Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant

Along Route 202, a gourmet street in Itoshima, there is Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant, which is popular for its kaisendon (fresh seafood bowls). Nearby this restaurant is Itoshima Shokudo Head Shop, which is also popular for its kaisendon. While Itoshima Shokudo serves rare kaisendon, Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant is popular for its generous portions and high cost performance.

I wanted to try out the kaisendon that was rumored to be so hearty, so I headed to the restaurant to arrive around 11:30 a.m. one day, walking toward Route 202 from JR Kafuri Station and turning left when I hit the national highway…

Mainly private rooms, easy to use for families and groups of customers…Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant is such a restaurant

After walking about 100 meters, you will see your destination, Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant, on the left. The exterior of the store gives off a slightly upscale atmosphere. There were several customers waiting to enter the restaurant. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that day, but I was lucky that there were far fewer customers than I had imagined.

After a few minutes of waiting, I entered the restaurant. The interior of the restaurant looks like a large house arranged for a restaurant, and there is a very relaxed atmosphere. According to the restaurant’s Tabelog information, the total number of seats is 80. While there are six counter seats, many of them are private rooms, so it looks very comfortable for families with small children or groups of customers.

No wonder it’s so popular… I had the top menu item, Gokujo Kaisen-don, at Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant!

Let me introduce to you the top-quality Kaisen-don menu, Gokujo Kaisen-don with Chawan-mushi (steamed rice in a bowl), which I ordered at Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant (there are two types of Kaisen-don, one with sesame sauce and the other with soy sauce sauce.) This Gokujo Kaisen-don with chawan-mushi is priced at 2,500 yen including tax, but this time I chose the option to have a large bowl of rice with more ingredients (priced at +300 yen)…

After about 10 minutes of waiting for my order, my bowl of rice arrived with gold leaf on the top of it. The seafood is so impressive that it is almost pushed up from the rim of the bowl.

As far as I could confirm, the ingredients include salmon roe, prawns, salmon, sea bream, tuna, sea urchin, squid, yellowtail, pickled tuna, pickled salmon, and egg rolls. There are a wide variety of ingredients, but the high-end items are also included, making it a great value for the money. Of course, the freshness is also unquestionable. The owner’s main business is as a wholesaler of fresh fish, so he is a connoisseur of fish. Since this is a kaisendon from such a restaurant, there is no way it is “bad”. The seafood is not running low even as I continue to eat, and it is truly a god of cost performance! I finished my meal with a satisfied smile on my face, thinking, “No wonder they are so popular…”.

Still, isn’t it quite a problem to have Itoshima Shokudo and Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant both within a 5-minute walking distance from each other? When I want to eat kaisendon, which restaurant should I go to… The price range is about the same, and the quality of the kaisendon is also very high, so I am really torn. If I had to say, I think I would go to Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant when I am more concerned about volume… Well, you can’t go wrong in the end, no matter which one you choose.

Examples of other lunch menu items at Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant (prices include tax)

• Sea urchin rice bowl with steamed egg custard (4,800 yen)
• Kiwami Kaisen-don and arayaki-zen (rice bowl with steamed egg custard) 2,900 yen
• Kita no kuni kara (from the north) (with steamed egg custard) 2,600 yen
• Sashimi gozen (steamed egg custard): 2,100 yen
• Aged raw tuna on rice (steamed egg custard): 1,900 yen
• Tempura Gozen (steamed egg custard): 1,800 yen Special Kaisen-don (with steamed egg custard, limited to 30 servings) 1,500 yen

A second restaurant that mainly serves sushi is also in operation just around the corner! Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant is a 10-minute walk from the nearest station, Kafuri Station on the JR Chikuhi Line.

Near Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant, about a 400-meter walk down the same street, is a second store called Nigiri Tsukamoto Fresh Fish Restaurant. Compared to the original restaurant, this one focuses mainly on sushi, so the menu consists mainly of nigirizushi and makizushi. However, the menu seems to offer the same variety of Kaisen-don as at the main restaurant, including the Gokujo Kaisen-don I had this time. Waiting times also tend to be shorter at the No. 2 restaurant, so please consider visiting the No. 2 restaurant, especially if there is a line at the main restaurant.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant…