Enjoy the perfect harmony of flavor created by our three branded eels,
carefully selected rice, and rich house-made sauce.
Our Commitment to Unagi
We are committed to every step of eel cultivation, starting with the development of their feed. No chemicals are used, and we work only with trusted domestic producers to raise our eels with great care.
Tosa no Igossou: Raised on a natural diet of bluefish and white fish.
Chikushikin Unagi: Fed generously with mantis shrimp, similar to the rare wild blue eel of Okayama.
Tenku Unagi: The ultimate eel, raised on both bluefish and mantis shrimp for a rich and refined flavor.
We are the only restaurant in Japan where you can enjoy all three of these exclusive branded eels.
Our Commitment to Rice
We mill our rice daily and serve it freshly cooked.
Only ingredients that we truly believe taste best when enjoyed together with our pickles and eggs are offered to our guests.
Our Commitment to Sauce
While it’s common to coat eel with sauce three to four times during grilling, we apply our sauce only twice to let you enjoy the eel’s natural flavor.
Our sauce itself is rich with umami, made by slowly simmering eel heads, livers, and bones. Even with just two coatings, the depth of flavor is more than enough to complement the eel beautifully.
The Story Behind “Tenku Unagi” — Born from the Owner’s Deep Love for Eel
A Question That Sparked a Journey:“Why do they all taste the same…?”
Inokuchi, the owner and a passionate lover of eel, spent years traveling across Japan — dining at renowned eel restaurants in every prefecture except Hokkaido and Okinawa. Over time, however, he began to question the uniform taste of farmed shirayaki eel.
“No matter where I went, the flavor was always the same — and I often noticed an unpleasant fishy aftertaste.”
Then one night, he happened to watch a food program introducing wild blue eel caught at the river mouth in Okayama Prefecture. The segment mentioned that these rare eels had a particular fondness for mantis shrimp, which made up a large part of their natural diet.
From a Home Experiment to Two Patents
This revelation led Inokuchi to a bold idea:“What if I tried feeding mantis shrimp to farmed eel? Could it make them taste better?” Driven by his deep affection for eels, he installed three large agricultural tanks at his home and began raising 120 eels himself.
For the next two years, despite numerous challenges, he continued to collect data — changing the feed in each tank and tracking differences in growth and flavor, all through trial and error as a dedicated amateur.His passion eventually caught the attention of the prefectural fisheries research center and three universities.With their support, his work led to two patents—one for the feed and one for the farming method.
Flavor Backed by Scientific Research
We deliberately minimize the amount of fish oil—known to increase fat content—in the feed we use. This allows our eels to develop their own natural, high-quality fat for a cleaner, more refined taste.
In fact, scientific analysis has shown that our eels contain up to 20% more of certain free-form amino acids—glycine, alanine, and proline—which are directly linked to better taste, compared to standard farm-raised eels.
By working only with producers who fully understand and share our passion and research-backed methods, we have succeeded in creating Tenku Unagi—a premium farm-raised eel with no off-flavors, even when served as shirayaki. Please enjoy this ultimate expression of unagi, born from the deep dedication of our owner, Inokuchi.
