Shiroi Beef Yakinuku lunch at Amano Family Farm and evening at Chitose Airport

31 May 2026

Our road trip is finally coming to an end. From Noberibetsu, we planned to drive to Chitose where we would return our rental car.

On the way to Chitose, we made a stop at Shiraoi for lunch. Shiraoi is a coastal town in southwestern Hokkaido, famous for its rich Ainu indigenous heritage and premium Wagyu beef.

Amano Family Farm

We drove to Amano Family Farm to have their beef yakiniku. Out of the several restaurants in town that serve wagyu beef and we chose this restaurant based on the excellent reviews on the internet.

Amano Family Farm is not really a farm as the only animal we spotted was a white goat that is tethered on a long rope outside.

The restaurant was easy to locate and there was ample parking outside. 

We ordered their special yakiniku set that came with 4 popular cuts of meat – lean meat diced, fillet, extra special kalbi and extra fatty roast and added another serving of extra special kalbi. 

Their menu also includes Korean kimchi which we ordered. 

 

The meat is grilled over hot coals.

The best way to enjoy excellent marbled beef is to grill them over a charcoal fire and eat them while the meat is piping hot. The smoke from the fats dripping from the marbled beef onto the coals adds to the flavour.

There is no smoke extractor system above the grill, so it was quite a smoky affair.

Although the beef was not the best beef we had in Japan, Shiraoi beef was incredibly delicious and very satisfying. It was a good way to end a road trip around Hokkaido.

Where we stayed in Chitose

Once again, we chose to stay at Queens Hotel Chitose. This value-for-money 3–star hotel is 5-minute walk from JR Chitose Station and about a 9-minute drive (5.1 km) from New Chitose Airport. Most importantly, this hotel offers free shuttle bus service to the airport in the morning.

Since our flight the next day is quite early, we planned to return our rental car one day before departure and then spend the rest of the day shopping and eating at New Chitose Airport. 

During check-in, I saw a sign that the free shuttle bus service at Queen's Hotel Chitose to New Chitose Airport permanently ended on April 30, 2026, due to ongoing staffing shortage. Thankfully, the staff informed me that they would still provide services to guests who had booked their stay before that announcement.

We were able to made use of the free shuttle service the next morning.

Evening at New Chitose Airport

The New Chitose Airport is not just an ordinary airport. It is an attraction in itself and hence I planned extra time in my itinerary to enjoy this airport.

The passenger terminal complex consists of two buildings, one for domestic flights and one for international flights bringing together around 180 establishments offering food, shopping and entertainment. Most of the nice shops are in the domestic terminal. There is even a natural onsen and sauna located right inside the terminal building.

For us, we planned to spend time to shop for the exclusive local snacks, popular Hokkaido sweets, and enjoy unique airport-limited treats.

Some popular stores, like the Kinotoya, had perpetual long queues for their milk soft serve ice-cream and cheese tarts.

This Kinotoya ice cream is worth queuing up for.

We bought some local sweets to bring home. 

All the snacks and stuff we bought on this trip.