Furano Winery: Free Wine Tasting With a View

Furano isn’t a food destination the way Sapporo or Hakodate is. There’s no ramen alley, no morning fish market, no sprawling izakaya district. What it has instead is a small collection of restaurants that take local ingredients seriously — Furano cheese, Hokkaido dairy, seasonal produce from the surrounding farms — and a handful of places that have been feeding skiers and tourists for decades. You just need to know where to find them, because most close earlier than you’d expect and some don’t take cards.

Furano’s Signature Foods

Before the restaurant list, here’s what to actually eat in Furano.

Furano curry: This is the town’s signature dish. Several restaurants compete to make the definitive version, and most use local vegetables and dairy in their recipes. It’s richer than standard Japanese curry — the local cheese and butter work their way in.

Omelette curry (omuraisu curry): A Furano-specific twist that combines a fluffy omelette over rice with curry sauce. You’ll find it at multiple restaurants, each with their own take. It’s comfort food done well.

Soup curry: A Hokkaido specialty that’s popular throughout the island, not just Furano. Large chunks of vegetables and meat in a thin, spiced broth served over rice. It’s lighter than regular curry but just as warming.

Furano cheese and dairy: The local cheese factory produces Camembert, gouda, wine cheese, and that famous squid ink black cheese. Fresh milk and soft-serve ice cream are everywhere in summer.

Furano wine: The local winery produces surprisingly decent wine for this latitude. Red and white varieties are available at restaurants throughout town, and you can visit the winery itself for tastings.

Furano melon: Available in summer (July-August), these are cousins of the famous Yubari melon. Not quite as pricey but very sweet. You’ll find melon soft-serve, melon bread, and fresh-cut melon at farm stands and cafes everywhere during season.

Restaurants Worth Your Time

Kumagera

If you eat at one restaurant in Furano, make it this one. Kumagera has been open since 1980 and serves what I’d call mountain food — hearty, no-nonsense dishes made with local and sometimes wild ingredients. The Furano curry is excellent here. They also serve venison and, seasonally, bear meat. The interior looks like a log cabin and feels like it hasn’t changed in 40 years, which is part of the charm.

Budget around 1,500-2,500 yen for a main dish. Open for lunch and dinner, closed Mondays. About a 5-minute walk from Furano Station.

Witch’s Spoon

The best soup curry in Furano, and I’ll argue one of the best in Hokkaido outside Sapporo. The chicken leg curry (1,880 yen) is the signature — a whole bone-in chicken leg slow-cooked until it falls apart, swimming in a rich, aromatic broth with potatoes, carrots, peppers, and eggplant. The spice level is customizable from mild to painful.

Cash only. I can’t stress this enough. There’s no ATM next door either, so come prepared. Closed Wednesdays. It’s a small place — maybe 20 seats — so lunch hour (12:00-13:00) gets packed. Go early or late.

Curry and Bar Jam

Another strong soup curry option, slightly more accessible than Witch’s Spoon. The chicken curry (1,280 yen) is reliable and the spicy chicken (1,180 yen) has a good kick without being ridiculous. The atmosphere is casual and a bit more modern than Kumagera or Witch’s Spoon.

They take cards (Visa, Mastercard) but not Amex. If Witch’s Spoon is closed or full, this is your backup, and it’s a good one.

Bar and Dining Ajito

A small restaurant that does an excellent cheese fondue using Furano Cheese Factory products. Their omelette curry is one of the better versions in town — fluffy egg, local curry sauce, rice. It’s a good dinner spot with a slightly more upscale feel than the curry-focused lunch places.

Expect to spend 2,000-3,000 yen per person for dinner. Reservations recommended in winter.

Furano Wine House

Located up at the Furano Winery, this restaurant offers Hokkaido-style Western food paired with Furano wine. Steaks, lamb, cheese plates. The food is solid if unspectacular, but the real draw is the setting — you’re at the winery with views across the valley. Good for a slightly special lunch.

Mains run 1,800-3,500 yen. Open for lunch only (11:00-15:00 approximately). The winery itself is free to visit and includes a tasting room.

Furano Cheese Factory Pizza Kobo

Wood-fired pizza made with cheese from next door. The Margherita (1,100 yen) is clean and simple. The four-cheese (1,320 yen) is richer and my preference. There’s a full write-up on the Cheese Factory page, but the short version: this is genuinely good pizza, not just good-for-rural-Japan pizza. Come at 11:00 or after 14:00 to avoid the worst waits.

Furano Marche

Not a restaurant exactly, more of a food hall and market near Furano Station. It’s the most convenient option for a quick meal. You’ll find local bread, pastries, bento-style meals, produce, and sweets. The bread here uses Hokkaido flour and butter, and it shows — the croissants and cream buns are excellent.

It’s the best spot for grabbing lunch if you’re passing through town and don’t want to sit down at a restaurant. Also good for picking up snacks and local food souvenirs.

Cafes and Coffee

Mori no Tokei (Forest Clock Cafe)

This is the atmospheric one. Located below Ningle Terrace at New Furano Prince Hotel, the cafe sits in a log cabin surrounded by forest. The gimmick — and it’s a charming one — is that you grind your own coffee beans by hand at your table using a small hand mill. The coffee itself is decent, the experience is the point.

A cup of hand-ground coffee costs about 850 yen. They also serve cake and light snacks. It gets crowded in the afternoon, especially on weekends. Morning visits are quieter and the forest light is better.

Rojo and Ronin Coffee

A proper specialty coffee shop roasting their own beans locally. This is where you go if you care about coffee quality rather than atmosphere (though the mountain views from the shop aren’t bad either). They use Hokkaido milk for lattes and flat whites. A drip coffee runs 500-700 yen.

Drinks

Soh’s Bar

The apres-ski bar in Furano. Cocktails, whiskey, a fireplace in winter — it’s exactly the kind of place you want after a cold day on the mountain. The bartender knows his stuff and can make recommendations. Cocktails run 800-1,200 yen. It’s small and gets lively (not loud, lively) during ski season evenings. Open from around 18:00.

Worth the Drive

Goma Soba Tsuruki (Biei)

About 30 minutes north in Biei, this soba restaurant is worth the detour. Hand-made soba noodles with a sesame dipping sauce that’s become locally famous. The tempura set (1,400 yen) with seasonal vegetables is the way to go. It’s a traditional Japanese setting, quiet, unhurried, and the noodles have a proper chew to them.

Lunch only, and they close when the noodles run out. Aim for 11:30 opening if you don’t want to risk it.

Practical Tips for Eating in Furano

Restaurants close early. Last orders at most places are between 19:30 and 20:30. Some lunch-only spots close at 15:00 or 16:00. This isn’t Tokyo — plan your meals around restaurant hours, not the other way around.

Book ahead in winter. During ski season (late December through February), the good restaurants fill up. Kumagera, Witch’s Spoon, and Ajito all benefit from reservations. Two weeks ahead is safe. Your hotel can usually help with booking, especially if the restaurant only takes calls in Japanese.

Cash is king. Several of the best restaurants (including Witch’s Spoon) are cash only. Others take credit cards but not Amex. Bring enough yen for at least two meals before relying on plastic. There are ATMs at 7-Eleven and the post office, but they’re not open 24 hours.

Convenience stores are fine. Furano has Lawson, Seicomart, and 7-Eleven. If you miss restaurant hours or just want something quick, these are reliable. Seicomart is the Hokkaido-native chain and their hot food counter (katsu-don, fried chicken, onigiri) is a step above the national chains. No shame in a convenience store dinner — locals do it too.

Summer melon everything. From July through mid-August, Furano melon shows up everywhere: soft-serve, cut fruit at farm stands, melon bread, melon smoothies. Farm Tomita and the Cheese Factory both sell melon soft-serve. It’s seasonal and worth seeking out while it lasts.

For a broader look at planning your trip, check the Furano travel guide. If you need help finding your way to these spots, the getting around page covers transport options. And if you’re deciding where to base yourself, the where to stay guide breaks down the best neighborhoods for food access and convenience.