Some of the best sushi bowls you’ll find in the city.
With so many restaurants serving seafood in Tokyo, it can be hard to know which ones to spend your hard-earned money on. Well, we’re here to help make that decision easier for you today, with a fantastic recommendation in Ikebukuro called Kaisenzan, which translates to “Seafood Mountain“.
▼ The restaurant is about a five-minute walk from the north side of JR Ikebukuro Station.
Kaisenzan is actually an izakaya, which are tavern-like restaurants known for having a casual, laid-back atmosphere. What makes this one particularly special is the fact that it’s run by a fisherman, which means you can rest assured that you’re getting the best seafood possible.
▼ “Direct delivery from Izu Shimoda Port”
Not only does the seafood come direct from the shores of Izu, roughly 172 kilometres (107 miles) away in Shizuoka Prefecture, the restaurant itself is directly managed by the Yasumaru fishing vessel.
That means the seafood on the menu at the time of your visit will vary depending on what was freshly caught that day. When our reporter Yuuichiro Wasai visited at lunchtime, he ordered the kaisendon (seafood rice bowl), and on that day, his bowl was filled with several types of fish, mainly tuna and fatty tuna, but also bluefish, whitefish, and squid.
▼ Fantastic value at 1,200 yen (US$8.14)
The size of the servings was a nice surprise — each morsel was much larger than what you’d get at a regular restaurant or conveyor belt sushi chain. Fresh, plump, and super high quality, this was a great selection of seafood.
The seafood bowl comes with three small side dishes and miso soup, and you can get a large serving of rice instead of a regular for no additional cost, so you’ll leave feeling full and satisfied.
▼ The three side dishes on this particular day were pickles, daikon (white radish) salad and seaweed salad.
Yuuichiro has eaten his fair share of seafood bowls in his time, and judging from his experience, a bowl like this would usually be twice the price of what you pay here. The only downside is the kaisendon is only available at lunchtime, but that’s good news for people looking for a hearty lunch, and they also have a sashimi set meal and nigiri sushi set meal on the menu at lunchtime too, priced at 1,200 yen each.
▼ The kaisendon (海鮮丼) is so highly recommended it’s underlined on the lunchtime menu.
On the day Yuuichiro visited, they had some tasty options for dinner too, like conger eel tempura rice bowls, grilled fish sets, tuna cheek meat garlic steak sets, and even karaage fried chicken sets. All these meals were priced at 1,200 yen, and they even offer takeout as well, so next time you’re looking for a well-priced meal in Ikebukuro, be sure to stop by — it’s some of the freshest food you’ll find in Tokyo!
Restaurant Information
Kaisenzan / 海鮮山
Address: Tokyo-to, Toshima-ku, Ikebukuro 2-45-2, Takasaki Building B1F
東京都豊島区池袋2-45-2 高崎ビルB1F
Open: 11:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. (last order 2:30 p.m.), 4:30 p.m.~midnight (last order 11:00 p.m.)
Closed Mondays
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[ Read in Japanese ]
