A note on the words: kuromutsu is the bluefish or Japanese bluefish, a deep-water fish rich in fat; sawara is Spanish mackerel, sanma is Pacific saury, akou-dai is a rockfish, and ginzake is coho salmon. Yuko-yaki means grilled with yuzu, a fragrant citrus. Saikyo miso is the pale sweet miso of Kyoto and Shinshu miso the darker kind from Nagano; fish is marinated in either before grilling. Hijiki is a dark seaweed, furikake is a dry seasoning sprinkled over rice, and grated daikon is the white radish served alongside grilled fish. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
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Takishita on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
I want to eat something good today too. This is Hangover Meshi. Lunch this time at Takishita in Azabu-Juban, a shop where the fish is extremely good. It has been a very long time since I last went, but when I want grilled fish this is the only place I can think of. So I decided to go back after a long gap. I had a feeling you could not book during the lunch period, so I arrived a little early. I got there about half an hour after opening, and there was already a substantial queue. Its popularity has not waned at all. Looking forward to this.
Gin-sawara with salt, and kuromutsu grilled with yuzu, 1,760 yen
New-season sanma, salt-grilled, 1,760 yen
Kuromutsu grilled with yuzu, 1,760 yen
Akou-dai marinated in Saikyo miso, 1,760 yen
Ginzake marinated in Shinshu miso, 1,760 yen
These were the fish that day. Kuromutsu, akou-dai and sawara seem to be there more or less always.
This year there is new-season sanma as well. Since it had been so long, I decided to ask for the kuromutsu.
They ask what you want as you come in, before you sit down, so decide in advance.
Order placed, then to your seat. Sitting down on the slightly small tatami platform makes you feel you have arrived at Takishita.
Small dishes on a beautiful vermilion tray. Pickles, hijiki, a simmered dish.
Besides those there is a great deal of grated daikon, and what looks like a house-made furikake for the rice.
You may have as much of the grated daikon as there is, so do not hold back.
Rice, fish and miso soup. The fragrance of the kuromutsu is irresistible.
Grilled slowly over charcoal, the fish has skin properly charred and crisp, and the fragrance of it is splendid. Picked up with chopsticks it is soft enough to flake apart. In the mouth it is thick with fat and melts away. Far too good.
The kuromutsu is irresistibly rich in savor and fat and goes perfectly with rice, but partway through, eating it together with grated daikon and a squeeze of lemon adds a clean note and it is extremely good. At which point it starts to feel more like something to drink with. I want a drink.
And at Takishita the rice is good too. You can have a second bowl, I believe, which is good when you want to eat plenty.
A very fine lunch at Takishita after a long absence. There are not many places where you can eat fish grilled to order over charcoal. Shops like this are worth cherishing. The atmosphere and the quality are both high, so it would also serve perfectly as somewhere to take someone who matters to you. Recommended.
Takishita (Japanese cuisine / Azabu-Juban Station, Akabanebashi Station, Roppongi Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★★☆☆ 3.7
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
