A note on the words: garisaba pairs shime-saba (mackerel cured in vinegar and salt) with gari (the sweet-pickled sliced ginger eaten with sushi). The tuna platter is taken to be akami (the lean cut), butsu (tuna cut into chunks), and nakaochi (the rich, flavorful meat scraped from along the fish’s backbone). Numazu is a prominent fishing harbor in Shizuoka prefecture known for fresh seafood landings, and hiru-nomi and asa-nomi refer to the vibrant Japanese tradition of daytime and morning drinking in working-class bar districts like Ueno.
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Numazu Ko Kaisho zero Ueno ten on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hello, this is Hangover Meshi. When it comes to daytime drinking (hiru-nomi) in Ueno, I usually start at Takioka and go on a crawl. If it is not too crowded, after Takioka I usually drop by Daitoryo, and after that, the place I almost always end up at is right here: “Numazu Ko Kaisho zero Ueno ten”. It is a seafood and sashimi spot. Most of the daytime drinking joints lean toward stewed dishes (nikomi), so being able to get fresh sashimi means I end up stopping in all the time.
This shop has a ground floor and a basement, but the basement feels pretty tight and is awkward to get into and out of, so I prefer to avoid it! I stepped in to check whether there was room on the ground floor — planning to stay if there was and move on elsewhere if not — and they told me the ground floor was fine. It really comes down to how early in the morning you get here!
So after asking for a highball to start, I ordered a few things that looked good as snacks.
Now this is seriously delicious.
It combines shime-saba (cured mackerel) and gari (sweet-pickled ginger), and the pronounced sourness of the mackerel pairs wonderfully with the sweet, tangy ginger. The gari itself is thoroughly delicious in the first place, so of course they go together!
The shop actually hails from Numazu. Because of that, there are quite a few tuna options on the menu, and from among them I ordered the trio of tuna cuts.
It seems to be akami, butsu, and nakaochi, I think.
The akami has a solid tuna flavor and is delicious! The butsu pieces are a bit sinewy, but they have a satisfying bite. The nakaochi part gives you a deep, concentrated tuna taste that is wonderful. There are plenty of other sashimi choices, but I always seem to order this trio.
And with just those two dishes, I drank four or five highballs and wrapped it up!
In Ueno, it is so easy to drop in quickly, order two or three dishes, and move on to the next place! There is an enormous number of bars, and just as huge a crowd of drinkers! Hopping from one spot to another while discovering new places is the true Ueno drinking style. If you want a drink first thing in the morning, I recommend this place too!
Numazu Ko Kaisho zero Ueno ten (Izakaya / Keisei Ueno Station, Ueno Okachimachi Station, Okachimachi Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.3
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
