5 Recommended Seafood Lunch Spots in Shimonoseki to Savor the Seafood of the Kanmon Strait
Located at the westernmost tip of Honshu, Shimonoseki is a treasure trove of seafood that has flourished alongside the bounty of the Kanmon Strait.Nourished by the strait’s fierce currents, the seafood here has firm texture and exceptional freshness. Among these, five varieties—including pufferfish (which boasts the highest volume of trade in Japan), sea urchin, whale, monkfish, and squid—are beloved as the “Shimonoseki City Five Major Seafood Brands,” and there are numerous restaurants throughout the city where you can easily enjoy them.Fugu, in particular, is a symbol of Shimonoseki. It was here in Shimonoseki, thanks to the efforts of Hirobumi Ito, Japan’s first Prime Minister, that the ban on eating fugu was lifted in 1888 (Meiji 21)—the first such lifting in the entire country. Here, we’ve carefully selected some luxurious seafood lunch options where you can fully savor these Shimonoseki specialties.
1AKAMA Fukutei
A KAI Local Flavors Lunch Where the Bounty of the Seasons Meets the Chef’s Artistry
A Japanese restaurant located right in front of Akama Shrine. It serves creative Japanese cuisine that makes the most of seasonal flavors.
The recommended “KAI Local Flavors Lunch” on weekdays lets you enjoy a diverse selection of dishes, ranging from small side dishes featuring seasonal vegetables to sashimi and grilled fish sourced from Karato Market, all the way to desserts like homemade pudding.Another highlight is the chance to savor flavors unique to Shimonoseki, such as deep-fried pufferfish and miso-marinated pufferfish. The chef takes pride in preparing each dish by hand, resulting in colorful, beautiful presentations and delicate flavors.
On weekends, the restaurant offers the “Lunch-Only KAI Local Flavors,” which includes additional side dishes and nigiri sushi.
Courses where you can enjoy fugu to your heart’s content are also popular
Several luxurious courses featuring an array of fugu dishes—including sashimi, chiri hot pot, deep-fried fugu, and mehari sushi—are also available. The menu includes unique dishes like chawanmushi and gratin made with fugu milt, which you won’t find at other restaurants, allowing you to rediscover the true deliciousness of fugu.Additionally, from October through March, we feature a full course of monkfish—a new specialty of Shimonoseki.
This three-story restaurant features a different atmosphere on each floor: the white-themed first floor is perfect for solo diners; the black-themed second floor offers private rooms; and the third floor, accented with blue, is ideal for business dinners and banquets.
Local Guide
Supporters
This is a restaurant you’ll want to visit to enjoy the scenery, which changes with the seasons, and dishes made with seasonal ingredients. Each dish, carefully crafted by the chef, offers an elegant flavor that satisfies both the palate and the soul.
- AKAMA Fukutei
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7-8 Amida-ji-cho, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture MAP
About a 10-minute drive from JR Shimonoseki Station
Take the bus from JR Shimonoseki Station, get off at “Akama Jingu-mae,” and walk about 2 minutes
11:00 a.m.–3:00 p.m. (last order 2:00 p.m.), 5:30 p.m.–9:00 p.m. (last order 8:00 p.m.)
Mon.
083-242-0772
Free of charge
2Sushi Yukan Karato Branch
The nigiri made with tiger pufferfish is a must-try delicacy
This conveyor-belt sushi chain, which operates primarily in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions, serves its signature fresh bluefin tuna as well as local specialty fish unique to each region.
When you visit the restaurant, the first thing you’ll want to order is the “Tora Fugu.” This piece of sushi features a generous portion of tora fugu, known as the “king of pufferfish.” You can enjoy the freshness and texture unique to fish sourced directly from the market every morning; the more you chew, the more the umami and refined sweetness of the tora fugu fill your mouth.
We also recommend the “Fugu Sanmai Set,” which lets you enjoy tiger pufferfish nigiri, sashimi, gunkan-style rolls with pufferfish skin, and deep-fried pufferfish all at once.
Another attraction is the chance to enjoy ingredients unique to Shimonoseki at reasonable prices
Be sure to check out the rare ingredients that are hard to find in other prefectures. Enjoy precious ingredients—such as the high-end “Kottoi Squid,” prized for its unique sweetness and creamy texture, and “Kanoko Nigiri,” made with a rare cut from the neck of a whale—at the affordable prices unique to conveyor-belt sushi.
The restaurant also takes great pride in its sushi rice, using rice grown through natural farming methods without fertilizers or pesticides, and finished with additive-free pure rice vinegar. By carefully shaping each piece by hand, the chefs provide flavorful sushi that brings out the best in the toppings.
Local Guide
Supporters
This popular conveyor-belt sushi restaurant is beloved by both tourists and locals alike. Its location overlooking the Kanmon Strait is a major draw, and the spacious interior allows you to relax and enjoy your meal while taking in the view outside.
- Sushi Yukan Karato Branch
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- 2F Kamon Wharf, 6-1 Karato-cho, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture MAP
- About a 10-minute drive from JR Shimonoseki Station
- Take the bus from JR Shimonoseki Station, get off at “Karato,” and walk about 4 minutes
- 11:00 AM–3:00 PM, 5:00 PM–9:00 PM; Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays: 11:00 AM–9:15 PM
- No holidays
- 083-228-1722
- Charged
3Okamoto Fresh Fish Store
A hearty seafood rice bowl packed with Shimonoseki’s fresh catch
A fresh fish shop located just a short walk from Shimonoseki Station. Among its extensive menu of sashimi and seafood bowls, the “Okamoto Don” stands out as a particular highlight.It’s generously piled high with about 10 varieties of seasonal fresh fish, plus sea urchin and fried chicken. Depending on the season, it may even feature Shimonoseki specialties like whale and monkfish. We recommend enjoying it drizzled with soy sauce or a special sauce infused with the aroma of sesame.
Just as it has been since the restaurant’s founding in 1979 (Showa 54), the owner himself heads to the market every morning at 3:00 a.m. to personally select and purchase the fish, ensuring unparalleled freshness and flavor.
A popular seafood izakaya that has become one of Shimonoseki’s signature attractions
The owner, a former bank employee, took the plunge and opened this restaurant. In addition to many local regulars, the restaurant attracts numerous guests who make reservations from all over the country; it’s so popular that reservations are booked up to a year in advance.
Upon entering the restaurant, your eyes are immediately drawn to the display case packed to the brim with fish. The connoisseur’s way to enjoy the meal is to select a fish that catches your eye from this selection and have it prepared—whether grilled, steamed, or deep-fried—according to your preference or the owner’s recommendation.
During lunchtime, the “Sashimi Set Meal,” which allows you to sample various types of fish, is also popular.
Local Guide
Supporters
Locals wholeheartedly recommend this spot as the place to go to savor plenty of delicious fish. The warm hospitality, which reflects the owner’s kind personality, is another highlight—it’s the kind of restaurant that leaves you thinking, “I want to come back to Shimonoseki again.”
- Okamoto Fish Market
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- 2-7-4 Takezaki-cho, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Okamoto Building MAP
- Approx. 2-minute drive from JR Shimonoseki Station; approx. 7-minute walk from JR Shimonoseki Station
- 11:00 AM–11:00 PM
- Sundays (or the following day if Sunday is a public holiday)
- 083-232-8551
- None
4Heike Chaya
A set meal where you can enjoy “Kawara Soba” and seafood—Shimonoseki’s culinary delights—all at once
This restaurant is located right near the Kanmon Tunnel. It features fugu (pufferfish) in the winter and live squid dishes in the summer as its signature offerings, allowing you to enjoy the flavors of each season.
The “Kawara Soba Set” is a luxurious meal centered on Kawara Soba—a local specialty of Shimonoseki—and comes with sashimi, tempura, and chawanmushi made from fresh fish sourced from Karato Market. The restaurant’s original Kawara Soba features crispy, oven-baked brown buckwheat noodles topped with beef and conger eel.You can casually enjoy the unique flavors of Shimonoseki at a reasonable price.
A prime location with a panoramic view of the Kanmon Strait
For lunch, in addition to a wide variety of set meal options, you can also enjoy course meals that let you fully savor ingredients from Yamaguchi Prefecture, including fugu (pufferfish) and live squid. The restaurant’s signature dishes, such as “Fugu Shumai” made with tiger pufferfish and “Kawara Soba,” can also be ordered à la carte.
Inside, the restaurant features spacious open-concept table seating as well as private rooms available for parties of two or more. Every seat offers a panoramic view of the Kanmon Strait, allowing you to relax and enjoy your meal in a space that feels like a VIP box. We recommend making a reservation in advance.
Local Guide
Supporters
Every Monday at lunchtime (except holidays), the chairman himself performs a live jazz set on the saxophone. In an atmosphere that’s a little different from the usual, you can enjoy a special moment surrounded by the gentle tones of live music.
- Heike Chaya
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- 1-1 Mimosusogawa-cho, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture MAP
- Approx. 15-minute drive from JR Shimonoseki Station
- Take the bus from JR Shimonoseki Station, get off at “Mimosusogawa Park,” and walk about 1 minute
- 11:00 AM–3:00 PM (last order 1:30 PM), 5:00 PM–9:00 PM (last order 7:30 PM; set meals until 7:00 PM)
- Tuesdays (open if Tuesday is a national holiday, closed the following day), year-end and New Year holidays
- 083-222-2022
- Free of charge
<A Short Detour>
5Saizawada
“Seafood Mabushi”: Enjoy seasonal seafood prepared three different ways
A Japanese restaurant located on Tsunoshima Island, about an hour and 20 minutes by car from Shimonoseki Station. Look for the large standalone house standing by the harbor.
The popular dish is “Kaisen Mabushi,” made with seasonal seafood. At the time of our visit, it was generously topped with octopus, black sea bream, and Hokkaido-grown salmon roe, all served over a bed of yellowtail and turban shell mixed with daikon radish and cucumber.
First, enjoy it as sashimi with Tosa soy sauce; next, drizzle it with the special soy sauce dressing to turn it into a seafood rice bowl. Finally,
add brown rice tea brewed with kombu dashi and sesame sauce to finish it off as ochazuke. It’s a highly satisfying dish that lets you enjoy three different flavors in a single serving.
A lunch menu that showcases the skills and knowledge honed through kaiseki cuisine
The owner, who studied kaiseki cuisine in Hiroshima, opened this restaurant in 2012. Previously a reservation-only kaiseki restaurant, it relaunched in 2024 as a lunch-only establishment, driven by the desire to let visitors to Tsunoshima enjoy delicious seafood in a more casual setting.Currently, in addition to set meals and rice bowls, the restaurant offers several menu options, including a monthly changing lunch special limited to 10 servings per day and a seasonal fried fish set meal. Alongside the main dish, a variety of colorful small side dishes are served, allowing you to enjoy a diverse range of flavors in small portions—another appealing feature. The owner’s dedication and meticulous craftsmanship are evident in every dish.
Local Guide
Supporters
Inside the restaurant, “Café Omedetou” also operates, serving sweets and coffee. Sweets such as butter cake and carrot cake—handmade by the owner’s wife—are available for takeout, so we highly recommend purchasing them as souvenirs to take home.
- Saiza Wada
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- 1889-4 Tsunoshima, Toyohoku-cho, Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture MAP
- Approx. 1 hour and 20 minutes by car from JR Shimonoseki Station
- 11:00-15:00
- Closed on Mondays and irregular holidays
- 083-786-2430
- Free of charge
MAP
- <A Short Detour>
- Hoshino Resorts facilities nearby
Local Guide who was in charge of this article
- Haruna Unno She Captures Your Heart with Her Gentle Smile
RISONARE Shimonoseki
Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture
A hotel with a perfect location overlooking the Kanmon Straits, where you can fully enjoy your stay.
Access by bus About 10 minutes by bus from JR Shimonoseki Station.
- Example of Accommodation Rates
- 1 person per night From 12,000 yen