Sea urchin, or “uni” in Japanese — people love it, or hate it. Me? Of course I love it! Every time I meet someone who doesn’t like sea urchin, I say “that’s because you haven’t tried fresh one yet!” Sea urchin available is often preserved with food additives, which makes it taste bitter and smell fishy. Real fresh sea urchin is creamy and sweet.
Now do you want to tatse it? Try GVO in Shiretoko! The owner of this restaurant works as a fisherman who catches sea urchin during summer. This is why they can serve high quality sea urchin.
Only on weekends in July and August, a special menu with fresh sea urchin will be available. It comes with fresh uni don (sea urchin over rice), miso soup and pickled veggies at 2,800 yen. With a half-size don is 1,500 yen. The fresh uni here has a really rich taste and it just melts in your mouth!
The restaurant is located just next to the Okhotsk Sea. You can enjoy your meal with a beautiful ocean view. The sea will be filled up with drift ice in February and March, for which you should definitely visit here in winter as well.
From September to March while fresh uni is not available, they serve other dishes using preserved uni, such as uni cream pasta, salted uni don and rice bowl with starchy uni sauce.
Note that the restaurant is closed from April to August, as the owner will be out to the sea to catch uni, except for weekends in July and August when it’s open to serve the limited fresh uni menu :)
GVO
Hours: 11AM-2.30PM, 6PM-11PM
Opening Days:Weekends in July and August, and every day from September to March except for Wednesdays and the 2nd Thursday
Access: 20-30 min walk from Shiretoko city center
