Zauo Shinjuku Restaurant offers the freshest seafood possible—you actually catch your seafood dinner yourself, right in the restaurant. It does not get any fresher than that!
Tokyo is world-famous for its amazing diversity of restaurants. Besides featuring cuisine from all over the world, the metropolis has restaurants that offer a distinctly Japanese dining experience. Zauo (ざうお) is one of these characteristically Japanese restaurants. You might have seen conveyor belt sushi restaurants, but have you ever been to a place where you can actually fish for your own dinner?
Zauo has 13 locations in Japan, including a few in Tokyo where guests can fish for their dinner, and we dined at their Shinjuku location. You can fish at every location except the original one in Fukuoka. You can fish at every location except the original one in Fukuoka.
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Getting to Zauo in Shinjuku
Finding Zauo in Shinjuku is easy, thanks to its location at the landmark Shinjuku Washington Hotel. It’s just a short 12-minute walk from Shinjuku Station, with Zauo situated on the hotel’s ground floor.
A Decidedly Different Dining Experience
Dining at Zauo is about far more than having a meal out. It is a whole interactive experience — and a great way to experience something quintessentially Japanese. As soon as you enter the restaurant, it’s clear this is a very different experience. To start with, there is a giant wooden boat perched in a gargantuan seafood tank. And yes, you can actually fish directly from your table — depending on where you are seated. Reservations are highly recommended, as fishing for your dinner at Zauo is very popular!”
Besides the boat seats, there are traditional booths with tables or private tatami rooms. Some of the private tatami rooms also allow guests to fish tableside. The process is pretty simple, get a fishing rod, pick your bait, catch some seafood, and tell the staff how you would like it prepared.
Catching a Meal Doesn’t Have to Be Hard
If this is starting to sound like a pretty complicated way to have dinner, don’t worry! There are instructions and even tutorials for first-time fishers, as well as plenty of options for what you can catch. Additionally, there is a conventional menu, so fishing is optional. Oh, and an English-language menu is also offered.
Everyone who wants to can try their luck at hooking a fish for dinner, and there are several types of fish swimming around. The prices for your dinner vary on the species you catch and the size of the fish.
Weekday Lunches and Dinner
Zauo is open for both lunch and dinner, and being one of Tokyo’s more famous places to visit, you might need to be flexible about your dining time. Check the company’s website for dining information, hours, and weekday lunch openings.
Choosing Your Dinner
Some of the fish are actually quite large, and as you would expect, the largest fish are contained in the biggest tank. Besides the large tank, there are smaller cages with flounders, lobsters, sea snails, shrimps, and other seafood for visitors to catch. We were able to find a couple of hidden spots that made landing a catch easier.
Time to Eat!
We ended up with a selection of seafood, as our successful catch included sea bream, shrimps, and ayu (sweet fish).
Catching your dinner is rewarding and entertaining, but deciding how you would like everything prepared is also a significant part of the experience. Japanese people love their fresh seafood, and Tokyo offers a plethora of delicious food choices. Zauo has cemented its place in Japanese culture by allowing customers to catch fresh seafood and choose exactly how they would like it prepared.
Just like fishing in the wild, some patience might be required to hook your desired meal. However, if you can’t catch your own fish, the restaurant can do it for you, but it’ll be slightly more expensive. The extensive menu offers various types of seafood and multiple preparation options. The most basic preparations, such as sashimi and shioyaki (salted and grilled), are free. If you want customized preparation like sushi nigiri, there’s an additional cost.
Order an Appetizer While You Hook Your Main Course
There are plenty of menu options for those too hungry to wait for a fish to take the bait. All the traditional staples like ramen, edamame, soup, and soba noodles are on offer. While waiting for the big catch, traditional Japanese foods such as yakitori, tempura, or grilled seafood (yakiniku) are available. And, as you might expect, the beverages include sake and various Japanese teas.
The Reviews
It was a fun dinner outing for our family, but most of the food was just ‘okay’. However, the sashimi was excellent. As a completely different dining experience, we would certainly recommend Zauo. If a unique dining experience is what you’re after, the next time you’re in Tokyo, head to Zauo and try your luck at catching your dinner.
We hope you enjoyed our post on Zauo Shinjuku. If you are interested in our other adventures in Japan, click here to read our Tokyo travel posts and Japan travel posts.
