Restaurant · Shibamata

Kawachiya (Shibamata Eel) 川千家

An eel restaurant on the Shibamata sando dating back to the late Edo period, grilling river eel over charcoal in a rambling wooden building that appears in the Tora-san films.

About

Shibamatas riverside location once supplied fresh eel and carp from the Edogawa, and Kawachiya has been grilling eel by the temple gate for some 250 years. The two-storey wooden building has tatami and table rooms, some overlooking a small garden, and the kitchen sends charcoal-and-tare smoke onto the sando. The unaju (eel over rice in a lacquer box) is the classic order, done in the Kanto style: steamed then grilled for a soft, melting texture. Carp dishes such as koi-koku (miso soup) and arai (sashimi) are the old local alternative. Its a splurge, but one with real history.

Highlights

• Eel restaurant with roots in the late Edo period
• Charcoal-grilled Kanto-style unaju
• Traditional koi (carp) dishes
• Wooden building on the Taishakuten sando

Tips

• Closed Tuesdays (with exceptions); it gets busy at weekend lunch.
• Order the koi-koku carp miso soup for a taste of old Shibamata.
• Budget around 4,000-6,000 yen for lunch.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Monzen Toraya (Shibamata)Café & Sweets · 70 m away
• Takagiya RouhoCafé & Sweets · 80 m away
• Shibamata TaishakutenTemple · 90 m away
• Taishakuten Carved Gallery & Suikei GardenLocal Secret · 130 m away
• Shibamata Haikara YokochoUnique Store · 150 m away
• Shibamata Tourist Information CenterTourist Info · 150 m away
• Shibamata Taishakuten SandoShopping Street · 160 m away
• Statue of Tora and SakuraStatue & Monument · 200 m away