鰻
Charcoal-grilled eel glazed in sweet soy, the meal Japanese people save up for.
Unagi is freshwater eel, split, steamed (in the Tokyo style) or grilled directly (in the Kansai style), glazed with a sweet soy tare and served over rice. It is expensive because wild eel is scarce, and it is treated as a special-occasion meal. The famous Tabelog unagi houses have been grilling for a century or more, and the scores reflect how well a shop handles the fire more than anything else.
Tokyo-style unagi is steamed before grilling, giving a softer texture than the Kansai version, and the historic houses in Asakusa, Nihonbashi and Minami-Senju have been doing it for 150 years or more. Budget for ¥4,000 to ¥6,000 and a 40-minute wait once ordered; it is grilled when you sit down..
Asakusa · Nihonbashi · Minami-Senju
Hitsumabushi is Nagoya's gift to unagi: crisply grilled eel chopped over rice in a wooden tub, eaten first plain, then with wasabi and scallions, then with dashi poured over as a rice soup. The originator in Atsuta and its rivals near Nagoya Station are the city's highest-rated restaurants and have two-hour waits; the station branches are faster..
Atsuta · Nagoya Station · Sakae
Anago-meshi, grilled sea eel over rice, is Miyajima's signature and the century-old house by the ferry terminal is one of the highest-rated restaurants in the prefecture. Buy the bento version for the train if the queue is too long..
Miyajima · Hiroshima Station
How to eat hitsumabushi like a local: the four portions, the condiments and the dashi, plus three top-rated Nagoya eel houses with real wait times.
Una-ju is eel over rice in a lacquered box, sized by how much eel you get. Hitsumabushi, the Nagoya style, is eaten three ways: plain, with condiments, then with dashi poured over. Shiroyaki (unglazed) with wasabi shows the quality of the eel itself. Sprinkle sansho pepper on top.
Menus are usually just two or three sizes of una-ju, so ordering is easy; the word una-ju alone works.
Unagi houses above 3.6 are the historic names. 3.4 and above is reliably excellent; below 3.2 may be using imported frozen eel.
Una-ju is eel over rice in a lacquered box, sized by how much eel you get. Hitsumabushi, the Nagoya style, is eaten three ways: plain, with condiments, then with dashi poured over. Shiroyaki (unglazed) with wasabi shows the quality of the eel itself. Sprinkle sansho pepper on top.
Lunch: ¥3,000 to ¥5,000. Dinner: ¥4,000 to ¥8,000.
Unagi houses above 3.6 are the historic names. 3.4 and above is reliably excellent; below 3.2 may be using imported frozen eel.
The famous houses take reservations and you should use them. Expect 30 to 40 minutes between ordering and eating at good shops because eel is grilled to order.
Tokyo, Nagoya, Hiroshima each have a dedicated page. Tokyo: Tokyo-style unagi is steamed before grilling, giving a softer texture than the Kansai version, and the historic houses in Asakusa, Nihonbashi and Minami-Senju have been doing it for 150 years or more.
Open TabeDog, pick unagi, and see Tabelog's top-rated shops around you with hours, prices and payment methods in English.
Find unagi on the map