November 28, 2025
Farm Restaurant Cuore
Premium fresh lamb and mutton in Hokkaido
The Hokkaido town of Shiranuka is a 20-minute drive from Kushiro Airport. The culture of the Ainu, the Indigenous people of Hokkaido, is deeply rooted in the region. Along with programs for preserving Ainu culture, Shiranuka is home to the facility Ureshipa Chise, which promotes understanding through cultural exchange. The town also hosts Ainu festivals.
In 1987, Hiroshi Muto, a Kyoto native, relocated to Shiranuka and started the Charo Sheep Farm, where about 800 sheep are pastured. The farm processes and sells their meat as premium lamb and mutton, but its Farm Restaurant Cuore next door offers a deeper experience of lamb and mutton cuisine.
Born and raised in Shiranuka, Yuya Urushizaki trained at an Italian restaurant in Sapporo before returning in 2014 to become Cuore’s chef. He helped renovate the century-old farmhouse that is now the restaurant and worked on the farm before Cuore opened, doing jobs including looking after sheep and dividing carcasses. Even when Cuore is closed, he processes meat shipped nationwide. All sausage preparation is also carried out under his leadership.
Urushizaki works on his own in the kitchen. The menu offers appetizers, pastas, risottos, main courses and desserts, but visitors should try the “all lamb course” at ¥16,500 ($110), featuring meat from different growth stages and internal organs such as brains, sweetbreads, hearts and kidneys.
Nearly all ingredients are produced in Shiranuka, and Urushizaki often harvests vegetables, gathers mountain greens and wild mushrooms, and even catches fish.
“I love Shiranuka and think about how I can enhance its added value and energize the community through cooking,” he said. “This is one reason I want to create the best in lamb and mutton cuisine here.”
Address
Farm Restaurant Cuore
Charogawanishi, Shiranuka-cho, Shiranuka-gun, Hokkaido.
https://charomen-cuore.com
Naomichi Suzuki
governor of Hokkaido
As the governor of the region and someone who has tried their food, I am delighted to hear that Shiranuka’s very own Farm Restaurant Cuore has been selected as one of The Japan Times’ Destination Restaurants 2025.
Farmers in Hokkaido ensure the high quality of their products with unparalleled passion and dedication, as do the chefs who showcase the beauty and flavor of locally sourced ingredients. Please come visit Hokkaido and enjoy the exquisite tastes our prefecture has to offer, as well as our four beautiful seasons, unique culture and more.
Takao Tanano
Mayor of Shiranuka
I am truly delighted and proud that Farm Restaurant Cuore in Shiranuka has been selected as The Japan Times’ Destination Restaurant of the Year 2025.
Cuore has long showcased the charm of this town through its cuisine, elevating locally sourced ingredients — blessed by the rich natural environment — and the passion of its producers into thoughtful, expressive dishes. I hope that everyone who visits Shiranuka will feel the wind, the sea, the forests and the warmth of its people through each plate served at Cuore.
