"Uotsuka" opened in Ueno in February this year. It is the second location of the outdoor standing bar "Uosou" where you can enjoy fresh fish. It is located on the 1st floor of the Ameyoko Center Building, diagonally across from "Uosou" in the bustling Ameyoko shopping street. According to the official website, it is a joint venture that took over the location of the fishmonger "Inuzuka Shoten" that has been in business since the black market era. They mainly sell processed fish products such as Nishikyo pickles and dried fish starting from 10 am. The eat-in option for rice bowls starts from 12 pm. They offer two types of rice bowls: "Ikura Don" for 700 yen and "Maguro Nouten Aburi Don" for 500 yen. They also have oysters and sashimi assortments, but unlike "Uosou," they do not serve drinks. They offer a "Iwagaki + Magaki Comparison" set for 500 yen, featuring oysters from Hyogo and rock oysters from Shimane. The oysters are freshly shucked and seasoned only with lemon, while the rock oysters are large and milky with no distinctive taste. They also offer a GW Special set for 1000 yen, including "Ikura Don" with three side dishes. The side dishes include "Mouka no Hoshi," "Botan Ebi," and "Tsubugai." "Mouka no Hoshi" is a specialty of "Uosou," made with shark heart marinated in sesame oil and salt, similar to raw liver. The "Ikura Don" is small but sweet and delicious. Another GW Special set for 1000 yen includes "Maguro Nouten Aburi Don" with three side dishes: "Botan Ebi," white fish (Hiramasu), and pure negitoro. The "Maguro Nouten" is made with natural tuna marinated in garlic soy sauce, rich and melt-in-your-mouth. Personally, I preferred this over the "Ikura Don." As the second location of "Uosou," the quality of the ingredients is good. It's more of a place to stop by for a quick and light meal rather than a hearty dining experience."

Dinner price: Donburi for 700 yen, Assorted sashimi with 5 pieces for 1000 yen, Beer (forgot the price) - Beer is served in small glasses for standing. There are hardly any seats, and many regular customers. Orders and payments are taken in advance. Cash only.

Ueno Ameyoko "Uosuka" When drinking in Ameyoko, the first place I always go to is "Uosou". It was really crowded this day, so we were directed to the affiliated store "Uosuka". The menu was almost the same (although fewer items than Uosou), but the quality was still high, and the atmosphere was more relaxed. I found a hidden gem! The fresh ankimo (monkfish liver) was so creamy and delicious! It goes great with sake! The sea urchin was of such high quality for the price! The fresh oysters and crab were also incredibly tasty. I tried the ikura (salmon roe) bowl for the first time (couldn't finish it because I was so full) and I was impressed by how delicious it was. It's surprisingly small and easy to eat, so if you go, you must try it! Even though I just went, I already want to go back again...

The branch of Uogusa is located diagonally across the street. If you are going with four people, Uozuka may be easier to enter! The menu at Uogusa and Uozuka is almost the same, but Uozuka is said to have slightly higher prices in exchange for higher quantity and quality. They have a special sashimi platter that is only available at Uozuka, which is highly recommended. Payment is cash only, and you exchange money for each order. Having money ready on the table may make things go smoother (lol). The seafood here is extremely fresh, so you may find yourself drinking a lot of sake. The "Stingray Liver Sashimi" that can only be eaten here is truly delicious and impressive. It's like having a gourmet ice cream for appetizers! You eat the semi-thawed stingray liver while letting it melt on your tongue! Be careful not to drink too much as the alcohol goes down smoothly. I definitely plan on visiting again soon!

I visited with three friends because Fish Kusa was full, so we went to Uozuka. Uozuka seems to be a bit more upscale than Fish Kusa. You can enjoy rare seafood such as crab, nodoguro, and liver. The specialty ikura-don was also delicious. It's also nice to have a standing lunch of ikura-don when you're short on time.

Each grain sparkles. As dazzling as the lobby of an APA Hotel. - Ikura Donburi: ¥700 - Uozuka @ Taito-ku, Tokyo - Nearest station: Ueno Station - Date: June 25, 2023 (Sunday), Sunny ☀️ - Number of registered stores on Tabelog: 2,095th store - No waiting, served at 12:00 PM - Tabelog rating: 3.15 - Number of Tabelog photo uploads: 94 - Seating: Standing - Condiments on the table: Soy sauce - Opening date: February 2022 (as of posting date) Tabelog Top 100 Restaurants Tour: - 2023 [Chinese Cuisine] Tokyo (10/100) - 2022 [Bread] Tokyo (38/100) - 2022 [Bread] East (10/100) - 2022 [Yakiniku] Tokyo (8/100) - 2022 [Curry] (26/100) - 2022 [Ethnic] Tokyo (10/100) - 2022 [Udon] East (26/100) - 2022 [Yakitori] (3/100) - 2022 [Sushi] (3/100) - 2022 [Western Cuisine] (6/100) - 2022 [Okonomiyaki] (7/100) - 2022 [Hamburger] (16/100) - 2022 [Tonkatsu] (6/100) - 2021 [Set Meal] (19/100) - 2021 [Gyoza] (25/100) - 2021 [Yakiniku] East (2/100) - 2021 [Pizza] (2/100) Hashtags: #carbohydrate #tokyo #foodstagram #highcaloriehighlife #instafood #Tokyo #Taito-ku #carbstagram #gourmet #food #yummy #Tabelog #lunch #rice #TokyoGourmet #donburi #setmeal #Uozuka #IkuraDonburi

This is a standing bar where you can enjoy drinks and food. I came here for a bar hopping experience in Ameyoko. I ordered an Ebisu beer for 500 yen, a water octopus sashimi for 300 yen, and their specialty ikura rice bowl for 700 yen. The payment is cash only. The Ebisu beer comes in a small bottle and you drink it as is. The ikura rice bowl is topped with plenty of salmon roe. You can eat it without adding anything, as it comes with soy sauce. The hot rice is topped with the salmon roe, allowing you to enjoy the seafood flavors at this place.

There were a lot of fish dishes, so I went to this Fish Grass 2nd store that I hadn't been to before. The menu for food and drinks seemed limited for a second store...but all-you-can-drink tea for 0 yen? I don't really get it... The 3 live oysters for 1000 yen were plump and delicious! The sashimi platter was good too. I wanted to try the crab platter too, but I was too full to eat more. The seating is limited, maybe around 6 people max? It felt more like a regular fish market where they sell fish at the counter.

At Ameyoko, especially during the busy year-end period, I haven't been there just to see the crowds, but on peaceful days, I have a specific shop I like to visit, so sometimes I walk from Akihabara to come here. However, recently there has been an increase in foreign tourists, with people from Europe, America, and Australia flooding Akihabara and Ueno Park, but Ameyoko seems like a heaven for Chinese tourists. This is because many shops here are run by Chinese owners, so naturally, Chinese tourists come here (perhaps mainly for sourcing purposes). In the midst of this, I heard about a fish shop run by Japanese owners that specializes in crab, so after visiting during cherry blossom viewing, I promised to come back since they were already out of rice bowls. Fishzuka (formerly Inuzuka) is good at crabs, and they succeeded in sourcing a large amount of snow crabs after a cancellation from Russia to America, which made customers happy during the year-end period. Even if you don't know about Fishzuka, the shop called Sakana-kusa is known for being a delicious place around here. Sakana-kusa took over Inuzuka and is now known as Fishzuka. They sell fresh fish from 10:00 as a fish market, and from 12:00, you can eat seafood bowls in the back. They also have salmon roe bowls (limited time only). After taking a short walk around, you can come back around 11:40 and enjoy the Sakana-kusa bowl. They serve fresh ingredients such as salmon roe, tuna, flounder, rockfish, and flounder. The younger brother prepares the bowl on the spot where the fish is prepared. They also have beer, but if you're going to drink, you should go to Sakana-kusa, as recommended by the older sister. The bowl is served with fresh ingredients, and the tuna and flounder are delicious. The seafood bowl at a fish shop is slightly different from the seafood bowl at a sushi restaurant or a traditional Japanese restaurant. You can also buy homemade Saikyo pickled silver cod, mackerel, and salmon at a reasonable price as souvenirs. I might visit again during Golden Week to try the crabs.

I suddenly felt like having an ikura donburi, so I headed to Uozuka where you can enjoy it for a good deal at 700 yen. It opened in February 2022 as a branch of Uogusa in Ameyoko (only about 20 meters away). Initially, they didn't serve alcohol, but now they have a variety of options on the menu. The place was not as crowded as Uogusa, and I found a spot easily. I ordered an ikura donburi, 3 fresh oysters, and oyster sake. The oysters were really fresh and delicious, with a strong ocean flavor. It seemed like they take special care in sourcing their seafood. The oyster sake paired well with the oysters, enhancing the flavors of both. Although they didn't make the ikura donburi on-site, they brought it over from Uogusa. It wasn't made with vinegared rice, but I still enjoyed the ikura and achieved my goal.

On New Year's Eve, I went to Ameyoko to buy a feast for the New Year. The day before, I went to a nearby fish market but the king crab I wanted was too expensive. I parked my car at the underground parking lot near JR NO2 and Ueno Hirokoji, and headed to Ameyoko. It was not even 10 am yet, but there were already quite a few people. The main crab being sold was snow crab, and there weren't many shops selling king crab. I chose this shop that mainly sold crabs. They were selling three decent-sized snow crabs for 5,000 yen, which was a good deal. They also had king crab. I chose the most expensive one at 20,000 yen, but they gave it to me for 10,000 yen with salmon roe as a bonus. It was two sizes bigger than the king crab I saw at the fish market the day before. I found out why the king crab at this shop was cheaper on their website. "Ameyoko store open until New Year's Eve. Looking forward to your visit until the end!!! In December 2022, "Uotzuka" celebrates its first year-end. Taking over the long-established Inuzuka Shoten, we opened a new fish store "Uotzuka" in February, and the main product for the year-end special sale is, of course, "crab." The Ameyoko store is already bustling with crabs and red and yellow fish roe!! Overcoming the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia issue, the weak yen, inflation... a lineup of great products!! Why is crab a "must-buy" this year? 2022. It was a turbulent year for the fisheries industry. With Japan's self-sufficiency rate in seafood dropping below 60%, the 30% drop in the yen's value in a year had a significant impact, and the economic sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine caused drastic changes in logistics. Most of the seafood we handle comes from the Northern Sea, which is the Russian waters. At the end of the year, can ordinary people like us buy fish? Will fish even be available? Many people must have had the same thoughts. Japan, with abundant "seafood resources" (crab, salmon trout, fish roe, etc.), and Russia, which has a rich supply, have had a longstanding relationship. With global warming, Japan, which is facing depletion of resources in the EEZ around Hokkaido, has continued trading with Russia to meet market demands, despite various constraints and the need to respond to the current situation. China, which also loves seafood like Japan, is in a similar situation. On the other hand, the seafood-loving America, with its rich resources in the Bering Sea, quickly stopped importing seafood from Russia. There were large-scale protests from the distribution industry against the government's sudden decision. So, what happened was... to put it simply, the "crab that America stopped buying from Russia" was left hanging. And a portion of it ended up in Japan." I stored the giant king crab in the freezer and had it for dinner after returning from my New Year's trip, with vinegar soy sauce and mayonnaise. It was the biggest king crab I've ever had, and I enjoyed the claws and legs. The claws were huge, with firm and plump meat. Claws have firmer and bouncier meat compared to the legs. The legs were thick and satisfying to eat. Oh, I was so satisfied! The cost-effectiveness index is 1.98, based on 19,800 yen for 10,000 yen. Bravo! Thank you for the feast!

The 700 yen size ikura donburi is about the size of a bowl of miso soup, so men may find it a bit small. It's more of a quick and easy meal rather than a hearty one. I also had a drink at the fish grass restaurant across the street just before coming here. The ikura was generously piled on top, and to be able to eat it for 700 yen is amazing. It was delicious!

Just had a delicious Mozzarella cheese pizza and cold beer at Mouka's Starry Night.

Just a little bit of fresh oysters and a pint of beer to go with it.

Gourmet recommends a seafood standing bar where everything except for the ikura don is 500 yen, with 10 reviews. I feel like it's a hidden gem for a quick first visit!

After drinking, a perfect way to finish the meal is with a bowl of rice! The seared fish was delicious and had a nice texture. The staff at the restaurant were friendly. I shared half with my partner and we had both the salmon roe bowl and the seared tuna bowl. Personally, I thought the tuna bowl was more delicious.

I wish I could have gone to Ameyoko just for this. Recently, when I went to buy just a few items, I noticed that more seats had been added. This shows how popular it is.

"Isaki sashimi ikura donburi with a cold beer."

Tarako donburi with fresh oysters and tarako milt at Seikyou.