Minami

When you want an unhurried evening drink accompanied by the day's fresh catch and a broad assortment of drinking snacks, Minami in Higashi-Kanamachi is a natural destination. The sashimi selection includes three-piece and five-piece assortments featuring fish sourced that day, alongside single-item plates like tuna, amberjack, and scallop. Horse meat sashimi and horse liver sashimi, both well regarded by visitors, are also on hand.

Beyond sashimi, the kitchen highlights the rich flavors of seafood with daily simmered dishes such as splendid alfonsino or flounder, simmered or grilled fish heads, and simmered fish collars and trimmings. Warm options rotate regularly with daily specials, including daggertooth pike conger tempura, deep-fried blowfish, and tenderly braised beef tongue, giving diners plenty of comforting choices.

The drinks list is equally thorough. Regional labels from across Japan fill out the sake menu, including Dassai Migaki Sanwari Kyubu, Kubota Senju, and Sawanoi Daikarakuchi. For those who want to sample widely, comparative flights like the Dassai set or a 3-variety flight offer convenient entry points. The bar also stocks whiskies such as Hakushu and Yamazaki alongside Koshu wine.

Spacious seating makes for a calm, comfortable environment, and guests can also arrange the chef's whim course, an omakase progression of 6 to 7 dishes. Open from 16:00 in the evening until 0:00 past midnight every day except Thursday, the izakaya works well for anything from a casual solo drink to a relaxed group dinner.