Uzuwa in Ito, Shizuoka: the local fish and where to eat uzuwa-meshi

Uzuwa is the local name in Ito, Shizuoka for soda-gatsuo, the small tunas of genus Auxis (bullet tuna and frigate tuna). It is a small relative of skipjack tuna that loses freshness fast, so it rarely reaches markets raw. In Ito, where it is landed, it survived as a fisherman's dish called uzuwa-meshi: the fish minced tataki-style, mixed with green chili and soy sauce, eaten on rice and finished as a hot dashi tea-rice. Two restaurants 2 to 3 minutes on foot from Ito Station serve it as a set meal, and a frozen version can be ordered online (as of 2026-09-10).

Below are only the facts confirmed on official pages of Ito City, the Ito Tourist Association and Shizuoka Prefecture.

What fish is uzuwa?

Uzuwa is a regional name, not a species. A 2010 bulletin of the Izu branch of the Shizuoka Prefectural Research Institute of Fishery and Ocean (Izu Bunjo Dayori no. 322, July 2010) defines soda-gatsuo as "a collective term for two small tuna, marusoda and hirasoda," and notes that "in the Izu area it is called uzuwa and many people like it" (Shizuoka Prefecture, official, bulletin PDF). Marusoda is Auxis rochei and hirasoda is Auxis thazard (BISMaL, JAMSTEC: marusoda, hirasoda); FAO calls them bullet tuna and frigate tuna, with "frigate mackerel" as the collective name (FAO).

The restaurant group Marugen and Marutaka explains on its official site that the name comes from the whirl-like pattern on the fish's back, written 渦輪 (uzu = whirl, wa = ring), and that the fish grows to about 50 cm at most, smaller than skipjack (Marugen and Marutaka, official). No city or prefectural page gives an origin for the name (as of 2026-09-10), so treat that part as the restaurant's account.

Why Ito?

Two reasons, both documented.

First, Ito is a set-net fishing town. The city's official fisheries page lists set nets, purse seines and stick-held dip nets among its fisheries and says the catch is "consumed fresh in the eastern Shizuoka markets centred on this city" (Ito City, official). Soda-gatsuo enters those set nets: the 2010 bulletin records 10 tonnes entering the Kawana net inside Ito on 26 May 2010, with large catches continuing intermittently to mid-June.

Second, the fish spoils quickly. The same bulletin says it is "hard to handle as a supermarket product because freshness drops fast," and that landings at the Ito market shifted from hirasoda, once sold fresh, to marusoda, which mostly goes to processing (dried katsuobushi-style flakes).

Because it spoils fast, the rule is to eat it close to where it is landed, and soon. That is how uzuwa-meshi stayed a fishermen's dish and rarely left Ito. Shizuoka Prefecture's food-culture centre describes Ito as a place to "taste fresh, hearty fishermen's meals landed from nearby waters" (Shizuoka Prefecture, official), and the prefecture's port page calls Ito Port a long-standing landing base for marine products that now doubles as a tourist port for the hot-spring town behind it (Shizuoka Prefecture, official, updated 2023-01-13).

How to eat uzuwa-meshi and uzuwa miso

The Ito Tourist Association's official food feature defines uzuwa-meshi as "a fisherman's meal of soda-gatsuo (uzuwa) made into tataki and eaten with green chili," and gives three stages (Ito Tourist Association, official):

Tataki as is. Mix the minced fish with green chili and soy sauce. Green chili replaces wasabi here.
On rice. Put the mixture on hot rice.
Dashi tea-rice. Add condiments and hot uzuwa dashi to the rice and finish it as ochazuke. The restaurant advises heating the dashi to just below boiling.

Divide the tataki into three with your chopsticks at the start and do not finish the rice at stage two; both tips are on the restaurant's official page.

Uzuwa miso is a house-made miso from the restaurants that serve the fish. The association's listing presents it as a condiment for vegetables and rice; it is sold as a souvenir and included in the mail-order set of "uzuwa, green chili, uzuwa dashi and uzuwa miso" (Ito Tourist Association listing, Uzuwa-ya, as of 2026-09-10).

When is the season?

Neither Ito City nor the tourist association states a fixed season (as of 2026-09-10). The prefectural bulletin shows years with very large May-June catches of marusoda in east-Izu set nets (2003, 2008 and 2010, the last being the highest since 1987) and links them to the Kuroshio Current approaching the coast (bulletin PDF). Catches vary by year and by day, so there are days and seasons without it. Check the restaurant's official site for availability before you go.

Where to eat it, 2 to 3 minutes from Ito Station

Filtering the association's official restaurant search by "uzuwa" returns three listings, all run by the same company: two restaurants and one mail-order shop (Ito Tourist Association search, as of 2026-09-10). This is the full official list, not a ranking. The uzuwa set meal is 1,690 yen on the group's official menu (menu, official, as of 2026-09-10). Last-order times differ between the association listings and the shop's own site, so confirm there.

Rakumiya Marugen

1-4-1 Shishido, Ito, Shizuoka. 3 minutes on foot from JR Ito Station
Hours: 11:00-15:00 and 17:00-23:00, open every day (as of 2026-09-10)
Tel 0557-32-5152. The shop's site says reservations are not accepted (no phone reservations)
Serves the uzuwa set meal and sells house-made uzuwa miso (association listing)

Izu Sengyosho Marutaka

1-16-6 Yukawa, Ito, Shizuoka. 2 minutes on foot from JR Ito Station, at the entrance to Yunohana-dori
Hours: 11:00-15:00 and 17:00-23:00, open every day (as of 2026-09-10)
Tel 0557-38-0105
Run by an Ito fish-market wholesaler, per the listing; besides the set meal there are uzuwa yukke, shiokara, shuto (a salted, fermented preparation), kuroshio-ni (simmered uzuwa) and tataki-age (fried tataki), with uzuwa miso and ponzu as souvenirs (association listing)

At home: Uzuwa-ya (mail order)

Uzuwa-ya (1935 Usami, Ito) ships the same tataki frozen. Per the association listing, the set contains uzuwa, green chili, uzuwa dashi and uzuwa miso, arrives already plated and is ready to eat after thawing (association listing, as of 2026-09-10).

Buying fish landed at Ito Port

Ito City's official page lists a Wednesday direct sale of fish landed at Ito Port that day: 1-1-18 Arai, Ito (Route 135 bypass, parking available), reception 12:30, sales from 13:00, run by the Ito Fisheries Cooperative (tel 0557-37-3181). Items and quantities depend on the catch and the sale may be cancelled; phone the cooperative before noon that day (Ito City, official, page dated 2022-05-06, listing confirmed 2026-09-10).

Fitting it into an Ito itinerary

Both restaurants are within walking distance of the station, so the dish slots easily into a car-free plan: lunch on arrival, or dinner after the onsen (hours 11:00-15:00 and 17:00-23:00 as of 2026-09-10).

Arriving by train and using the station as a base: Ito sightseeing without a car
On a day trip: Ito day-trip model course
Staying one night: Ito in 1 night 2 days without a car

The chili-soy sauce is hot; children can have the chili served separately. A rainy-day plan with children is in Ito on a rainy day with kids. Basic chopstick and bowl manners are in Japanese table manners, and if the onsen comes next, onsen etiquette for first-timers.

Seasonal events in the city are on the association's event calendar and the Ito City official site.

Frequently asked questions

What kind of fish is uzuwa?

The Ito and Izu name for soda-gatsuo, the small tunas of genus Auxis: marusoda (Auxis rochei, bullet tuna) and hirasoda (Auxis thazard, frigate tuna). The restaurant's site attributes the name to the whirl pattern on the fish's back (渦輪) and gives a maximum length of about 50 cm.

How do you eat uzuwa?

Per the Ito Tourist Association, in three stages: mix the tataki with green chili and soy sauce and eat it as is, then put it on hot rice, then pour hot uzuwa dashi over the rest and finish it as tea-rice. Restaurants serve it as the uzuwa set meal.

What is uzuwa in Ito?

The local name for soda-gatsuo landed at Ito Port, and by extension the fisherman's dish uzuwa-meshi made from it. Ito City's official page describes the town's set-net fisheries, whose catch is consumed fresh in eastern Shizuoka; because the fish spoils fast, it stayed a dish eaten where it is landed.

When is uzuwa season?

No official Ito page sets a season (as of 2026-09-10). Prefectural records show very large May-June catches in some years and tie them to the Kuroshio Current. Availability changes with the catch; check the restaurant's site before visiting.

Where can I eat uzuwa in Ito?

Rakumiya Marugen (3 minutes from JR Ito Station) and Izu Sengyosho Marutaka (2 minutes), the two restaurants in the association's official listing. Both open 11:00-15:00 and 17:00-23:00 daily, and the uzuwa set meal is 1,690 yen on the official menu (as of 2026-09-10). Outside Ito, the group's mail-order shop Uzuwa-ya sells a frozen set.

Verification

Verified 2026-09-10 on the official sites of the Ito Tourist Association, Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture and the restaurant group; species names from BISMaL (JAMSTEC) and FAO. Hours, addresses and closing days are copied from those pages; no phone checks were made. Confirm the latest details on the official sites before visiting.