cartilage, and skin alongside sweet cabbage, onions, tofu, shiitake mushrooms, and konjac in a rich kombu kelp broth blended with white miso paste, a splash of Hokkaido milk or butter, and a finishing dusting of aromatic Japanese sansho pepper. Along coastal fishing towns from Ishikari and Mashike to Shiretoko, fresh salmon is equally celebrated through "Sake no Chanchan-yaki"—a lively communal dish named either after the clanging sound ("chan-chan") of metal spatulas on a hot iron griddle or because fathers ("chan") could cook it effortlessly. An entire half-fillet of salmon is seared on a flat iron plate buried beneath a mountain of bean sprouts, cabbage, carrots, and onions, then steamed under a cover with sweet miso sauce and generous slabs of Hokkaido butter until the vegetables caramelize and flake together with the tender fish. Hokkaido's salmon gastronomy owes its deepest debt to the indigenous Ainu people, who revered salmon as "Kamuy Chep" (Fish of the Gods) and invented "Ruibe": naturally flash-freezing autumn salmon outdoors in sub-zero winter snowbanks to eliminate parasites while preserving rich lipid umami, then slicing the fish semi-frozen so each piece melts like savory sherbet on the tongue. Rounding out the feast is "Ikura-don"—gleaming ruby-red autumn salmon roe marinated in dashi soy sauce and ladled generously over steaming Hokkaido rice.