There is nothing like trying a Japanese restaurant without an English menu and without knowledge of Japanese. Luckily, pictures can help. In this case, overall it went well. (To get an English menu see my notes at the end of the post.)
The visit
I came across an izakaya located next to Mistukoshi, in a very central location dominated by retail outlets. The izakaya is located in a basement and in English is called Baka Damon (it is the only English term on the sign).
I was welcomed with a compulsory appetizer: two pieces of radish oden style.
I wanted to have some skewers.
I had skewers with pork belly, beef and mutton.
I particularly enjoyed their meatballs.
They also had chicken fried in a number of ways. I went for the dish pictured above using only wing tips.
They had ankimo sashimi. This dish is rarely seen outside Japan and it is basically marinated monk-fish liver. To me, it is the seafood equivalent of foie gras. It is an incredibly delicious seafood dish.
They also had a very attractive all you can drink option (you pay a flat price and for a fixed amount of time, like 2 hours, you can drink all the beer you wish; it is a format quite common in izakayas) and they were surprised that I was not interested.
The check
The damage for all of these izakaya delicacies was 4,330 yen (38.5 USD). When in an izakaya I rarely spend less than that.
This izakaya experience overall was interesting and a nice departure from menu more heavily based on seafood. This was clearly an izakaya focusing on meat, including less common types of meat (duck, gizzards, and more). The skewers were good. Among the delicacies I did not try there was horse meat sashimi that seemed to be their signature dish.
This is an address to keep in mind if you are hanging out around Mitsukoshi department store in Sapporo.
Where in Sapporo:
3-8-11, Minami 1 Jo Nishi, Chuo-ku, Sapporo-shi, Hokkaido, 060-0063
See this website for details and menu in English (I wish I had known this link before the visit…).