Unagi Unayasu Nishiki — Restaurant in Nagoya

We had an unforgettable experience at Unayasu in Nagoya, Japan, where our kids got to enjoy a rare treat—unagi (Japanese eel). Back home, this delicacy is hard to come by and often quite pricey, but here in Japan, it’s both abundant and affordable, making it a must-try for any eel lover. Our son, in particular, fell in love with unagi and couldn’t get enough of it!

The highlight of our meal was trying the traditional hitsumabushi style, which offered us a unique and flavorful way to enjoy the eel. We followed the steps carefully: first, savoring the eel as it is, then adding various condiments for a different taste experience. The third step involved pouring a dashi soup over the eel and rice to create the refreshing unachazuke—a clear favorite for me personally. Finally, we enjoyed the dish in our favorite way, each bite offering a delightful blend of flavors and textures.

The restaurant’s cozy ambiance and friendly staff made the experience even more special. They provided clear instructions on how to enjoy hitsumabushi, ensuring we made the most of our meal. The kids loved the interactive dining experience, and we left with full hearts and stomachs, already planning our next visit. Unayasu is definitely a gem in Nagoya, and we highly recommend it to anyone...

🍚 Unagi Unayasu Nishiki – Great Unagi, Smooth Ordering

If you’re hunting delicious grilled eel, Unagi Unayasu Nishiki is a strong pick. The eel tastes great — soft inside, nicely charred outside, rich sauce and all. What helps is the self-ordering machine: you pick what you want, press a button, hand the ticket to the chef. Super easy.

👍 What works well:

Very fast food preparation. After ordering via machine, the food comes out quickly.

Eel rice sets (unadon) are affordable. Good value for one of those eel cravings.

The flavor is clean and satisfying; the texture is nice.

⚠️ What to expect / what to watch:

When it’s busy, especially around dinner or lunch rush, the place can fill up fast. Might have to wait a bit.

Because it’s a specialty eel place, variety isn’t huge. If you like trying many different menus, this isn’t a buffet-style spot. It’s more...

Was excited to try one of Nagoya's specialties, Hitsumabushi.

Walked in at around 11:45am when the place had only 2 patrons. We ordered on the ordering machine by using google translate and got our meal tickets.

Upon taking a seat, other patrons started flooding in and we felt lucky that we were able to beat the lunch time rush.

The restaurant has a machine that provides green tea or water in either hot or cold.

When our ticket number was called, we were greeted by a salivating tray of Hitsumabushi and Unadon.

Their Eel had a slightly crispy skin and soft. The sauce had just the right amount of sweetness for me. My love for chazuke and unagi easily made this one of my favorite dishes.

The dining experience was pleasurable as even though we and the staff didnt understand each other, they had nothing but...