We decided to break up our trip to Nagoya by spending a night in Numazu. We had heard that Numazu was famous for its fishing port and galore of sashimi and seafood. After doing a bit of research we had marked a couple of restaurants around the Numazu Fish Market. It was still pretty early so we decided to check them all out and then make a decision. Some the places only had menus in Japanese which would have been doable however, it was in written form. We can generally read Japanese, but when you add a cursive component to it, it becomes too much for us. We chose Nishiyo for its clearly defined menu and pricing.

Nishiyo was located along a one way wavey street just east of the Numazu Fish Market. It along with another couple of restaurants were tucked away off the main street. We had to enter the open air part of the building first. There were a couple of benches outside and room for one group to wait inside. The receptionist was quite strict and made everyone else wait outside. There was nowhere to write our name down, so it was just the honors system of who was next.

Nishiyo Interior

The interior of the restaurant was quite small, but the seating was pretty dense. There was a long wrap around counter that seated around eight guests. Along the walls they had a number of tables that could accommodate parties of up to six people. There was a short line when we arrived, but we only had to wait for 10 minutes before being seated.

Nishiyo Menu

Nishiyo was known for both their tonkatsu and sashimi. We decided to try both and share them between ourselves. We ordered one assorted sashimi set, one large sashimi set, and one fried aji set.

Sashimi Galore in Numazu

It was surprising how quickly our food came out. There was one sushi chef and a bunch of assistants hurriedly preparing the food in the back. They were quite efficient. The fried aji came out first. The set meal came with two whole fish that had been beautifully butterflied. They were crispy on the outside, had good flavor, and were nice and flakey on the inside. The sashimi set meals came out next and they were absolutely stunning. The variety and presentation was wonderful. All the seafood was super fresh, although I can saw we weren’t particular fans of the anchovy or mackerel.

Final Thoughts

The sashimi at Nishiyo was amazing. Probably the freshest octopus we’ve ever had. Typically octopus is a bit rubbery and chewy, however the octopus at Nishiyo was tender and easy to eat. The tuna and was by far our favorite. It was cut thick with an almost buttery texture and melt in your mouth type qualities. Top 5 freshest and most delicious fish we’ve had in Japan. At a price of ¥4,850 for three people, we’ll definitely come back to enjoy sashimi galore in Numazu.

More to Come…