A note on the words: unagi is freshwater eel, glazed and grilled as kabayaki, or grilled plain without sauce as shirayaki. Ju means the box it is served in and zen means a set meal, so kabayaki ippon-ju is a whole uncut eel over rice in a long box, while the ippon set brings the same eel as part of a tray. Hitsumabushi is chopped grilled eel over rice, eaten in several stages including with broth. Kimosui is a clear soup with the eel’s liver, and sansho is a citrusy Japanese pepper. Kansai style means the eel is grilled straight through with no steaming step.
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Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa Toukyou eki kurobei yokochou 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. Tokyo Station is surprisingly easy to drop into for lunch. Figuring there would probably be plenty of places to eat, I decided to go check it out. It is enormous, so after nearly getting lost, I arrived at the basement dining street on the Yaesu side. What caught my eye there was “Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa”. Well, I had heard of it — or rather, they have locations everywhere now. I wonder if they are riding high as an eel shop these days. I had missed out on eel recently, so I decided to satisfy that craving right here!
I figured it would be packed since it was lunchtime, but I got in after about 10 minutes.
Was I lucky, or is Tokyo Station mainly travelers so there really is no such thing as a lunch rush? I wonder which it is.
Kabayaki ippon-ju — 5,180 yen
Ippon hitsumabushi — 5,380 yen
Shirayaki ippon set — 5,180 yen
Kabayaki ippon set — 5,180 yen
Kabayaki ippon-ju! What visual power.
In terms of volume, I wonder if it is roughly the same as the tokujo (special top-grade) at a regular eel restaurant? Well, at 5,180 yen that might be pretty good value. Naturally, I chose the kabayaki ippon-ju.
Now, since it was the long-awaited eel, I added a highball.
I waited for a bit, drinking while it was being grilled.
Boom!
Ooh, doesn’t that look delicious? A whole eel — well, I had imagined it, but seeing it in person carries real impact.
This is Kansai style, grilled straight through without the steaming step to crisp it up. It feels quickly grilled so the skin is crisp and fragrant.
Taking a bite, yes, delicious. The skin is crisp and really aromatic, ha. It does not have that pure pillowy softness, but rather a nice crisp-yet-fluffy texture. Yes, this might not be bad at all. While the skin is crisp, the flesh is plump and tender, with tiny bones hardly noticeable. Kansai style can sometimes be hit-or-miss so I was a little worried, but it is delicious. Definitely acceptable. More than acceptable.
Or rather, I discovered the real strength of a whole eel.
Because it is a whole eel, the container is long, and that means plenty of rice fits inside, making it thoroughly filling! This is seriously great, ha. When you order a tokujo unaju — eel over rice in a box — don’t you often feel like you want a little more rice? With a whole eel, there is zero worry of that.
From left to right: sauce, powdered sansho, and whole sansho peppercorns. To my surprise, you can grind whole sansho peppercorns at the table with a mill, ha. The aroma really is different from powdered sansho — having this on the table is fantastic! By the way, grinding the mill takes a bit of work, so I think a hybrid of powdered sansho and whole peppercorns is the best approach.
Some shops charge extra for kimosui (clear soup with eel liver), but here it is included in the price.
Man, eel is delicious! The portion was generous and I was completely satisfied.
There really is happiness in being able to eat what you want when you want it! I am glad my craving for eel was satisfied. Whole eel has visual impact, the eel is delicious, because it is Kansai style it can be served promptly, and because it is a whole eel there is plenty of rice. There are so many good points. I can see why they are able to open shops in so many locations. The happiness of being able to casually enjoy eel like this! It is great!
Unagi Yondaime Kikukawa Toukyou eki kurobei yokochou ten (Unagi / Tokyo Station, Otemachi Station, Nihombashi 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?
