Kaachan no Mise （かあちゃんの店）

What?

Kaachan no Mise, a seafood restaurant run by the women of the Oarai Fishing Association.

Where?

Isohama-cho Azahigashi 8253-20, Oarai-machi, Higashiibaraki-gun, Ibaraki Prefecture/茨城県東茨城郡大洗町磯浜町字東8253−20/

Open 10am - 3pm

About

Founded in 2010, Kachan no Mise is run by the women of Oarai Fishing Association and prides itself on its fresh, local seafood. The restaurant is particularly famous for 'shirasu-don', a rice-bowl dish topped with shirasu (sardine fry).

The shop began life when the women started selling the fish their husbands' caught directly to customers visiting the harbour. After this proved popular, the women opened Kachan no Mise in 2010, but less than a year after opening the shop was forced to close following the 2011 tsunami. However, the shop managed to reopen a few months later and is now one of the most popular restaurants for visitors to Oarai with customers regularly queuing out the door, so make sure to get there early!

Above: shirasu-don (sardine-fry rice bowl)

Below: outside Kachan no Mise