A note on the words: isaki (grunt) is a white-fleshed fish, here snagged from the tank and served as sashimi. Kuruma shrimp are Japanese tiger shrimp, here fried as tempura with shishito peppers. Sazae (turban shell) is a spiral-shelled sea snail, and tsuboyaki means grilled in its own shell. Hirame is flounder, served here as a half for sashimi and a half for tempura, with the bones deep-fried as a snack. Otoshi is the small dish an izakaya serves at the start of the meal, here tofu, and nigiri is hand-pressed sushi.
Table of Contents hide
Tsuribune Chaya Zauo Shinjuku ten on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
To all you anglers out there, sorry to keep you waiting! It’s time for Hangover Meshi!
This time I headed to Tsuribune Chaya Zauo Shinjuku inside the Shinjuku Washington Hotel. I like fishing itself, but this was actually my first visit. Let’s see what the experience is like.
I booked a spot for lunchtime, and it was packed! There was a sign out saying you couldn’t get in without a reservation, so every seat was full. It’s wildly popular!!
The rules are pretty complicated, but keep these in mind and you’ll be fine!!
- Borrow a rod (fee required, but free if you add them as a LINE friend)
- Help yourself to the bait laid out
- When you land a fish, staff will come over, so tell them your table number and how you want it cooked
- After a while, they bring it to your table
That’s how the system works. When you catch a fish, you pay for the fish itself plus a set cooking charge for most cooking styles, with sashimi and a few others being exceptions. It seems that catching it yourself is set slightly cheaper than ordering normally. So, with the rules understood, let’s give fishing a try.
There are two ways to fish: bait fishing and hook-snagging. I tried bait fishing, but I couldn’t catch anything at all, ha. ‘Just keep it still and wait and you’ll catch one!’ they told me, though.
Seriously, nothing at all, ha.
The fish have completely wised up, ha. The bait tank has striped jack and sea bream, but time was ticking away fast. Plus, there is a little trap: a two-hour time limit. If you don’t catch something quickly, you lose eating time!! So I hurriedly switched over to hook-snagging.
This is basically commercial harvesting now, ha.
This is the kind of spot where you do the hook-snagging.
Snagging turban shells, abalone, and shrimp with a hook is virtually impossible, ha. A sign says you can take them with tongs, so I guess the shop knows full well you can’t hook them, ha. It’s really not fishing anymore at all.
So I quickly secured the ingredients and decided to get on with eating.
Even so, I still ended up spending over 30 minutes on it!
Good work on the fishing (well, harvesting)!!!!
And with that, a highball. Delicious!
With the fish I caught being cooked up, I ordered the other things I wanted.
For larger fish you can choose multiple cooking styles, but small ones only get one. For now, the grunt made into sashimi. I have memories of grunt being easy to catch just about anywhere back in the day, but I rarely see them lately.
There’s no extra cooking fee to make the shrimp into tempura, and it came with shishito peppers, which made me happy.
Getting several rounds of sushi made from the caught fish would be more than I could finish, so I ordered an assorted platter instead, ha.
The flounder sashimi was pretty good!
For 280 yen, they deep-fry the bones for you! Nice and crunchy, and great with drinks.
Once you actually go, you realize that they bite far less than you’d expect, ha. I had imagined fish biting nonstop, hooking pricey fish left and right and wondering, ‘Why am I catching so many?!’ — but not at all, ha. People were catching a few here and there, so with a bit of luck you might catch some, but with the two-hour time limit, if you put too much energy into fishing you won’t have time to eat, so be careful! Overall prices are quite high, so I think it’s best to treat it purely as entertainment! As entertainment, it’s definitely fun!
May you encounter something delicious today too!
Tsuribune Chaya Zauo Shinjuku Branch Menu
Caught fish (all tax-inclusive)
Fishing rods can be rented for 300 yen each. When you catch a fish, report your table number; catch-and-release or exchanging fish is not permitted. Catching it yourself makes it cheaper than regular menu prices.
Regular price 4,980 yen. Catch it yourself and it is 1,000 yen cheaper
Regular price 7,980 yen
Regular price 5,980 yen
Regular price 7,980 yen
Regular price 1,480 yen
Regular price 780 yen
Regular price 680 yen
Regular price 1,580 yen
Varies by size, origin, and season. Ask staff for prices
Fish not on the price list may also be in the live tanks. In August 2026 there was grunt, prepared as sashimi (whole fish, with frame) for 3,000 yen
There are two fishing methods. Bait fishing uses a single hook for sea bream and striped jack; snagging uses a triple hook for flounder, horse mackerel, Japanese spiny lobster, kuruma shrimp, turban shell, and abalone. Prices may vary depending on size; prices for fish, shellfish, and shrimp are per piece.
Cooking fee for caught fish (all tax-inclusive)
Applies to sea bream, flounder, and striped jack. For the price of the fish plus the cooking fee below, it can be prepared in up to two ways. Listed prices are for half-fish preparation; double for the whole fish. Horse mackerel, kuruma shrimp, turban shell, abalone, and Japanese spiny lobster incur no cooking fee, and you can choose the preparation at the fishing price.
Takes about 40 minutes to cook
Extra dishes from leftover fish frames (all tax-inclusive)
An additional dish made from the sashimi leftover frame. Extra preparation to enjoy down to the bones.
Sushi (tax-exclusive)
Fish selection varies by season and market availability
All sushi is served without wasabi, with wasabi provided on the side to use as you like.
* From the shop menu and fishing board at the time of visit in August 2026. Fishing section prices include tax; other sections exclude tax. An additional cover charge of 418 yen per person (includes a small appetizer dish) applies. Menu items and prices are subject to change; please check the official site or at the restaurant for the latest details.
Tsuribune Chaya Zauo Shinjuku ten (Seafood / Tochomae Station, Minami-Shinjuku Station, Shinjuku Station)
Tabelog lunch rating ★★☆☆☆ 2.6
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
