LocalEatsJapan

Located on the far edge of Itoshima by the water, this shop is by no means the easiest to get to, but it is well worth it if you are in the area. 

I highly recommend Itoshima for its beautiful beaches and views, and even though I was staying in the city centre in Fukuoka, with a few buses I was able to get here pretty painlessly. But do be aware that around this restaurant there are no drug stores or grocery stores of that kind so pack accordingly! 

Shirahamaya opened in 2018 in the Keya Fishing Port, and they are one of the few restaurants around here.

It is a big open style restaurant with high ceilings and big windows open to the ocean giving it lots of natural light. 

There are quite a few tables that stretch over the course of the restaurant and each one has their own little grill, which you can use to cook your own seafood on. 

They also have seating outside with umbrellas, but it was like 40 degrees when I was there so it was a no go lol. 

They have a big menu, and it all consists of freshly caught seafood, all of which (or at least most) caught right next door to them at the fishing port – It doesn’t get fresher than this! 

They have your stereotypical sashimi, as well as some more out there fish like squid and they also have a lot of fried foods as well, like oyster-fry for example which is really popular in Japan and often served with a rich tartar sauce – I highly recommend it. 

They also had various kaisendon (seafood over rice essentially) and I got the salmon one which came with a very rich miso soup packed with fish in it that just slid off the bone.

The salmon was excellent quality and was incredibly tender – this matched with the piping hot rice underneath wonderfully. 

But what stands out the most for them is the aforementioned grills and the fact that you can cook it in front of you without even getting up from your table. 

It is very similar to Yakiniku in a sense, except with the fish, you have to let them sit for a lot longer and don’t need to move them around as much as you would with meat (so actually a lot less work I would say). 

What I got were the scallops, and probably some of the biggest ones I have ever seen. They put the whole shell down onto the grill, and as it cooks the top piece will slowly begin to open up. 

Then, once it is finished cooking they give you some butter to put directly into the shell, and with this I put some soy sauce too. 

Let me tell you it was insane how good this was. The juice from the scallop mixed with the richness of butter and umami from the soy sauce is getting my mouth watering just thinking about it. 

And as for the scallop itself, it was super plump, yet had no overly fishy taste to it – almost as if they had caught it a few minutes before placing it on my table’s grill. 

Though it is such a seemingly simple thing to make, it is the quality of the fish, and perhaps the fact that you are surrounded by the ocean that elevates it that much more. 

Oh, and it also looks like they have all you can eat seafood courses as well, so If I go back I know what I will be having!

Regardless, all the seafood here was incredible, so if you come down here then be sure to check it out!

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