Ki-no-zen — Restaurant in Kushimoto

During a trip to Kushimoto, I was looking for a place to eat outside my hotel. As I’ve come to realize, finding a restaurant open after 8 p.m. without a reservation can feel like a real challenge. After being turned away a few times, we finally stumbled upon this spot—and what a relief!

We were craving good sushi, and it didn’t disappoint. The chef, a friendly Japanese gentleman, was quite talkative (mostly in Japanese, though he managed some English too). We ordered a nigiri set and a kaisendon. The fish was fresh and flavorful, and the rice was excellent. Personally, I found the kaisendon a bit overloaded with extras like cucumber, which made it harder to fully enjoy the pure taste of the fish. The nigiri, on the other hand, were the real highlight: generous cuts of fish, rich in flavor, and perfectly balanced with the rice.

We had been so hungry we were almost ready to settle for a quick “repair dinner” at a conbini, but thankfully we found this place instead. It turned out to be exactly what we needed.

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