Wild Unagi at うなぎ 魚政. Best Unajyu in Tokyo
Unagi Uomasa has one of the best Unajyu in Tokyo not including omakase style eel restaurants such as Kabuto or Sangu Bashi Asaya.
Unagi Uomasa is located near Yotsugi station in Tokyo. The station is covered in Captain Tsubasa anime artwork all over. It is very famous in Japan and lots of celebrities have visited and politicians. It is all table seating and can host gatherings and business lunches/dinners.
It has been opened since 1980 and the shop owner is in his 70s. They are known for their commitment to quality sourcing and live eels in the spring to summer time. There is some controversy about wild eels in Japan and their numbers are dwindling every season and considered endangered.
It is exceedingly rare to find wild eel in restaurants now and are very expensive. This unajyu was 25,000 yen a person with the added shirayaki (with salt, no sauce) being extra. Their wild eel unajyu ranges from 15,000 to 30,000 yen a person depending on size. It also comes with eel bone and liver soup.
They also have a set menu course for certain months and farmed eel (Bando Taro, very famous) which are cheaper.
They use Edo style grilling where the eel is split open from the back and grilled without sauce and steamed. Kansas style will split the eel from belly and grilled without steaming.
They use kishu binchotan charcoal and the thick, filled, grilled eel was not only fragrant and fluffy but yet firm. Live eel move faster and more than farmed and their flesh is firm, fat is lighter and has a unique elegant aroma only wild eels can offer. They are also bigger in size.
However unless you have eaten a lot of top quality eel in Japan, I’d say starting with their special farmed eel is more recommended unless price is not a consideration.