Off to Russia, for a taste of vodka.
Koshka TEXT/YUSUKE TOKOSHIMA, PHOTO/NAOKO TAKAHASHI※Closed as of November 1, 2014
A sign depicting a woman playing the Russian balalaika and a young man dancing the Cossack dance. Anyone living in Sapporo has likely seen it at least once. The Russian-style izakaya “Koshka” is a distinguished, long-established restaurant in the Tanukikoji shopping arcade, now in its 37th year. The owner’s father, interned as a Siberian POW after World War II, opened the shop with his wife after returning to Japan. The name “Koshka” means “kitten” in Russian — a nickname given to the father by Siberian officers, who thought his surname, “Miyao,” sounded like “myaa-o,” a cat’s meow. Even here, in this everyday corner of the city, traces of the war linger close by.
The interior is packed with books and posters published back in the Soviet era, matryoshka dolls, and other folk crafts, and every night, familiar regulars gather. "Everyone's excited about the Sochi Olympics, but it has nothing to do with us," says Miyao, laughing. She seems quiet and shy at first glance, but she's actually quite the talker, offering up one fascinating story after another about Russian history, food, and culture.
The daily piroshki is made from scratch, dough included, with the filling given a slightly different twist each day. Borscht, Russia's classic home-cooked dish, is made with a chicken-bone-based broth packed with the umami of vegetables. Every dish is seasoned on the stronger side, meant to pair well with vodka. Vodka is the shop's main attraction, with as many as 10 varieties on hand — some unavailable at ordinary liquor stores, others that went through export bans and other twists of history before making their way back — an unrivaled selection in the city. The best way to drink vodka is, without question, straight, and here it's served ice-cold at -20°C. "Russians drink it in one shot, but for Japanese people, sipping slowly is better," Miyao says with a quiet laugh. The lemon vodka, with its faint citrus aroma and smooth mouthfeel, makes it easy to forget it's actually 40% alcohol.
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