Kyō unawa Main Store Shijō-Sakaimachi

It’s a well-known fact among foodies that hitsumabushi originated in Nagoya, but when I heard that “there’s apparently a restaurant in Kyoto that serves white hitsumabushi,” I decided to visit that restaurant—Kyō unawa Main Store Shijō-Sakaimachi. It’s easy to guess that “white hitsumabushi” is simply “hitsumabushi made with shirayaki eel,” but you can’t really know if it’s delicious until you try it, right? Making that excuse to myself, and driven solely by the desire to eat eel for the first time in a while, I headed to the restaurant one weekend at lunchtime. So, as for the white hitsumabushi—what was it actually like…?

From the moment you walk in, the atmosphere feels like a truly upscale Japanese restaurant… This is what “Kyō Unawa Main Store Shijō Sakaimachi” is like.

“Kyō Unawa Main Store Shijō Sakaimachi” is located just off Shijō Street, a short walk north on Sakaimachi Street—it’s set back slightly from the street on the right. The front garden leading from Sakaimachi Street to the restaurant’s entrance is beautifully landscaped in a traditional Japanese style, perfectly capturing the essence of a Kyoto Japanese restaurant. Actually, this front garden is shared with “Jiki Miyazawa,” a Michelin one-star high-end kappo restaurant… So, could this place be the kind of restaurant you can’t just casually drop into? I felt a tiny bit anxious.

Well, of course, that worry turned out to be unfounded. The restaurant has a total of 46 seats across the first and second floors. Eight of those seats are counter seats reminiscent of a high-end kappo restaurant, and I was lucky enough to be seated at one of them. That said, the chefs aren’t actually grilling eel right there at the counter, and there’s a partition so you can’t see what’s happening on the other side if you’re sitting normally—so this “high-end” counter might just be for show. Also, many of the floor staff were young; their service wasn’t bad, but you could definitely tell they were young.

It Wasn’t Just “White”… How Did the Shirayaki Hitsumabushi at Kyō Unawa Main Store Shijō Sakaimachi actually Taste?

So, let me introduce the Shirayaki Hitsumabushi (price: 5,500 yen, tax included) that I ordered that day at Kyō Unawa Main Store Shijō Sakaimachi. After placing my order, first…

Tea and pickles were brought to my table. While nibbling on these pickles, I waited a little over 10 minutes…

My main target for this visit—the Shirayaki Hitsumabushi—arrived. What was sitting on top of the rice was indeed shirayaki eel without sauce, but the flesh was golden brown, so in terms of color, it was actually the same brown as kabayaki…

That aside, let’s try this shirayaki hitsumabushi following the recommended eating method. First, as is… 

Next, with garnishes on top…

Then, as ochazuke…

While these three ways are the standard for eating hitsumabushi, this set also comes with a dashi-flavored sauce, so the variety of flavors you can enjoy is even greater and more complex. In the image above, the amount of rice and eel in the bowl might look quite small, but that’s because I deliberately asked for a smaller portion so I could try out the various variations. Rest assured, the portion size of the hitsumabushi itself isn’t small at all.

By the way, in addition to chopped nori, chopped green onions, and pickles…

You can use the shichimi togarashi and sansho pepper provided as table condiments. So, after trying out various combinations with these…

Eating it plain, without any additions, suited my taste the best. Adding the garnishes was nice, but if I had to point out a downside, it’s that the garnishes tended to dilute the impact of the charred aroma and the rich umami of the fat. On the other hand, ochazuke (rice with tea) doesn’t seem to pair that well with shirayaki… With kabayaki, the sauce blends with the dashi to elevate the flavor to the next level, but you can’t expect that effect with shirayaki.

So, I went ahead and polished off the white-grilled hitsumabushi—nearly half of which I’d set aside—all at once. The flesh was fluffy, the fat slowly melted on my tongue, and the toasty aroma of the charred edges wafted up to my nose… It’s a completely different flavor experience from kabayaki hitsumabushi. The shirayaki hitsumabushi at Kyō Unawa Main Store Shijō-Sakaimachi wasn’t just “white”—it was so much more. Honestly, it exceeded my expectations. Still, it’s a bit of a struggle knowing that from now on, whenever I crave hitsumabushi, I’ll have to agonize over choosing between kabayaki and shirayaki…

Other Menu Items at Kyo Unawa Main Store, Shijo Sakaimachi (Prices include tax)

• Uzaku 1,320 yen
• Premium Single-Eel Bento: 9,350 yen
• Special-Grade Hitsumabushi: 8,250 yen
• Premium Mixed Bento with Eel Liver (Limited Quantity): 6,600 yen
• Premium Eel Bento: 5,610 yen
• Eel Rolls (4 pieces): 1,760 yen
• Grilled Eel Liver (Limited Quantity) 1,430 yen

Get a discount by following and posting on social media… Kyō Unawa Main Store Shijō Sakaimachi is a 1-minute walk from the nearest station, Karasuma Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line (Shijō Station on the Kyoto Municipal Subway Karasuma Line).

At Kyō Unawa Main Store Shijō Sakaimachi, they also offer a discount through social media…

Get 200 yen off by “following” and “posting” on Instagram or Facebook. The “RedNote” mentioned below—is that a Chinese social media platform? It seems the discount is applied when you show the post screen to a staff member. It’s not a huge discount, but it’s still nice to be able to enjoy eel at a lower price. If you’re interested, please take advantage of this offer to enjoy a meal at a great value.

Now, here are the restaurant details…