A note on the words: iso-ryori means seashore cooking — the coastal seafood style of a fishing town. Kawahagi is filefish, anko nabe the monkfish hotpot Oarai is famous for in winter, and a kama is the collar of a fish, the prized fatty section behind the gills. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
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Sansui on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
Drinkers, thank you for waiting. This is Hangover Meshi!
So — I have come to Oarai! I stayed at a hotel near the large Oarai Isosaki Shrine, and since I booked without dinner I went looking for somewhere good nearby — and there was a promising-looking shop right in front of the shrine!
So in we went!
Oarai means monkfish! — I thought, but the season was just off and there was no anko nabe! A shame, but there will be plenty of other good seafood. Excellent!
Looking at the menu, there is a great deal beyond monkfish that looks good.
The plan: drink, and order things as we go.
First, beeer!
Beer drunk with that shoreline behind it is unbeatable!
Deep-fried octopus is a great favourite of mine! So of course, “tako-kara” first! An infallible snack that goes brilliantly with beer. Fried octopus by the sea is somehow especially good.
Crisp-textured whelk dressed lightly with wasabi — another perfect drinking snack. If you like shellfish, I think you should simply order this on arrival!
Here it comes! The deep-fried kawahagi set meal!!!!
Look at that fried filefish! It looks superb!
The batter is thin and crisp, and the white flesh flakes softly the moment you bite. It is a delicate fish, but frying brings the flesh to exactly the right fluffiness and a faint sweetness comes through clearly. Even with nothing added, the light saltiness is enough — in fact that way you taste the kawahagi more fully.
Fried whole, I wondered whether the bones would make it awkward — but the flesh comes away easily, so you can break it apart with chopsticks and work through it at your own pace. Easy to eat!
And the sashimi that comes with the set is lavish!
Bright, fresh sashimi.
All this for 2,700 yen feels like rather good value!
When travelling, one wants this sort of thing too! Especially if you like shellfish!
I do feel slightly sorry for it, but a wonderful smell gradually drifts up.
Abalone grilled slowly on the grate, then prised from its shell and eaten rather like an abalone steak — delicious!
It is a completely different thing from the crisp texture of raw abalone: cooking gives it a firm, taut spring. And the oceanic savour that floods out with every chew has been concentrated by the grilling into something dense.
And because it is so fresh, the liver is superb too! The deep green liver is faintly bitter, intensely rich, and its sea-smell rushes up through the nose!! It suits sake perfectly, and being able to taste the sweetness of the flesh against the bitterness of the liver at once is the best part!
There seemed to be room for a little more, so I added the simmered yellowtail collar! A great head and half the collar! There is plenty to eat on it, so 1,800 yen feels like good value.
The fragrance of ginger and the sweet steam of soy sauce drift up — very promising. Put chopsticks in and it crumbles softly. Yet the flesh has real substance, and the savour of the fat spreads with every chew. Depending on the part, firm-textured sections coexist with fatty, falling-apart sections nearer the belly, and the sweet-savoury broth soaked through it all is irresistible!!
Seafood cooking through and through! In Oarai, watching the shoreline change slowly until the sun went down, with good drink and good food — magnificent, is it not? Every fish was excellent, and as a dinner on a trip the quality was very high indeed! That was delicious. Deeply satisfied! Recommended.
May you meet something good to eat today too.
Sansui (seafood / Oarai Station, Nakaminato Station, Tsunezumi Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.5
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
