A note on the words: unaju is grilled eel laid over rice in a lacquered box. Matsu and Take — pine and bamboo — are the two grades Koyanagi sells it in.
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Koyanagi on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Hangover Meshi here. I had an errand in Asakusa, and when you are in Asakusa you want tempura or eel. I went looking at lunchtime and the place was heaving — on a weekday, and almost everyone around me was a foreign visitor. Every shop I had looked up was full or had a long line. Walking on towards Sensoji, still stuck, I spotted an eel restaurant. That will do, I thought, and went in.
A nice-looking old front.
Unaju, Matsu 3,850 yen → 4,070 yen
Unaju, Take 3,300 yen → 3,520 yen
Kimosui (eel liver soup) 110 yen
* The struck-through prices are what I paid when I visited in September 2023. The figure on the right is the menu price as of this writing (August 2026), tax included.
They told me there is no difference in the eel between Matsu and Take.
So the difference is the amount of rice — and 550 yen for rice is a fair chunk. I ordered the Matsu anyway, to check. The liver soup is charged separately, so I added that as well.
The box turned up a little later. A very plain-looking box.
The liver soup arrived too. Time to open it.
So this is what it looks like. There does seem to be a bit more rice. And the eel really is no different from the Take.
One bite in — well, eel is never not good. It is good.
The eel is on the small side and the bones are noticeable, though not enough to get in the way of eating it normally. The sauce is sharp and slightly salty, and it is brushed on generously, so the kabayaki flavour comes through properly and works with the rice. The rice is quite soft. I think a firmer grain would suit unaju better.
And this, for comparison, is the Take.
Maybe a little less rice? That is about it. On value, Take is obviously the one to get.
Koyanagi Menu
Menu
More rice. Same amount and grade of eel as the Take.
Same eel as the Matsu. The one to pick on value.
Grilled eel on its own, not in a box over rice.
As above.
Grilled without sauce.
The other thing they are known for — Koyanagi also serves chicken dishes.
Ordered separately (not included with the unaju).
* From the menu as of this writing (August 2026), tax included. When I visited in September 2023, Unaju Matsu was 3,850 yen and Take was 3,300 yen.
The staff say there is no difference in the eel between Matsu and Take. The 550 yen gap is rice. Putting the two side by side, the eel really was the same and only the rice differed. The menu also notes that both Matsu and Take use a whole eel. Unless you particularly want more rice, Take is enough.
There are also a la carte dishes — uzaku (eel with vinegared cucumber), unagi omelette, simmered eel liver, itawasa (Suzuhiro fish cake with wasabi), yakitori, grilled chicken offal, tamagoyaki and chilled tomato — the sort of thing to pick at over a drink.
So: eel is good whenever you eat it. This place sits back off the main street, which may be why it was relatively quiet, so if the famous names around here have all defeated you it could be a useful find. And unless you really want more rice, Take is enough — worth remembering.
Koyanagi (unagi / Asakusa Station, Tawaramachi Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.4
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
