Tomoei — Restaurant in Odawara

Japanese Delicacy 💯

Hakone is a mountain town known for their hot spring onsen and Mount Fuji views located 1 hour away from Tokyo

Dining options are a bit more limited in the area compared to Tokyo, but the nearby town of Odawara is known for one of the best eel specialists in Japan

Unagi Tei Tomoei is the fourth highest unagi specialist in Japan and sells out on the specialty eel daily

Super popular with Japanese, there are lines of cars in the parking lot and you queue based upon arrival

The only reservation you’re allowed to make is of their limited daily eel supply and whether you’d like to reserve the eel liver

Imagine my surprise upon leisurely arriving before noon (open time 11:00 AM) and being quoted a 2 hour wait time based upon people that had already checked in!

Having never tried a top-rated unagi restaurant, we decided to wait and explore the town during our wait (there’s a popular fish cake museum and local grocery and sweets store)

Would it be crazily different than my store bought frozen unagi in the US almost always sourced from China? Could it be worth 2 hours wait time?

I’m happy to report it is exceptional with the non-sauce version unique and so crisply delicate and the sauce version featuring a much fattier and tasty eel. As for the liver two ways (grilled and sauced), I’d skip ⏭️ and I’d opt out of a 2 hour wait by arriving early

Tabelog 4.27 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Google Reviews 4.6

📷 Unaju ¥6500 Unagi (freshwater eel) set with sauce / Shirayaki Gozen ¥6800 grilled unagi set with just salt and no sauce / Freshly cut eel liver ¥1000 ~ grilled or with sauce

📍Unagi Tei Tomoei (Hakone, Japan)

Reservations can be only made for the daily eel supply. Wait time based on queue upon arrival and patrons arrive prior to 11AM opening. Credit cards including AmEx accepted. Dining is...

During the Christmas vacation, we were traveling by car in the Kanai-Hakone area and wanted to find an eel restaurant. Unexpectedly, we came across this restaurant. Although the enthusiastic waiters didn't know much English, they worked very hard to help us understand how to eat, which is worthy of praise. We arrived at about 12:30 and waited for 30 minutes to be seated. We were happily arranged to be seated in a Japanese-style room. The environment was very comfortable. After we sat down, we discovered that this restaurant has one Michelin star. 20 minutes later, the delicious eel rice was served. My eyes were immediately attracted to the meals on the table, and I couldn't help but take pictures of them. It melts in the mouth and has a rich aroma of roasted fish oil. It is paired with soft and moist rice without leaving a grain of rice behind. We were amazed. Later, a Japanese family of six came to have a meal in the back room. The four children were very cute and played with us. The atmosphere was very warm. After the checkout, the waiter gave us a small gift, which was really nice. Maybe we were tourists, which made it very unforgettable. I think we will definitely come back...

I don’t ever search for Unagi rice but this had high reviews even on Tabelog. It was on the way for me to Hakone and figured to make a stop off the Hakone Tonzan line.

1st attempt: Monday around 14:30, signage said sold out and no more service. Bummed but determined to come back next day

2nd attempt: I then realized I should have “reserve” an eel like everyone else said to (didn’t know you can). I was very anxious to not get anything and not very hopeful at this point but arrived around 09:30 with the parking lot full and a line of 10-15 people (people also sat in their cars to wait). I was super lucky and got in. Ordered at 9:40, even got seated at 09:55. And was one of the first diners in. I went in. (This was a random Tuesday on cold December day). Hope this helps a future diner.

Try your luck, definitely worth it. Enjoyed the meal very much so. Don’t really need to talk about the food,...