Too much raw fish

At least once a week, my family eats sushi (raw fish on a small ball of rice) or sashimi (raw fish only) for dinner.  We live really near a fish shop, Fresh Hikari, that marks down all their sushi at 5 pm every day.  If I'm not in the mood to cook dinner or if I don't have anything planned, it is our go to meal.  We also eat out at sushi-belt restaurants, known as kaiten sushi, frequently.  It is quick and easy, plus everyone likes it.

Even with eating raw fish at least once a week, we still seek out additional opportunities to enjoy it.  Today, we decided to go to Hottarakashi Tei Omakase.  Owned and operated by a fish wholesaler, the restaurant features sashimi. 

On the weekends, they have a lunch buffet.  I find it interesting that they offer this only on the weekends since most places would limit it to lunchtime on weekdays.  This is a highly desired food in Japan, so limiting availability is a common approach, but they have a different idea. 

People pay for the amount of time they are at the restaurant.  There are three rates for diners: for a 40 minute stint, the cost is ¥1,600/$15; 60 minutes costs ¥2,000/$19; and people who stay for 90 minutes pay ¥2,500/$23.50.  Kids that have not entered elementary school yet are free.

The restaurant is only open on the weekends for 4 hours each day, so people really have to plan accordingly.  We half-joked that people should show up on the 40 minute increments to not have to wait too long for a seat since most people check out right before the shortest time limit allowed.

We arrived right when it opened.  We were quickly seated in the dining room, which only had 26 seats. 

The buffet features a variety of popular fish - tuna, salmon, shrimp, bonito, squid, and a few other items as well.  The most popular thing was ikura or salmon eggs, as it is first come first serve. 

Everyone wanted to fill up their plates quickly, and were borderline rude at the buffet table.  The first 4 people took almost all of the ikura.  One woman reached over my son's head to fill her plate.  It was a bit shocking since Japan is typically all about manners and not invading other people's space.  I've heard that seafood buffets at casinos often showcase similar behavior, I just wasn't expecting it here.  No matter what, we got our food and sat at our table to enjoy the feast. 

The restaurant also provided rice and soup to enjoy along with the sashimi.  There were beers for an additional price, but we didn't feel the need to partake since it was only 11 am (and we aren't big beer drinkers - we both aren't huge lager fans, which is the predominate beer in Japan).

The fish was fresh, firm, and delicious. 

We ate our fill.  Maybe more than our fill, actually.  After a single plate of sashimi, I didn't want any more.  I think we may be taking a break from raw fish for a while.  Well, at least a week or two.