Live-action TV series

First Love (First Love Hatsukoi)

Northern Hokkaido area

Yae (Rikako Yagi) and Harumichi (Taisei Kido) fall in love at high school in their small town in Hokkaido. Their lives take different paths and before they know it, they've spent 20 years apart. As it happens, they both end up back in the same town. Yae (now played by Hikari Mitsushima) makes a living as a taxi driver while Harumichi (now played by Takeru Sato) has left his role as a military official and now works for a security company. Their first love didn't last. But one day, fate brings them back together... Scenes from Yae and Harumichi's lives in the intervening 20 years play out in Asahikawa, Sapporo, and other areas of Hokkaido. Enjoy the heartache and beauty of this story about first love.

Streaming on Netflix as a Netflix exclusive.

Year released: 2022

Starring: Hikari Mitsushima, Takeru Sato, etc.

Director: Yuri Kanchiku

Screenwriter: Yuri Kanchiku

Streaming on: Netflix

STAMP SPOT!

Ramen Hachiya Flagship Store

This popular historic ramen restaurant epitomizes Asahikawa ramen. The dishes are inventive—in one quirky dish, a "double broth" containing both meat and seafood is complemented with charred lard—and the perfect noodles for the broth are made in-house. Ramen Hachiya was reportedly the birthplace of the Asahikawa style of ramen noodles, which are made with less water than other noodles. The restaurant appears in episode 8 of the series, when Harumichi takes his fiancee Tsunemi for ramen. They have the soy sauce ramen, the restaurant's most popular dish. Ramen Hachiya has two stores in Asahikawa, and this store, the flagship store, is the one that appears in the series.

Address: 3-jodori 15-chome Hidari-8, Asahikawa City, Hokkaido 070-0033

Phone: 0166-23-3729

Access: Around a 5-minute walk from JR Asahikawa-Yojo Station

Open hours: 10:00am - 3:20pm

Open period: All year round

Closed: Wednesdays

Admission: -

Notes: -