I mentioned in a previous post that I took a sightseeing boat from Matsushima that wound up at Shiogama.
Among other things, Shiogama is known for being one of the busiest fishing ports and processors of seafood in Japan. A pleasant side effect of this is that Shiogama boasts one of the highest concentrations of sushi restaurants in the whole country.
There are obviously quite a few places to choose from; Daikoku Sushi is both Michelin-recognized and features a (relatively) affordable set menu. For 3300 yen (about 40 bucks Canadian — way outside of my typical budget, but sometimes you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do) you get about a dozen pieces of top-notch sushi.
I felt a bit uneasy about spending so much on one meal, but that feeling completely evaporated once I ate my first piece of sushi.
Oh man. It was incredible.
I’ll admit that I don’t have a ton of experience with higher-end sushi — though I’ve eaten a ton of sushi in my life, it’s almost entirely been from middle-of-the-road sushi joints. So this probably doesn’t mean a whole lot coming from me, but still: this was, hands-down, the best sushi I’ve ever had in my life. It’s not even close.
Everything about it was absolutely perfect. The rice was perfectly cooked and perfectly seasoned, and all of the fish was absolutely amazing. It was mind-blowing.
I don’t know that I can even describe it. The flavours and the textures were all off the charts. I wish my pictures had turned out better, because they clearly aren’t doing this exceptional sushi justice. You’ll just have to take my word for it: it was the best.
The set also came with a bowl of soup, which had an exceptionally clean seafood flavour, and a scoop of peach sorbet, which was a great (and very refreshing) way to end the meal.
Location: 3-chōme-9-33 Kitahama, Shiogama, Miyagi 985-0003
How to find it: There’s no English anywhere, so look out for the plain white signs with black text.