"Located just a 2-minute walk from JR Kokura Station, "Oryori Sato" is a restaurant that opened in 1995 and is operated by Oryori Sato LLC, established in 2019 with representative director Yoshimi Sato. The restaurant has a staff of the owner, an apprentice, and two female staff members, totaling four. With a counter seating for 10 and a private room for 6, the restaurant can accommodate up to 16 guests. Kokura's prime location allows for easy access to fresh seafood from both the Seto Inland Sea and the Sea of Japan. The restaurant offers traditional Japanese cuisine with a highlight on dishes cooked over charcoal. Guests can enjoy watching their local ingredients being grilled right in front of them on the charcoal grill set up in front of the counter. The omakase course, including alcohol, costs 26,800 yen in total. The meal included dishes such as Edamame with grated sesame, yuba with hot water, and topped with Sansho flowers, deep-fried young sweetfish, charcoal-grilled red sea bream in a bowl with udo and bracken, steamed black abalone with purple sea urchin and served with wasabi, thick seaweed noodles with cucumber, mountain asparagus mixed with bamboo shoots and firefly squid, tiger fish with ponzu sauce and minced salted kelp, rice steamed with charcoal-grilled red tilefish, charcoal-grilled spiny lobster with peeled fruit tomato and crab miso sauce, charcoal-grilled bamboo shoots with sansho and young leaves of Japanese pepper, white rice, charcoal-grilled silver cod, red miso soup made with tiger fish broth, pickled vegetables, rice with shredded dried fish and Sansho flowers, Miyazaki mango with white wine jelly, and charcoal-grilled gluten rice cracker with strained sweet bean paste. For drinks, they served roasted green tea, sake, and Sakana Japon special junmai sake (Fukuoka) for 1,800 yen per glass."

The restaurant has been open for 28 years, with 10 years at its current location. There is no free parking available and reservations are required. The interior features a counter with 10 seats in a U-shape, as well as a private counter with 6 seats. The menu includes an omakase course for 25,000 yen, featuring dishes such as red sea urchin from Kokura with grated nagaimo and somen broth, crab and burdock stem with consomme jelly, and hot turtle soup with yuzu. Other dishes include summer pork cooked in plum, sake, and soy sauce, raw red snapper with grated daikon, steamed abalone with okra and miso, and more. The meal ends with peach wine jelly, kuzu mochi with black honey, and green tea. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was relaxing. Reservations can be made by contacting Sato at 093-541-3767. Open from 12:00 with last entry at 18:00 on Sundays. Located at 3-5-7 Kyomachi, Kokura Kita-ku, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture, KSK Core Building 1F.

I recently visited a restaurant. As soon as I stepped in, I felt like I was in a sophisticated space where time was flowing differently. The dishes were all made with fresh seasonal ingredients, beautifully presented. In particular, the delicate flavors of the kaiseki cuisine were a delight to the senses. The skill and passion of the chef were evident, creating an artistic experience. The service was impeccable, making the evening truly special. While the prices were high, I felt that the experience was well worth it.

At the end of July... it didn't feel like the ingredients were in season. The sweet red sea urchin was delicious! The vinegar jelly with snow crab was good, but the crab meat was a bit light in flavor. The sea bream with ginkgo nuts in broth was tasty! The horse mackerel sashimi with salted kelp was delicious. The abalone was thick and tender, no complaints there. The giant matsutake mushroom tempura had a subtle aroma of matsutake, coated in persimmon seed crust. The Kyoto ayu was small but flavorful, served with crispy bones. The grilled eggplant could have been cooked a bit more, but the sauce was delicious. The rice was perfect, and the eel that came out was also perfect! The kuzu starch cake with black syrup was incredibly tasty. It was a busy day with a lot of customers, so the service was a bit slow (it took over 2 and a half hours). The chef seemed a bit intimidating... I wanted to enjoy my meal comfortably. The atmosphere was a bit rough for a restaurant in this price range. As someone else mentioned, the rice was so good that it made up for any shortcomings. And the eel... it had a firm texture. They showed us the raw eel on a skewer, but we couldn't see the cooking process. It turns out they grill it and then steam it. It's different from the soft Kanto-style eel. Overall, it was a bit disappointing, but still enjoyable!

Michelin Guide Fukuoka 2019 Two-Star Listing Michelin Guide Fukuoka 2014 One-Star Listing July 17, 2023 (Monday) Red Sea Urchin (Hagi) and Long Yuba Somen White Abalone, Ise Ebi, Kin-Tsuba, and New Ginkgo (Kumamoto) Tiger Fish Sashimi Steamed Rice with Karasumi Deep-Fried Young Sweetfish and Blackthroat Seaperch Charcoal-Grilled Taro, Green Soybeans, Kamo Eggplant with White Sesame Sauce Green Plum Wine-Infused Rice Pickles, Kagoshima Beef, Ise Ebi Red Miso Soup Karasumi and Mixed Fish Rice Mango, Sun Egg (Miyazaki) Matcha-Flavored Grilled Rice Cake with Wine Jelly Perrier Plain Sparkling Water, Bottled Barley Tea from Kyoto Ippodo Karasumi and Mixed Fish Onigiri

Michelin Guide Fukuoka 2019 Two-Star Listing Michelin Guide Fukuoka 2014 One-Star Listing Red sea urchin (Hagi) and nagaimo somen White abalone, Ise ebi kin-tsuba, and new ginkgo (Kumamoto) Tigerfish sashimi with karasumi rice ball Fried young ayu with blackthroat seaperch grilled over charcoal Satoimo (taro), edamame, Kamo eggplant, white sesame sauce Green plum wine simmered rice, pickles Kagoshima beef, Ise ebi red miso soup Karasumi mixed fish rice Mango, sun egg (Miyazaki) Matcha-flavored grilled senbei with wine jelly

It's been quite a while since my last visit, and this was my second time here. I booked a ¥25,000 chef's choice course through ikkyu.com. The meal included bamboo sake, steamed abalone, shrimp, Hagi sea urchin, yam noodles, shrimp head miso, Hiroshima junmai, a soup with Buzen Botan loach and green plum wine pickles, half a bottle of champagne, raw fatty tuna with salted kelp and ponzu sauce, karasumi rice steamed for 6 months, young ayu from Lake Biwa with tade vinegar, grilled nodoguro with cabbage and pickled shiba, Kamo eggplant with soybeans and white sesame sauce, Dassai sake, al dente rice, pickles, beef with grated daikon, karasumi and small fish rice, dessert of mango wine jelly, grilled senbei, and a big bowl of matcha. I was extremely satisfied with the fantastic cost performance. I will definitely come back again. Thank you for the wonderful meal.

Located a 5-7 minute walk from Kokura Station, Sato is a high-end Japanese restaurant that boasts one of the best reputations in Kitakyushu. Not only was it selected as one of the top 100 Japanese restaurants in the west in 2021 and 2023, but it has also been awarded the Bronze prize on Tabelog for five consecutive years since 2019. The interior features a dignified counter seat layout, with a Japanese-style seating arrangement where guests must remove their shoes before entering. The course menu is priced at 25,000 yen, making it somewhat expensive, resulting in fewer customers on weekdays. However, this also means you can have conversations with the head chef, making weekdays a recommended time to visit. We opted for the chef's special course, which started off with a luxurious appetizer featuring seasonal ingredients such as simmered abalone and sea urchin. The boneless monkfish and refreshing green plum soup were highlights, showcasing the depth of flavor in the clear broth. Other standout dishes included the firm and savory raw baby octopus with scallion sauce and salted kelp, the crispy and addictive fried sweetfish, and the generously cut karasumi, which paired perfectly with sake. The course continued with juicy grilled tilefish, sesame-flavored horse mackerel sashimi, quality-enhanced Kamo eggplant, Kagoshima beef, pickles, miso soup, and the flavorful clay pot rice that was so delicious we couldn't resist multiple helpings. The meal concluded with sweet mango, refreshing kudzu jelly, and matcha, providing a satisfying end to the course. Overall, the dessert was also high in satisfaction, so be sure to visit. Thank you for the feast!

In the month of Minazuki, with little rain, feeling the approaching summer, I visited a restaurant. I sat at the counter and enjoyed steamed jun-sai with sea urchin tofu, abalone, sea grapes with saltwater jelly, sashimi of yellowback seabream, simmered botan eel, ayu from Lake Biwa, grilled Ise lobster, grilled eggplant, seared wagyu beef thigh, clay pot rice, red miso soup with Ise lobster, pickles, rice with small fish and squid ink, mango, thin tea, and rice with small shrimp. I had three extra helpings of rice. It was a delicious meal.

Flawless. A renowned restaurant. From start to finish, everything was amazing - the taste, the presentation, everything. The sake served in bamboo tubes was quite sophisticated. Personally, I was captivated by the finale of savoring the rice cooked in a clay pot, starting from al dente and gradually enjoying it. I would love to go back, but it's frustrating that it's not so easy to do so.

Tako (octopus) from Hiroshima, steamed abalone with Hagi's red sea urchin, ara (rockfish) miso soup, octopus sashimi, fugu (blowfish), eel, spiny lobster, grilled sesame tofu, rice. A cancellation occurred, so I was the only customer. It was sad, but it shouldn't have affected the service. Cooking was mostly done in the back, just bringing the dishes out. They only briefly checked on me while eating, and as soon as I finished, the next dish was already waiting. The essence of sitting at the counter was almost non-existent. I felt rushed to leave. Very disappointing.

The food was delicious, but there were several times when there was quite a long wait between finishing one dish and the next one being served. Other customers also experienced the same issue, so it wasn't just me eating quickly. I started to feel a bit irritated as I sipped on my drink. However, the turnaround came with the clay pot rice. "Please try it al dente first." It was incredibly delicious. Topped with scallops and karasumi, it was even better. This helped me relax and enjoy the meal. Perhaps due to price increases or maybe because Kitakyushu is generally expensive, I felt that it was a bit pricier than expected.

During a weekday afternoon, we visited the restaurant that we had reserved a month in advance. We were the only customers in the quiet and soothing atmosphere filled with the smell of charcoal. This time, we enjoyed a variety of precious mountain vegetables for spring, as well as fugu and crab for winter. The flavors were delicate and gentle, with each dish being straightforward and meticulously prepared. Since we didn't drink alcohol, they kindly served us Taiwanese oolong tea. The fugu had a satisfying texture and umami flavor, especially when enjoyed with salted kelp. However, the highlight was the grilled blackthroat seaperch, which was seared over charcoal. Despite its substantial thickness, it was rich and flavorful without being overwhelming. It was truly delicious.

・Omakase 25,000 yen~. Steamed clam rice bowl, sea cucumber with yuzu fragrance, konowata, banchoko cauliflower, gaima bamboo shoots, kinugai white fish, white asparagus from Wakamatsu, Kanazawa Echizen crab (legs, belly), fugu sashimi, grilled white fish roe with miso, grilled nodoguro sushi, myoga sushi with sea urchin and turnip, walnut miso in clear soup, anko mochi, kinako black honey. I've always wanted to go here but never had the chance until now. I visited last year in winter and enjoyed the crab, fugu, and winter flavors. This time, I made it just in time. The dishes served here are made with local seasonal ingredients in a simple and unpretentious way, making it one of the best Japanese restaurants in Kitakyushu. Before the meal, a large white fish from Karatsu, Saga, is presented on a big white plate, creating a sense of attachment. Every dish this time was delicious, and 2 hours flew by. The sea cucumber, white fish, fugu, and grilled nodoguro were all exquisite. I look forward to visiting in other seasons to try the delicious flavors of different times of the year.

Visited on Saturday at 18:00 with a reservation. ★★ Chef's Choice Course ¥25,000 ★★ - Suntory Master's Dream draft beer ¥1,200 - Clam tsumami with fresh mountain pepper topping. Simple and hot, with no other ingredients. - Sea cucumber with grated turnip. Thick and crunchy, with a refreshing cucumber ring. - Bamboo sake (Sato Special) 2 cups ¥4,000. Aged for two days in the refrigerator, it has a slightly sweet and mellow taste. - Matsuba crab from Sakaiminato with La France pear in vinegar. Large and juicy charcoal-grilled crab legs. - Natural pufferfish sashimi using Higan fugu. Extremely firm and flavorful, with no roe or milt. - Grilled tiger pufferfish milt. Smooth and creamy, served with Chinese cabbage and grated turnip. - Fish head with green onion. The fat pairs well with the onion, and a squeeze of citrus adds extra flavor. - Butterbur sprout mochi. Bitter and sophisticated in taste. - Young tomato, Saga white asparagus, spring onion, udo, urui, and Daikon from Seigoin. Served with tofu skin and lotus root with spicy miso. - Bottarga with Seigoin Daikon. Semi-raw and savory, perfect with sake. - Clay pot rice. The first serving is al dente, with a total of eight servings. Goes well with salted cod roe miso. - Black honey and kinako warabi mochi with Wenzhou mandarin juice. Sweet and fibrous juice, paired with a sweet and chewy warabi mochi. - Matcha for a refreshing finish. Overall, all the dishes were delicious. The bill came to ¥29,200. Transparent billing. Thank you for the meal.

Last year, I wanted to revisit Sato's restaurant, and this time I enjoyed watching the careful preparation of the dishes. The crab and fugu were delicious as always, but what really stood out were the perfectly balanced flavors of the crab vinegar with apple and the spicy grated radish. I finally got to try the sought-after karasumi as well, and I left feeling completely satisfied. The chef even thanked me with a big smile, saying, "Thank you for coming all the way to Kokura to visit us, even though there are two very famous sushi restaurants nearby."

Today's lunch was at this restaurant. This restaurant has won The Tabelog Award 2022 BRONZE. It was also selected as one of the top 100 Japanese cuisine restaurants in the west by Tabelog in 2021 and received one star in the Michelin Guide Fukuoka and Saga. The owner of this restaurant is Yoshimi Sato. I made a reservation for this restaurant about a month in advance through the Tabelog website. The restaurant is about a 5-minute walk from Kokura Station, but the location shown by the navigation was incorrect, so I got a little lost. The course meal cost 24,000 yen and I had umeshu (plum wine) from Yamazaki Distillery aged in roasted barrels for 1,000 yen. The dishes included persimmon with white miso, turtle soup, horsehair crab with crab vinegar, sashimi of natural tiger pufferfish with salted kelp and ponzu sauce, nodoguro sushi, steamed abalone with sea urchin on top, abalone liver with spinach, grilled arakarasumi mochi with squid mochi (with ginkgo inside), crab croquette with shrimp potato, fugu rice with fugu dashi, pickles, and for dessert, freshly squeezed juice of oranges and apples, and kudzu jelly. The total bill was 25,000 yen. Thank you for the wonderful meal.

Sato is located near Kokura Station in Fukuoka. The restaurant has a charming atmosphere with traditional sliding doors and a shoe-free policy. I sat at the counter and started with a dish of plenty of snow crab topped with crab vinegar gel. The amount of crab meat was impressive. Next, I tried the softshell turtle chawanmushi, which was delicious with a flavorful broth. The third dish was fugu sashimi, a must-try delicacy since Yamaguchi is nearby. The blowfish was truly delicious. Then, I had a dish of matsutake mushroom and conger eel, cooked right in front of me. The aroma of the broth was amazing, and the combination of matsutake and eel was perfect. The chestnut rice steamed with chestnuts, burdock roots, and ginkgo nuts was surprising with its large chestnuts and perfectly seasoned ginkgo nuts. The cod roe mochi was a specialty of the restaurant and was a delightful combination of cod roe and rice cake. The white miso with sea urchin served at this point was a nice touch. The matsutake rice, cooked in a clay pot with a generous amount of matsutake mushrooms, was so delicious I had to take some home as onigiri. For dessert, I had grapefruit juice with large grapes, grilled bracken rice cake, and matcha. It was my first time having so much matsutake in one meal, and it was a fantastic experience at Sato. Thank you for the wonderful meal.

I revisited "Sato", a restaurant that has won "The Tabelog Award Bronze" multiple times. It is located in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture. It is on the first floor of the "KSK Building", just a 2-minute walk from JR "Kokura Station". We sat at the counter seats, but there are also private rooms available, making it suitable for both solo diners and groups. The dishes we had this time included: - Seasonal moon and softshell turtle - Uzaku (vinegared dish) - Chrysanthemum ohitashi (boiled dish) - Ginkgo nuts and chestnuts - Steamed abalone with Tosa jelly - Ara sashimi (fish scraps) - Red sea urchin from Hagi and squid - Grilled matsutake mushroom in a bowl - Rice steamed with karasumi (bottarga) - Grilled spiny lobster - Fried dish with taro, octopus, lily bulb, and pumpkin - Grilled kudzu mochi - Matcha I have attached photos, which showcase the beautiful presentation and artistic plates typical of Japanese cuisine. The portion sizes are generous, suitable even for men. A few personal thoughts... The "Grilled Matsutake Mushroom in a Bowl" featured a large, flavorful mushroom with a unique texture that was almost rare. The broth in the bowl was also gentle and delightful. The "Rice Steamed with Karasumi" was as impressive as before, with the homemade karasumi being rich and delicious. It's a taste that makes you want more. Once again, I had a wonderful time at "Sato". Thank you for the delicious meal.

All the portions are generous! #Kokura #Japanese cuisine #Kaiseki #Red sea urchin #Grilled matsutake mushrooms #Steamed abalone #Spiny lobster #Karasumi #Steamed rice #Rice #Burnt rice #Karasumi dried young sardines #Grilled senbei #Sweet red bean paste #Matcha #Bamboo sake #Barley tea #Lunch

Mr. Sato's course meal was a parade of high-end ingredients such as sea urchin, matsutake mushrooms, spiny lobster, and abalone, to the point where I thought my taste buds might go crazy. Each dish had a distinct flavor and I could feel the attention to detail. I sat at the counter and watching the chef skillfully prepare the spiny lobster right in front of me was truly impressive. When I visit Kokura again, I definitely plan to stop by this restaurant. The atmosphere of the restaurant is calm and relaxing, providing a space where you can unwind. The only downside was that the speed of serving the dishes was a bit fast, and the variety of alcohol options was a bit limited.