Toramaru (虎丸)

Tucked inside a beautifully preserved Edo-era warehouse in Ise’s historic Kawasaki merchant quarter, Toramaru is a fisherman’s izakaya built entirely around the day’s catch. The handwritten, ever-changing menu reflects what the owner sources fresh each morning, and the restaurant is known to close its doors early — or not open at all — if the fish isn’t good enough.

It’s an intimate, cash-only counter experience prized by seafood purists making the pilgrimage to Ise.