The city of Niigata was located along the coast of the Sea of Japan. Thus the city had access to abundant seafood throughout its history. The city had a special sushi promotion called kiwami (極み) which translated to extreme. There were just under 50 sushi shops throughout Niigata Prefecture that were participating. Although a large cluster of them were based in Niigata city. The special promotion was a preset amount of ten different nigiri sushi. The contents of which changed regularly and were based on seasonal conditions and what was available at local fish markets.

It was around lunch time when we got to Niigata Station, so we decided to look for a kiwami (極み) lunch. We headed towards one sushi restaurant on the list, but it was pretty small. The restaurant only had ten sushi bar seats and there was a pretty long waiting list. We backtracked towards the station to Tomisushi in Niigata. The wait was a much more manageable five minutes. When we got inside we were seated at a nice booth across from the sushi bar. The restaurant was pretty big and featured a large sushi bar, numerous tables, and a couple private rooms with tatami seating.

Tomisushi in Niigata Menu

We looked over the menu, even though we had already decided what we were going to order. The menu had a good variety of individual sushi, sushi combos, set meals, and rice bowl options. We both ordered the kiwami (極み) and a small grilled fish as an appetizer.

Tomisushi in Niigata Food Review

First to come out was a large bowl of miso soup with white fish. There were a generous number of bone in pieces of fish with a decent amount of meat. The meat was tender and had absorbed the miso flavor well, but it was a little cumbersome having to pick the meat off the bone. The fish pieces added a nice flavor and a little oil to the miso soup.

Next to come was a bowl of chawanmushi (steamed egg custard). It was really hot. When we lifted the lid, a small plume of steam was released and we were hit with an aromatic shoyu dashi aroma. The chawanmushi was really good. It had a very light dashi taste, was incredibly smooth, and melted in our mouths. There were a couple of fillings like shitake mushroom, kamaboko (steamed fish cake), and lily root.

Next to come out was the fried fish that we ordered. This was probably one of the best fried fish we’ve ever had. The fish had a very delicious soy sauce marinade. The skin was crispy and the meat was nice and flakey. Our only gripe was that the fish was so small. 10/10 would recommend and get again.

A little while later our kiwami (極み) came out. We really enjoyed the presentation. The sushi were placed next to each other diagonally on a large white ceramic dish. The taste and freshness of the fish were excellent. Each sushi gave us a full mouthful of distinct flavor. We went in the winter, so some of the seasonal fish included the nanban shrimp, yellowtail, and flounder. Our personal favorites were the tuna and flounder.

Final Thoughts

If your interested in kiwami (極み) then we recommend going to the Niigata Tourist Information center in Niigata Station. The attendants were very nice and they gave us a map of all the local sushi shops that were offering kiwami (極み). In addition, there were coupons for each of the sushi restaurants listed. The one for Tomisushi in Niigata was 10% off of the entire bill.

For more information here is a link describing kiwami (極み).

More to Come…

Here is a link to their website.