Jingisukan — Hokkaido's Lamb BBQ Tradition

**Ordering strategy:** At Daruma, order the 'Special Lamb' (特上ラム, tokujou-ramu, ¥1,800) — shoulder cuts with more fat and flavor than standard cuts. Add vegetable set (¥600) and rice (¥300). Grilling technique: place lamb on the dome center where it's hottest, vegetables around the edges. Lamb cooks in 30-60 seconds (pink center is fine). Dip cooked lamb in the tare sauce (sweet, garlicky, slightly spicy). Pair with draft beer (Sapporo Classic, ¥600). **Daruma vs. Sapporo Beer Garden:** Daruma is authentic, local-favorite, and affordable but cramped and smoky (ventilation is minimal — your clothes will smell of lamb). Sapporo Beer Garden is touristy, spacious, and has all-you-can-eat sets (¥4,000, 100 minutes) but the lamb quality is lower. Choose Daruma for best flavor, Beer Garden for convenience/groups. **Raw vs. marinated lamb:** Raw lamb (nama) has a more pronounced gamey flavor — if you're sensitive to lamb taste, order marinated (tare-zuke) which is sweeter and milder. Most Daruma customers order raw to taste the meat quality. First-timers can order both styles to compare. **Cultural note:** Jingisukan is eaten socially — groups gather around the grill, drink beer, and cook together. Solo dining is possible but less common. The convex grill's design drips fat away from meat (healthier than flat grills). Hokkaido's sheep farming history (developed for wool in early 1900s) made lamb meat readily available when beef was scarce post-WWII.