My first visit to Japan in 2022 sparked a hyperfixation with tonkatsu, which I wrote about in a previous post. On my most recent trip in November 2024, I discovered a new obsession—one I haven’t stopped thinking about since: kaisendon.

This simple, comforting dish, which translates to “seafood rice bowl,” is just a generous pile of fresh sashimi stacked over warm sushi rice. Drizzle a little soy sauce on top, and you're good to go.

Kaisendon isn’t new; fishermen in coastal cities have likely been eating it for centuries. But the version many tourists seek today was popularized by Tsujihan, a social media-famous chain in Tokyo. Their signature experience involves a two-part meal—starting with sashimi over rice, followed by a warm, umami-rich soup made by pouring hot sea bream broth (tai-dashi) into the bowl. This final touch, known as ochazuke, was what I was most excited to try on this trip.

I had originally planned to visit Tsujihan but wanted to find a more health-friendly option for my partner, who eats less white rice for health reasons (which, side note, is very hard to do in Japan!). That led us to Mukai.

mukai review: a hidden gem near shibuya

Kaisendokoro Mukai is a small, unassuming shop just a 10-minute walk from Shibuya Station. Tucked away in a quiet residential street, it’s easy to miss—until you notice the line forming before their 10:45 AM opening. They only serve lunch (three hours a day, closed Wednesdays), and regularly sell out before business hours are even over.

The restaurant, housed in a repurposed home, has just 12 seats. Upon entering, you're asked to remove your shoes before sitting at horigotatsu-style low tables. On warm days, you can even sit at the two-person table out in their private backyard garden.

the menu & experience

Mukai keeps it simple, offering four tiers of kaisendon with increasing seafood variety. We went for the top-tier bowl (2,600 yen / ~$17 USD), which included tuna, salmon, ikura, toro, and sea urchin. The experience was highly customizable—customers can choose between white or multigrain rice, white or red vinegar, and portion sizes (small, medium, large, XL) for the perfect seafood-to-rice ratio. At the table, two types of soy sauce were available: regular and dashi soy sauce.

Unfortunately, the diners before us snagged the last of the multigrain rice (what initially drew us to Mukai over Tsujihan). But hey, sometimes you just roll with it—especially when traveling.

Look at these bowls! Piled high and especially generous with toro. Each bowl came with miso soup, and later, the ochazuke broth—double soup! The seafood was incredibly fresh. I started by folding fish and rice into seaweed, making little hand rolls, then gently pressing the sashimi into the seasoned rice. Even the ikura, which I’m usually not a fan of, had the perfect salty pop of umami.

the best part: ochazuke

Two-thirds into my meal, I walked my bowl over to the ochazuke station, where a giant vat of housemade clam broth awaited. Ladling it in myself, I could tell this was where the magic happened—the broth was deep, umami-packed, and rich with clam flavor. Ending a raw sushi meal with a warm, comforting soup was perfection.

I spent the rest of my Japan trip thinking about this meal. So simple, yet so delicious. If you're in Tokyo and looking for an incredible kaisendon experience, Mukai is absolutely worth the stop.

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📍Mukai 海鮮処 向井

Address: 15-6 Shinsencho, Shibuya, Tokyo 150-0045, Japan

would kaisendon work in nyc?

After the unforgettable experience at Mukai, I couldn’t help but wonder—could a similar kaisendon-and-ochazuke experience exist in New York City? Sushi bowls exist, and poke has a similar casual appeal, but a sit-down experience with this level of sashimi quality for under $20? Probably not. If a NYC restaurant imported sashimi-grade fish from Japan and served it this way, they’d likely need to charge at least $40–50. But would people pay that much for a rice bowl? Sushi’s “high-end” positioning probably makes more financial sense for NYC restaurateurs.

When I got back to NYC, I immediately started my search for a kaisendon + ochazuke experience in the city. I scoured Reddit, Yelp, and even asked friends and coworkers, but while I received a lot of recommendations for various Japanese restaurants serving seafood donburi bowls, none of them offered the ochazuke twist at the end.

the residence of mr. moto: kaisendon in nyc

That was until early December, when I started seeing TikTok influencers post about the soft opening of a new spot in the trendy Williamsburg neighborhood: a spinoff of the popular speakeasy omakase restaurant, The Office of Mr. Moto. The new spot, The Residence of Mr. Moto, promised a more casual dining experience specializing in—you guessed it—kaisendon! The reviews all mentioned that once you were almost done with your meal, you could ring a bell and a waiter would bring hot seafood broth to pour over your leftover rice…. sound familiar? 😊

I was soooo excited to try it! Unfortunately, I was out of town for the holidays, so I had to wait until the first week of January. But as soon as I got back, I snagged a Resy for a brisk January weekday night.

the menu & experience

Similar to its namesake, Mr. Moto’s Residence—while not a speakeasy—is elaborately decorated with fun, quirky touches. Picture a mid-19th-century home with oxford shoes, bow ties, a violin, and Mr. Moto’s personal maps from his travels around the world. The space is lively, with tables placed close together, typical of NYC dining, and a centerpiece bar.

In addition to the star of the show—kaisendon—the menu features a mix of cocktails, appetizers, and sushi sets. But let’s focus on what we’re really here for: the kaisendon. The Residence of Mr. Moto offers three types of kaisendon: the signature, which includes tuna along with other seafood, and two other options featuring amberjack seabream or a combination of tuna and salmon. With each type, you can choose from three sizes, much like Mukai and Tsujihan in Japan. The bowls are reasonably priced for NYC, ranging from $29 to $46 depending on the type and size. In fact, the pricing was actually lower than what I was expecting, but we have to evaluate it on the quaility of fish as well.

the food

Aesthetically, as you can see above, the bowls were beautiful. I ordered the signature premium bowl for $46, and it came piled high with tuna tartare, scallops, squid, surf clams, uni, and ikura. It was also served with slices of seabream sashimi (similar to Tsujihan), and there was an egg yolk to mix into the ponzu sauce that was meant to be poured over the bowl.

Unfortunately, this is where the similarities to Mukai ended. While the fish was fresh, it didn’t capture the same melt-in-your-mouth fattiness of the toro I had in Tokyo. Instead, it felt more like eating distinct cuts of fish atop rice—more of a chirashi or sashimi bowl experience. It wasn’t that the dish wasn’t tasty in its own right, but it just didn’t have the same magic I had experienced just a few weeks earlier in Japan. I was also reminded of why I typically did not go for ikura—it was overwhelmingly salty, and I wished there had been less of it.

Below is a side-by-side visual comparison of the kaisendon at The Residence of Mr. Moto (on the left) vs. Mukai (on the right). You can see the meltiness of the fat in the toro and the distinct grains of rice in the Mukai bowl.

Hoping for redemption, I saved some rice for the ochazuke, eagerly anticipating its warm, comforting broth. Unfortunately, when it arrived—poured from a charming teapot—it was cold, not even lukewarm. I think it was a fluke, as I noticed other diners’ ochazuke steaming away, but it was still disappointing. Additionally, the rice was heavily vinegared, which overpowered the broth, making the soup overly sour.

While I’m excited to see kaisendon + ochazuke in NYC, it didn’t quite match the experience at Mukai in Tokyo. The Residence of Mr. Moto is still new, so I’m hopeful they’ll address the issues, particularly the overly sour ochazuke (a concern I’ve noticed in other online reviews). It is always exciting to see restaurateurs bring new ideas to New York, and I’m eager to see how this spot evolves.

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📍The Residence of Mr. Moto

Address: 186 Grand St, Brooklyn, NY 11211

conclusion

For now, I’ll keep dreaming of that unforgettable meal at Mukai last November. The simple yet perfect kaisendon + ochazuke combo will stay in my mind until the next time I’m back in Tokyo. And when I'm there, I'll also need to stop by Tsujihan to compare Mukai vs. Tsujihan—the ultimate kaisendon showdown.

Have you been to any of these spots—Mukai, Tsujihan, or The Residence of Mr. Moto? If so, what did you think? Or if you know of any other kaisendon spots I should add to my list, drop your recommendations in the comments! Looking forward to hearing your recs! 🍣