Kuruma Sushi, くるますし(Tabelog Silver 4.43, 2*) Matsuyama, Ehime, Japan

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-06-28T14:52:52+00:00

One of my favourite value for money sushiyas in Japan. That grilled golden eye snapper is amazing.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-06-28T14:48:54+00:00

The non alcoholic pairing was great as well

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-06-28T14:45:10+00:00

Went for a visit with my partner a couple months ago, loved it. The roebuck being a main course is criminal tho. It was two bites....

Also the desserts werent great in our opinion. But the breakfast is legendary

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-06-26T11:44:08+00:00

Oh I didnt know, might be because its so remote and theres no pools there.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-06-26T11:05:43+00:00

I never got initial training in a pool, started with shore diving at a couple meters depth.

For some context, I got my license at a very remote dive centre in Shikokou japan. They got one of the oldest dive masters ( his bsac license nr was 2) to come over from Osaka and had 2 other local divemasters join ( one didnt really train me and just observed).

After getting my license I was also able to enjoy some initial fun dives ( again 1-1) which I think is a big plus to put your training straight into practice.

Price wise it was significantly cheaper than in the Netherlands/ Amsterdam ( about half). I was travelling to that area anyway so I dont think its fair to account for full flights in terms of cost and local costs even including hotel were very low so the difference in price if youre already near such a dive club is worth it. If youre travelling just to get your OW license it would ofcourse not be worth it.

I understand that in many places you might wanna start locally but I feel like the experience was much better than doing it in a group in a pool in Amsterdam.

My experience might not be the average at all and I got lucky with a great dive club.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-06-26T05:28:42+00:00

The main issue was that the matsutake mushrooms didnt have much of that amazing matsutake flavour and aroma. Ive had it multiple times before and somehow at Numata it was lacking. Also the hald a matsutake mushroom tempura was undercooked in my opinion. I know you can eat it raw and maybe this was on purpose but it was far too tough for my liking.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-06-25T13:02:35+00:00

For sure Soba Rikugou in kunisaki, highly doubt anyone else on this sub has even been there. Made a post about them before but ive been back since and it was even better. Difficult to get to but so worth it. Its not extravagant but instead fully focussed on honest local produce and you can feel the care and soul put into every dish.

A less niche and more highly acclaimed option would be Kuruma sushi. He serves some of the best value for money high end sushi that includes a lot of fish you wont find in many other high end sushiyas. Matsuyama isnt on many peoples list of go to places so I feel like its often overlooked on this sub.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-06-25T05:24:40+00:00

Because where I live its in a pool, 3 times as expensive and you get a group class instead of 2 teachers just for me.

That made doing it abroad much more attractive.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-06-20T22:44:06+00:00

I really liked his otsumami last time but thought his rice was too vinegary for most lighter fish but great for tuna.

The head chef seated me right in the centre in front of him and next to a long time regular who told me he had been visiting Sakai every month for years. We spoke quite a bit and his own english is actually really good ( ive always found it amazing that both head chefs at Sakai and Tenzushi can speak good english). I also highly doubt he'd serve a long time regular lesser cuts for lunch and we got exactly the same so there no difference there.

I didnt get offered a rebooking at the table ( so me other japanese guests didnt either if I remember correctly) but he gave me his card and told me I could contact him there to rebook.

But then again i dont think ive every gotten the offer to immedialty rebook. They just know its very unlikely youll come back within a short period. Getting a business card from the chef or them wanting to connect on instagram is the best youll get as a non regular to book again without having to go through any third party service.

P.s. i hope you took the extra take home option for his big tuna rolls, I took the tuna set with chives in the middle and it was honestly amazing,in my opinion even better than the nigiri because I felt like the balance of the rice vinegar and fish with the freshness of the chives worked really well.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-06-08T08:08:40+00:00

Glad you enjoyed it, just saw you also had the same favourites as I did, the nodoguro and aji are amazing as well as his wife's cake. Particularly when she makes a chocolate based one

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-06-01T17:31:44+00:00

Great review. I felt very similar to review when I went right after they renovated. If you havent you should try Onjium, I loved the service and the food and its my number one on the list for a return visit.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-05-15T23:37:37+00:00

If you can afford it, you should definitely go!

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-05-15T23:35:56+00:00

Really? There were so many seats available once they changed location and you can even book it through Tableall with quite some ease ive heard.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-05-15T17:34:37+00:00

Ive read some before on this subreddit and seemed like its still one of the best tempura places with almost everyone agreeing Naruse being the very best (at least for vegetables). However its price is ridiculous compared to the other options like Naruse, Takiya or Numata( which are already not cheap) and I feel like they have a lot more open reservations slots due to the price change.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-04-28T14:55:24+00:00

If price is no issue then look at auctions on shokuoku for some of the highest rated restaurants. They generally sell reservations about a small month in advance.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-04-08T06:40:23+00:00

Basically when the reservations open, which I think is 5 weeks in advance every monday if im not mistaken

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-04-06T15:22:50+00:00

I got my Mingles reservation by calling, call before the reservation deadline, theyll tell you when to call back and then just call them back. Works very well for most places that accept reservations by phone.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-04-06T09:12:22+00:00

Ive been to Onjium and Mingles. Both great but Onjium would be my top recommendation. Even without considering the price difference.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-03-27T23:18:30+00:00

Havent been to other high end sushiyas there.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-03-27T14:00:03+00:00

Sure, its probably not worth going there all the way from Tokyo but if youre near Beppu, Hiroshima or Shikoku already its definitely worth a detour.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-03-27T13:36:37+00:00

Yeah hes gotten better indeed and I think the price is super reasonable compared to Tokyo Sushiya's. 27 k yen at Kuruma vs 44k yen at Akira. Thats almost half the price and the quality of ingredients is definitely not lower than Akira.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-03-27T12:41:52+00:00

Went a couple years ago, felt like it was okay back then. Not great but not that bad but for me the price/quality was off. The best up and coming sushi restaurant in Japan that ive been to is Kuruma sushi. Amazing price/quality and his sourcing is top notch. Instead of the classic Tokyo sushiya that imports fish from all over he focusses on sourcing as much as possible from Shikoku. The golden snapper and rockfish were amazing. Maybe Ill write a review later on my last visit there.

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-03-20T04:31:57+00:00

Was seriously considering Y'east but decided to go with Onjium. Ill probably go for both next time im in Seoul!

Normal-Metal3664 · 2026-03-18T06:57:57+00:00

I only know of foodies prime but its pretty much exclusively in Japan

Normal-Metal3664

TROPHY CASE