Hungry in Tokyo’s Ueno? This restaurant’s all-you-can-eat sushi bowl deal is all you need

Ameyoko has always been a great place to look for bargains, and we’re very happy we found this one.

There’s a lot to see and do in Tokyo’s Ueno neighborhood. Ueno Park, located right across the street from Ueno Station, is one of the biggest green spaces in the city, and it’s dotted with art, history, and science museums, plus a few temples and shrines. Then on the other side of the street is Ameya Yokocho, a.k.a. Ameyoko, Tokyo’s most colorful street vendor marketplace.

All that is to say that you can easily spend all day in Ueno, which means you’re going to get hungry, and for when you do, our Japanese-language reporter P.K. Sanjun recently stumbled across a sushi bowl restaurant that provides variety on par with that of the neighborhood’s sightseeing attractions, and at a very attractive price.

The restaurant is called Numazuko Umisho, Numazuko referring to the fishing port town of Numazu and Umisho translating loosely to “lord of the seas.” It’s a pretty grandiose name, but with an all-you-can-eat sushi bowl offer for just 1,700 yen (US$10.60), that confidence is understandable. Restaurant sushi bowls costing 1,000 yen or more aren’t uncommon, so as long as P.K. could put away more than one, he’d be getting a great deal.

Available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., the 1,700-yen all-you-can-eat course is 45 minutes long, and there’s also a 60-minute deal for 2,100 yen. If you’re traveling with young kids, the deals get even better, as the 45-minute course is discounted to 850 yen for kids ages 6-12, 600 yen for kids 3-6 who haven’t yet started elementary school, and is free for those younger than 3.

For his first sushi bowl (which was accompanied by a bowl of miso soup), P.K. opted for maguro (tuna) and negi toro (minced tuna belly and green onion) as his toppings. The tuna was tasty, with better quality fish than he’d been expecting from an all-you-can-eat deal, and that continued with his second bowl, which he topped with salmon, saba (mackerel) and katsuo (bonito).

The katsuo was especially good here, especially when he seasoned it with a mixture of soy sauce and ginger, the latter ingredient being a popular accompaniment for raw or seared bonito. Speaking of changing things up flavor-wise, Numazuko Umisho lets you choose between plain whit rice or vinegared sushi rice for each bowl.

Moving on to round three, P.K. branched out to shirasu (young whitebait) and mentaiko (spicy cod roe)…

…and, realizing he only had space for one more, he made his fourth and final a greatest-hits bowl with maguro and katsuo.

P.K. points out that, aside from the maguro and katsuo, the rest of the fish was “normal” quality. It’s important to keep in mind, though, that “normal”-quality sushi in Japan tends to be quite a bit higher than what you’ll find in most other parts of the world, so P.K.’s “normal” really means that Numazuko Umisho checks the box for tasty sushi, and when you factor in the variety and quantity you get for such a great price, it’s definitely worth checking out when you’re looking for lunch in Ueno.

Restaurant information
Numazuko Umisho (Ueno #1 branch) / 沼津港 海将（上野1号店）
Address: Tokyo-to, Taito-ku, Ueno 6-8-4, Gomi Building basement level 1
東京都台東区上野6-8-4五味ビルB1
Open 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. (Monday-Saturday), 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. (Sundays, holidays)

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