Butadon Meijin is a specially crafted sauce that makes it easy to prepare delicious, restaurant-quality butadon—a Japanese rice bowl topped with grilled pork. Butadon originated in Hokkaido’s Tokachi region more than 100 years ago. According to one popular story, pioneers substituted pork for eel and grilled it with a sauce traditionally used for unagi, or grilled eel, creating this now-famous local dish.
Butadon Meijin is made by hand using a unique recipe based on eel sauce, enhanced with ingredients such as garlic and ginger. Its well-balanced combination of sweetness and savory richness gives grilled pork its characteristic flavor. The sauce is also versatile enough to use in other dishes, including stir-fried vegetables, teriyaki-style fish, nikujaga (Japanese meat and potato stew), and simmered yellowtail fish head.
Drive-in Ito is a popular restaurant serving butadon at its Tokachi-Shimizu main location and New Chitose Airport branch. Many fans visit not only to enjoy the restaurant’s pork rice bowls but also to purchase take-home butadon sets featuring the restaurant’s signature sauce, Butadon Meijin. The sauce makes it easy to recreate the distinctive taste of Tokachi’s beloved local specialty in your own kitchen.
Butadon is one of Tokachi’s best-known regional dishes. Tender slices of pork are grilled and coated in a rich, sweet-savory sauce, then served over a bowl of steamed rice. The combination of fragrant grilled meat, glossy sauce, and warm rice makes it a satisfying meal and a must-try specialty for visitors exploring eastern Hokkaido.