Noheso Ekiminami — Restaurant in Shizuoka

Our experience was awful. We were excited but unfortunately left feeling ridiculed, angry and sad. They were rude and discriminatory towards us. We were close to be being denied when the server found out we didn’t speak japanese. That should’ve been the first hint to leave. They seated us down instead at the bar and did not communicate we had to pay extra 1600 yen each person. Thats an extra 3200yen we didn’t know we will to pay for. When we first sat down we were given some appetizers almost right away. We didn’t even get to deny it and unknowingly we didn’t ask more about it. After we ate, a friend told us this could be the “otoshi” fee that is usually hidden. It seems so fishy that restaurants prey on unknowing visitors and they didn’t even try or attempt to tell us. Even if it were for the language barrier, we didn’t get a choice on where to sit when we walked in! We saw others sitting elsewhere who did not have the otoshi. It wasn't entirely about the extra money on the bill but the same rule should apply for all or not at all. We feel ridiculed and taken advantage of based off the fact we didn’t read or speak their language and that is unfortunately the extra price you pay. We also were not greeted when we arrived or when we left, which is a huge and clear form of disrespect in Japan. Especially in a country where kindness is so abundant, it becomes even more evident and obvious. Never in my life have I left someplace feeling so upset and disrespected. Be open minded and treat people you want to be treated. This issue is becoming such a problem. If they were going to give us the fee without letting us know, you would think the least they can do is be kind. How could people think so lowly of others because they are different or if they are simply a tourist who tries to respect their culture and space? I hope those working there today and interacted negatively with us will one day reflect and understand their racism shows and know that respect goes both ways. I am full of regret now and unfortunately this is as much as I can do. There’s likely many more smaller restaurants to support around there...

Ordered a chirashi don (only available for lunch), and it used a wider-than-usual range of seafood than all the other chirashi I had in this trip (no less than 10), which is something I really like and appreciate.

That said, I didn’t get to fully enjoy the bowl, partly because I was already half full when I arrived, and partly because I found the variety of seafood used in my owl not so strong in the umami department. It’s fresh, and the texture/flavors of them were all different, but nothing came through as wow.

On top of that, i liked the fact that the rice used 赤醋, which gave the rice slightly complex flavor compared to the normal sushi rice. And the price came with side dishes like salad, tempura and a small bowl of whitebait, which makes the value of the meal...

Best sushi restaurant I’ve tried in Japan ! Beautiful space and the staff is very welcoming. The sushi were prepared in front of us. They all tasted amazing and were very delicate. An amazing experience. Thank you to the sushi chef who explained to us every fish he used and made the experience even more enjoyable. I...