Kurisaki-ya sushi restaurant 栗崎屋
What?
Kurisaki-ya (栗崎屋), a sushi & sashimi restaurant near the Oarai train station
Where?
Onuki-cho 531, Oarai-machi, Higashiibaraki District, Ibaraki Prefecture, 311-1311/茨城県東茨城郡大洗町大貫町531/
Open: 11 am - 9 pm
Closed on Thursdays
About
Kurisakiya, a popular sushi and sashimi restaurant, opened near the Oarai train station over 30 years ago. Kurisakiya started off as a small rice seller, but as supermarket expansion progressed they shifted their business focus onto sushi.
Some of the popular items include: chef’s selection of 10 nigiri sushi pieces (regular (10貫握り) or special (特選10貫握り)), kaisen-don (seafood rice bowl 海鮮丼) and anago-don (conger eel rice bowel あなご丼). Freshwater clam miso soup (shijimi-jiru, しじみ汁) is also popular!
Special (tokusen) 10 nigiri sushi
This being Oarai, the special menu changes depending on the daily catch, so it is worth visiting Kurisakiya on multiple occasions if you have a chance. In winter, the recommended dishes include kaarage, angler fish hot-pot (anko nabe), and angler fish liver seasoned with vinegar. In spring, Japanese halfbeak is in season, and in summer you might find Japanese sea bass on the menu. Mehikari, or greeneye, is also a popular seasonal special, that can be enjoyed raw or fried as karaage. Raw whitebait (nama shirasu), the most famous Oarai seafood dish, is available all year round!
A lot of people visit Kurisakiya just to order their famous “sushi tank” – a dish of sashimi and maki sushi made to resemble a panzer tank (homage to anime Girls und Panzer, which takes place in Oarai). Just google, twitter- or instagram-search Kurisakiya and you will find a lot of featured photos, as this dish is truly popular!
Kurisakiya also offers a limited dessert menu, which includes seasonal items such as fresh strawberries or local brand Tsuki no I (月の井) ice cream; Tsuki no I is a well-known Oarai sake brewery, so sake-flavoured ice cream are not uncommon!
Kurisakiya gets a lot of international customers, and although their menu is in Japanese only, the staff is used to helping foreign visitors. Nevertheless, it might be a good idea to have your phone with some data available, in case you want to google some particular kind of fish that you would like to try~
We got served some special sushi (from left): flounder (hirame), sea robin (kanagashira), and meat from the head of a tuna fish (maguro no zuniku).
Freshwater clam miso soup (shijimi-jiru).