Ichirin — Restaurant in Nachikatsuura

Stopped in for a lovely early dinner around 5 pm while waiting for our 6 pm train back to Osaka after completing the Kumano Kodo earlier in the day. This was our first real meal in a few days after hiking, and it did not disappoint. Katsuura is a quaint and earnest town, and this restaurant perfectly captured the tranquility of the countryside. We sat at the bar and enjoyed some of the freshest tuna sashimi I’ve ever had (thanks to the port across the street), as well as a great tuna and rice bowl and teriyaki chicken. The chef and the server were both very accommodating and spoke enough English to help us get by, and they thanked us for visiting the countryside and took a lot of pride in their work. We had a beer, sake, and wine, as well as the 3 main dishes, which came out to about 5500 yen if memory serves (we paid cash), which is the cheapest dinner for 2 I’ve had in ages. For the price, this was our best meal of our trip to Japan, and I would highly recommend you stop by for at least a beer and some tuna while you wait for the train and wander the streets...

I'm sorry to share that our experience at the restaurant was quite disappointing. Despite arriving at 19:30, the old lady immediately turned us down and pushed us out when we spoke in a different language, claiming they were closed for the day. We didn't want to cause a scene, so we found another restaurant to eat at that night. The next day, we arrived before opening hours to avoid being turned away again. Even though we were first in line, the old lady ignored us and only tended to the locals. It wasn't until another customer spoke up that she begrudgingly let us in. We're not sure what her issue was, but it left us feeling unwanted and unwelcome. While the food was good, the service was a letdown. If you're a tourist looking for a more welcoming experience, we recommend trying the sushi restaurant nearby where the food is just as good and the owners are much friendlier...

Amazing food. There is a limited English menu and extensive Japanese menu, as we seat at the bar and could see everything the chef did we just talked with him and ask him for the next dish. We had some sashimi (to start and end), tempura (the best ever, with baby fish), simple egg roll (amazing), fried chicken and fried small fish. It was everything delicious! Most of the people in the restaurant were locals that made the experience even better. The chef was very friendly to us. Can only recommend this place. Try the tuna as it is one of the main dishes of the down because of the...