小料理 美和 — Restaurant in Shirahama

This restaurant is not foreigner-friendly despite having menus in various languages. The female owner does not understand English. When I asked for a receipt after my meal because the prices for sashimi were not listed on the menu, she only provided a receipt with the total amount without itemizing the prices.

Next to me, there was a Japanese customer. I asked if he spoke English and could help communicate with the owner, but he did not understand either. That was okay, but when I mentioned I wanted the receipt for my collection, he handed me a chopstick wrapper with Mount Fuji printed on it and suggested I keep that as a collectible. He also asked if I knew what it was, to which I replied, 'Of course, it’s Mount Fuji.' Then he said something in Japanese that I didn't understand, so I used a translation app. After he spoke into the app, I was furious to hear him say, 'Please learn Japanese before coming here.' I could only respond through the translator, 'Maybe you should learn English first,' and then I left.

Overall, the food was fresh, and the tempura was tender, but the portions were quite small, and they only accept cash in yen. For the food alone, I would give 4 stars, but overall, my experience deserves zero...

All the other restaurants in the area were either full or not friendly to foreigners. The store is run by a single proprietress. She can speak a little bit of English, but note that you will be turned away if you cannot understand Japanese or English.

The chicken karaage was extremely juicy, the best we had in Japan. Anything cooked with dashi was also delicious, could tell that the stock was simmered...

Lovely little restaurant entirely ran by a lady chef. Food was absolutely delicious, you can feel the care she put into preparing the dishes. Price is also very reasonable. Interior is clean and simple. All guests must order one drink, and there is a menu in various languages....