Eat your way around Akita! Gourmet food with an excellent time efficiency that you can only get here

Hatsumi Ito
A gourmet blogger who eats and drinks at more than 400 restaurants a year. She posts gourmet information on various SNS accounts, mainly X (@hatsu823).
Host of the online salon "Tokyo Gourmet Salon" limited to 140 people. "Gourmet is communication" is her life theme.

*Prices include tax.

"Akita Port" - Super fresh sushi provided directly by a long-established fishery company

The third floor of the station building "Topico," which is directly connected to JR Akita Station, is a restaurant floor where you can enjoy popular gourmet food.

Akita Port, run by a long-established seafood company, is so popular that people line up before the restaurant even opens, as it serves sushi made with seasonal seafood.

The bright and lively restaurant is equipped with counter seats where you can see the sushi chefs' skills right before your eyes, and table seats where you can relax. Enjoy fresh sushi that is a feast for both the eyes and the tongue in this gorgeous space.

There is also a wide selection of local Akita sake. The sake served in a traditional Akita craft product, a magewappa sake cup, is "Aramase Ecru" (968 yen per cup) from Aramase Sake Brewery. The umami and sweetness that spreads softly in your mouth, along with the subtle, gentle acidity, is irresistible.

If you want to fill your stomach with Akita seafood, we recommend the "Akita Port Great Catch Lunch (1,628 yen)". The set includes 12 nigiri sushi pieces: salmon, squid, Spanish mackerel, mackerel, red sea bream, scallop, yellowtail, steamed shrimp, veranda, small fish, flatfish, and daikon tuna. It also comes with a negitoro uramaki roll, so it's very filling. All lunch sets come with chawanmushi and miso soup.

The rice used is red rice made with aged red vinegar. It has a mild taste and a mild flavor. The rice is softly and expertly formed and crumbles in your mouth.

Another dish worth trying is the "Akita delicacies (935 yen)," which allows you to enjoy the unique flavors of Akita. The "tonburi" has a crunchy texture and a slightly bitter taste, but also a delicious rich egg flavor. The "gibasa" with ginger has a crunchy and sticky texture that is irresistible. The lineup of dishes that are perfect for drinking, such as "hatahata," "iburi-gakko," and "Akita fuki," are very satisfying.

Another great thing about this restaurant is that you can order just one piece of fresh seafood sushi, which allows you to enjoy the flavors of each season. Enjoy the flavors of Akita, which is made with a focus on local ingredients, to the fullest.

Akita Port

Hinai Jidori Kushi Sot l'y laisse is a shop specializing in Hinai Jidori chicken, offering freshly slaughtered Hinai Jidori chicken.

Hinai Jidori is one of the three great local chickens in Japan and is a specialty of Akita that the prefecture is proud of.

At "Hinaijidori Kushi Sot l'y laisse," you can enjoy freshly slaughtered Hinaijidori chicken that is purchased directly from Hinaijidori chicken producers and butchered in the store that morning. This restaurant has an impressive stylish exterior with pure white walls and dark blue noren curtains.

Just as the exterior is impressive, the interior of the restaurant is a bright, elegant, modern Japanese space. There is a counter with a charcoal grill right in front of you, giving you a sense of liveliness, and there are also tables where you can sit comfortably.

The popular "Hinaichi Chicken Oyakodon (1,600 yen)" is filled with large chunks of chicken, making it a very impressive dish! The chicken wrapped in soft and fluffy egg has a charcoal-grilled aroma, and the elegantly sweet broth gently brings the whole dish together.

The Hinai Jidori chicken is thick and juicy, and the rich flavor of the chicken, fluffy and runny egg, and rice soaked in the soup combine to create a perfectly calculated oyakodon.

The "Chicken Sashimi (1,100 yen)" is a two-piece dish of chicken gizzard and chicken breast fillet that can only be enjoyed because it is so fresh. The chicken breast fillet is a beautiful pink color, moist and soft, with a surprising sweetness. The chicken gizzard has a crunchy texture and a gentle, delicious flavor.

If you want to enjoy the deliciousness of chicken, you can't miss the "Yakitori (3 skewers for 1,200 yen)". "White liver" is a miracle liver that can only be taken from 1 out of 50 to 100 chickens. "Aka gushi" is said to be the most tender part of the thigh, and you can directly feel the umami of the meat, making it a perfect dish to go with sake. "Tsukune" is eaten by splitting kumquats and dipping them in sauce.

At "Hinaijidori Kushi Sot l'y laisse," you can enjoy exquisite Hinaijidori dishes such as oyakodon, yakitori, and sashimi in a stylish space. You are sure to discover new charms of Hinaijidori.

Hinai Chicken Skewers