Best Restaurants in August in Kuma District (Updated 2025)
Cuisines
All
Japanese
Western-style
Bakeries
Specialties
Time-honored Brand
Sea View
Business Hours
0:00 am～5:00 am
5:00 am～10:00 am
10:00 am～02:00 pm
Price
GBP 0
GBP 108+
SophiaSophie's Japan Kyushu Travel | Hitoyoshi Eel Rice
In order to take a unique sightseeing train, I took the Emerald Mountain Emerald Train from Kumamoto to the terminal station Hitoyoshi.
This is a small town that can't be more niche. After getting off the train, I went straight to the recommended century-old shop No. 1, Uemura Unagiya (eel). After walking for 15 minutes, there were basically no pedestrians on the road. It was a bit scary. According to the navigation, I came to the door of a small shop. I pushed the door and realized that everyone had come to the Eel House for lunch.
Although the storefront is small, it is quite big inside. There are small tables outside and several large private rooms inside. The decoration is super old, tatami, library, and cast iron kettles hanging on the charcoal pile, revealing the ancient Japanese culture.
The key point is the eel rice. The Japanese wild eel is grilled on charcoal fire. Of course, it is amazing. Even the rice and charcoal are emphasized to be used from the nearby Kuma area. They have been focusing on making a bowl of eel rice for 100 years. It took about 15 minutes to get to the table. The cheapest dish was a medium-sized bowl of eel rice, which had 3 pieces of eel without soup and cost 1,900 yen. The portion was enough for a girl. The eel skin was roasted to be extremely crispy and fragrant, and the inside was fresh and chewy because it was a live eel. It was soft and juicy, and the fine bones were basically cleaned. I couldn't stop eating one piece after another. The white rice was dipped in eel sauce, and the texture was soft and melted with a light bite. It was rare to eat such soft rice. There was also a bowl of eel liver clear soup, which was expensive but must be tried. It was my favorite among the dozens of eel rice I have eaten so far.
