Dinner at Tempura Sakurabito

Tempura’s a surprisingly good genre for omakase ever since I’ve had my first experience at Mizuki inside The Ritz-Carlton Kyoto. So, it was time for another round of it on my 4th trip to Japan.

Tempura Sakurabito in Ashiya City (located in-between Osaka and Kobe) caught my eye as it has a near 4 stars rating on Tabelog, and is a fairly new place. Crab seems to be its specialty and I was just in time for crab season in January!

How to Book a Reservation at Tempura Sakurabito

Omakase.in is the only online platform where you can book a reservation at Tempura Sakurabito. It’s quite easy to secure a reservation since it’s still under the radar to many people, and schedule opens up few months in advance.

Price starts at 23,000 yen, but can cost a little bit more depending if crab will be served. Desserts are also separately charged here unlike other omakase restaurants. You may skip them if you don’t want them.

The Food

First up is the noresore covered in sauce as appetizer. They’re baby eels shaped like noodles. Interesting texture.

The first tempura pieces are 2 prawn heads. The crunchiest pieces of the event and hearing the crunch noises from every customers’ bites just feel right.

Next are the bodies of kuruma ebi. A classic for tempura. The first one comes with lighter batter. Amazing that it’s able to stand completely still without toppling.

The next one comes with heavier batter. It’s very good when dipped with tempura sauce (tentsuyu).

After the prawns is the sea bream. I love how the skin flakes sticks out to give crispy touches as I take a bite.

I’m unsure what this was since the chef or any of the staff do not speak English. It has an earthy, nutty texture and is sweet. Red beans, perhaps?

Next is a highly-prized kind of fish, the longtooth grouper. The piece is actually a sashimi which is an interesting concept due to the contrary nature of tempura.

Next are big-sized shiitake mushroom.

Then comes a teaser of crab with the soup with meat and roes inside.

Next is a giant eggplant named Higomurasaki hailing from Kumamoto. The biggest eggplant I’ve seen in my life!

Very soft and juicy.

Then comes the murasaki sweet potato. I’ve never seen a sweet potato with golden flesh before. Very cool and delicious.

Next is shirako, or cod milt, or cod sperm. I’ve never had it before and I was terrified and excited at the same time. In fact, this was one of the reasons why I came to Japan in the winter ;).

Having my first shirako in tempura form is interesting. It has a marshmallow-y texture and becomes more creamy when I get to the center.

I had to admit that it was difficult for me after having some knowledge of what it was, but what made it more difficult was that it was scalding hot and I was forced to feel every bite. At least in nigiri form, I could gulp it for emergency.

Still, my experience here made future shirako pieces much more tolerable. However, I can’t say it’s my favorite in tempura form. It’s an acquired taste for sure.

Next up is kazunoko, delicascy of dried roes that are typically served in New Years.

Then, the last presentation: the king snow crab. They’re displayed like some sort of religious offerings which is way too cool. I would pray to it to get blessings from the Holy Crab.

The crabs are cooked with rice in an earthernware pot. It looks fantastic!

It’s first served on its own and then with the soup and roes as the finishing piece. Nicely seasoned overall.

Then, I got myself the dessert: a strawberry sorbet. I am way too full after this!

Conclusion

I am satisfied with my dinner at Tempura Sakurabito and left very full compared to other omakase places I went to. This is definitely a place to look into if you’re looking for a high-end tempura place in Japan. Reservations are easy due to it being under the radar with very reasonable prices on top.

I got to try out interesting pieces in seafood and vegetables. But, definitely try to go during winter for the crab season, in which crabs are the star ingredients here.