I discovered that I should try eel from Maruya Honten, a spot known to be very popular with locals, so I decided to give it a go. I visited the location near the train station, and when I arrived for lunch, there was about a 20-minute wait before I was seated.

Once inside, I ordered the mini hitsumabushi with clear soup and an extra serving of rice. You can choose how much eel you’d like, and I went for the smallest portion as I wasn’t in the mood to spend too much on lunch.

When the dish arrived, I was given instructions on how to eat it, as hitsumabushi is traditionally enjoyed in three different ways. The first is to simply mix the eel into the rice and eat it as is, which was already very good. The second variation involves adding the condiments provided—spring onions, nori, a basil-like herb, and fresh wasabi. This turned out to be my favourite way to eat it. The final variation is to pour the clear soup over the rice, eel, and condiments, making it more like a tea-style rice dish. It wasn’t bad, but I wasn’t really in the mood for soup in my rice this time.

The eel itself was excellent—very flavourful with a lovely char-grilled aroma and a rich, sticky sauce. I did add a little tare to the rice, which I personally preferred as it brought out more umami in the dish.

Overall, it was a solid lunch and an enjoyable experience. I liked the variety of ways you could eat the eel and really enjoyed the flavours of both the eel and its sauce. It was also a nice touch to have fresh wasabi on the side. As expected, the service was excellent—the staff were friendly and even provided a laminated card explaining how to eat the dish and what condiments were available.

Website: Maruya Honten

Address: Japan, 〒450-0002 Aichi, Nagoya, Nakamura Ward, Meieki, 1 Chome−1−4 名古屋うまいもん通り

Map and Direction