Coffee, mixed with a little jazz.
Kami Hikouki TEXT/REINA ABE, PHOTO/SHUN TAKEBEYakiniku fried rice, affectionately known as “yaki-cha.” Some customers sit down and, without even glancing at the menu, simply say “yaki-cha, please.” It’s a dish “Kami Hikouki” has cherished for years, carrying on the flavor of the previous master. The sweet-savory sauce on the pork loin, spiked with ginger, mingles with the sesame oil aroma of the fried rice for an irresistible pull on the appetite. It originally started as grilled meat served over butter rice, but one day a regular asked, “put it on fried rice instead,” and it quickly became a staple. Later, to make it easier to eat while reading a manga or newspaper, the meat was cut into thin strips, giving it its current form. The shop has since passed to the son, but 20-year regulars still vouch for it: “the flavor hasn’t changed.”
One thing unchanged since the shop opened in 1977 is its house-roasted coffee. Both the roasting method and the bean blend are original, perfected through years of independent research by the previous master. Even now, beans are roasted every single week in Tobetsu, the family's hometown, and carried into the shop. Current master Kondo began helping out at the shop back in high school, and naturally picked up the knack for both the coffee and the "yaki-cha" while assisting the previous owner. The shop makes a point of using locally sourced ingredients wherever possible — even the house-made pizza uses Tobetsu-grown wheat. The cakes lined up in the display case are all handmade, one by one, including cakes made with seasonal fruit and chiffon cake made with Tobetsu rice flour — each offering a gentle, comforting sweetness.
By the window, a grand piano commands real presence. Jazz plays quietly from the speakers, and on weekday evenings or Saturday afternoons, live performances sometimes take place. Thanks to the location, just steps from the subway station, requests to perform here come in from all over the country, not just Sapporo. Genres range from trad jazz to modern jazz to fusion. Some customers came in simply for a meal, happened to catch a live set, and became devoted fans of live performance ever since. Musicians, when refueling between sets, invariably order the "yaki-cha." Nearly 40 years in, a flavor built together with customers over time still lives on in this amber-toned space.
Kami Hikouki
1F Suikyo Building, Minami 1-jo Higashi 2-chome, Chuo-ku, Sapporo
TEL.011-221-9737
Hours: Mon–Fri 8:00 AM–9:00 PM
Sat 10:30 AM–5:00 PM
Closed: Sundays and public holidays
www.kamihikouki1977.jp
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