u/OAVAO99

Early June visit. Possibly the most old-school Edomae sushiya west of Kanto Area.

Flavor profile here continues to be dominated by Basho-San’s heavily seasoned Neta and Shari. Could be rough for diners with lighter palate, but for the ones craving salty and vinegary knock-outs, this joint will likely be your jam. Highlights for me were the signature starter of Toro-daikon hill, Octopus Negi-Ponzu, Kohada, and straw-smoked Bonito Nigiri.

Main drawback is the value for cost that has regressed significantly over the years. Personally, re-visit within the same season is hard to justified given predictable offerings.

Full course as of below, currently priced at ¥44,000.

🍶Tsumami
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Tuna Belly with Daikon radish | 鮪トロ 大根おろしのせ
Sardine handroll with ginger and scallion | 鰯海苔巻
Boiled Hard Clam | 煮蛤
Grilled Pike Conger Eel | 鱧の塩焼き
Octopus with scallion-ponzu marinate | 葱と蛸ポン酢
Grilled Beltfish over sushi rice | 太刀魚の塩焼き舎利丼

🍣Nigiri
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Medium Tune Belly No.1 | 中トロ
Medium Tuna Belly No.2 | 中トロ
Gizzard Shad | 小肌
Red Sea Bream | 真鯛
Striped Jack | 縞鯵
Squid | 障泥烏賊
Squid Tentacles | 烏賊下足
Arctic Surf Clam | 北寄貝
Smoked Bonito | 鰹藁焼き
Horse Mackerel | 鯵
Purple Sea Urchin | 紫雲丹
Marinated Lean Tuna | 赤身漬け
Tiger Prawn | 車海老
Saltwater Eel | 穴子
Triple Hand-rolls: Tuna Belly, Fatty Tuna with pickles, dry gourd | 鮪トロ, トロたく, 干瓢巻き
Egg | 玉子焼き

Slightly off the beaten path between Osaka and Kobe, Sakurabito is quietly situated in the affluent neighborhood of Ashiya.

Taisho Yoshida-San is a self-taught rising star in the Kansai tempura scene. He manned the tempura front at Kaiseki kitchens across Hyogo and Osaka for almost 2 decades, before establishing his own footprints.

Tempura coating here is nicely done to the essentials. The use of Taihaku sesame oil combined with a light batter creates the initial satisfying crisp crunch without overpowering the ingredients. The course centers on oceanic catches from Setouchi waters and Awaji-island coasts with just a few summer vegetable harvests. Kinmedai, early summer sweetfish, and Kumamoto red eggplant were the highlights for me amongst the many excellent servings. Everything out of the fryer were conditioned to light yet satisfying mouthfeel. Entire course lasted just over 3 hours.

Would revisit should I find myself near Hyogo when seat availability here pops up. Full course as of 2026 early summer, priced at ¥2,5000

1. Assorted Fish Broth | 太刀魚金目鯛出汁

2. Snapper Sashimi with skin-tempura | 鯛昆布締めと皮

3. Tiger Prawn Heads | 車海老頭と足

4. Tiger Prawn | 車海老

5. Tiger Prawn Rare | 車海老レア

6. Beltfish | 太刀魚

7. Golden-eye Snapper | 金目鯛

8. Sweetfish | 稚鮎

9. Dončić Horse Mackerel Sashimi | ドンチッチ鯵

10. Chicken Tenderloins from Eragon(Tabelog 4.29) | 鶏ささみ

11. Pike Conger Eel | 鱧

12. Octopus | 煮蛸

13. Steamed Egg | 南高梅の茶碗蒸し

14. Red Eggplant | 熊本赤茄子

15. Corn Rib | 玉蜀黍

16. Squid | 障泥烏賊

17. Summer Trout Claypot Rice | 時知らず鮭で炊いた飯

18. Fish Broth simmered Rice | 鮭の出汁茶漬けに

A wonderful return visit to the treasured Sushi-ya in downtown Matsuyama of Ehime, currently the No.1 restaurant in the entire Shikoku area.

Takahira-San’s masterful Edomae techniques and his profound understanding of ingredients — complemented by the "stress-free"catches from Setouchi waters, personally delivered by the renowned Junichi Fujimoto, result in creations that offer exquisite flavors and a distinctive style of its own.

Shiromi pieces, being the oceanic pride of Ehime, are treated flawlessly here as the heavy lifters of the course. That is then combined with the early-summer mackerel, Shimofuri tuna from up north, and Binchotan-grilled Ise lobster, each adding a unique and pleasant note to the overall flavor profile.

Full course as of 2026 early summer, priced at ¥2,7500 yen

🍶Tsumami

1. Stonefish assorted cuts | 虎魚煎り酒和え, 皮, 肝, 胃袋, 卵巣

2. Stonefish dashi soup | 虎魚アラ出汁

3. Silver Pomfret skin-seared | 真名鰹の皮目炭火炙り

4. Blue Mackerel sashimi | ゴマ鯖

5. Steamed Abalone with liver sauce | 黒鮑酒蒸し, 肝ソース

6. Sushi rice over abalone liver sauce | 鮑肝ソースの舎利丼

7. Golden-eye Snapper grilled | 金目鯛藁焼き

8. Red-spotted Grouper | 皮目炙り雉羽太

🍣Nigiri

1. Longtooth Grouper | 九絵

2. Treeline Grunt | 伊佐木

3. Squid | 障泥烏賊

4. Tuna “Shimofuri” Belly | 鮪トロの霜降り

5. Blue Crab with Miso and Roe | 渡蟹手巻き, 味噌と内子

6. Striped Jack | 縞鯵

7. Sweetfish with liver sauce and seaweed | 鮎の蒸し寿司

8. Blackthroat Sea-perch seared | 喉黒の炭火炙り

9. Whiting marinated in Kelp | 鱚昆布〆

10. ⁠⁠Ise Lobster seared with miso | 伊勢海老味噌のせ炙り

11. ⁠⁠⁠Red Sea Urchin | 赤雲丹

12. ⁠⁠⁠Saltwater Eel | 穴子

13. ⁠⁠⁠Egg | 玉子焼き

Recent nigiri lunch. Compared to previous visits which felt rushed, pace of the nigiri flow this time improved significantly. Sato-San kept a consistent 5 minutes interval between pieces. Highlights this time were the Aji, the marinated Sawara, and the finishing Anago piece. Tomidokoro continues to be one of the better deals in central Tokyo for nigiri enthusiasts.

Lunch nigiri fleet as of 2026 early summer

1. Lean Tuna | 赤身
2. Medium Tuna Belly | 中トロ
3. Young Sea Bream | 春子鯛
4. Sea Bass | 鱸
5. Squid | 障泥烏賊
6. Pen Shell | 平貝
7. Bonito | 鰹
8. Octopus | 蛸
9. Tiger Prawn | 車海老
10. Horse Mackerel | 鯵
11. Hard Clam | 蛤
12. Spanish Mackerel | 鰆
13. Purple Sea Urchin | 紫雲丹
14. Saltwater Eel | 穴子
15. Egg | 玉子