🟢 Great-in-Tokyo — Great experience you can enjoy in Tokyo.
Hamayaki is Japan’s casual seafood BBQ style, where fish and shellfish are grilled over a net. This article introduces an easy way to enjoy hamayaki in Tokyo.
Last updated: 2026-05-04
Introduction
When people think of seafood in Japan, sushi and sashimi may come to mind first. However, Japan also has a culture of enjoying seafood by grilling it.
One example is hamayaki. Hamayaki is a casual way to enjoy seafood such as shellfish, squid, and fish by grilling them over a net as you eat. Traditionally, it has been enjoyed near seaside towns and fishing ports, where people grill and taste the local seafood of that area.
At Isomaru Suisan in Tokyo, you can casually experience the atmosphere of hamayaki in the city. It is not a high-end seafood restaurant, but its appeal lies in the simple fun of grilling scallops, crab miso, whole squid, and fish skewers little by little over a tabletop grill in front of you.
What to Try
Grilled Scallop
The first thing to try is a scallop grilled in its shell.
When you place the scallop on the grill, the juices inside the shell gradually warm up, and the meat becomes plump. Add the aroma of soy sauce or butter, and the savory smell of grilled seafood spreads across the table.
The appeal of grilled scallop is not only its flavor. Watching the shellfish warm up in front of you and reach the right moment to eat is also part of the hamayaki experience.
Instead of simply receiving a finished dish, you enjoy the process of cooking it at your own table. Grilled scallop is one of the easiest dishes for understanding the basic pleasure of hamayaki.
Crab Miso Shell Grill
What makes crab miso shell grill interesting is that the crab shell itself is used like a small dish.
Rather than eating only crab meat, you warm the crab miso inside the shell over the grill and enjoy it little by little. As it heats up, the aroma rises and the flavor slowly becomes richer.
This is not a dish to eat in large amounts to fill your stomach. It is a seafood appetizer to enjoy slowly in small portions. Paired with beer or sake, it feels very much like a Japanese izakaya experience.
In Japanese seafood cuisine, people sometimes enjoy not only the meat of seafood, but also the umami left in shells and carapaces, using them almost like small vessels. Crab miso shell grill is a dish that lets you experience this interesting “shell as a dish” side of hamayaki.
Whole Grilled Squid
If you want something visually impressive, try the whole grilled squid.
The sight of a whole squid grilling over the net clearly shows the fun of hamayaki. As it cooks, the squid gradually curls, the surface browns, and a savory aroma rises from the grill.
Squid served as sushi or sashimi is smooth and delicate. Grilled squid, on the other hand, brings out sweetness and a roasted aroma. You can see how the same ingredient changes completely depending on how it is prepared.
A whole squid may look a little bold when it first appears, but after grilling, it can be cut into easy-to-eat pieces. It is easy to share with several people and lets you enjoy the lively feeling of hamayaki.
If you want to try Japanese seafood beyond sushi during your trip, whole grilled squid is an excellent choice.
Squid, Mushrooms, and Squid Wata Grill
This is a type of hamayaki that is not grilled directly on the net, but warmed in an aluminum dish.
Inside the aluminum dish are pieces of squid, squid wata, and mushrooms. Squid wata refers to the rich umami from the internal parts of the squid. When heated, the flavor of the squid wata melts out and coats the squid and mushrooms.
If grilled scallop and whole grilled squid are dishes that let you enjoy the ingredients simply, this dish is about keeping the seafood juices and aroma inside the aluminum dish. Rather than simply grilling, it may feel closer to warming a small seafood stew at your table.
The mushrooms absorb the umami of the squid wata, while the squid gains both aroma and sweetness. It is slightly rich and best enjoyed slowly with drinks.
Hamayaki is not only about placing seafood directly on a grill. Some dishes use an aluminum dish to keep the seafood umami from escaping. This dish is a good way to experience that difference.
Tuna Negima Skewer
Tuna is often thought of as something eaten as sushi or sashimi, but it is also delicious when grilled.
A tuna negima skewer is made with pieces of tuna and green onion, grilled on a skewer like yakitori. Heating the tuna makes its flavor firmer and more savory, while the grilled green onion adds sweetness.
What makes this dish interesting is the idea of eating grilled tuna. In Japan, fish is not only eaten raw; it is also grilled, simmered, fried, and enjoyed in many different ways.
Tuna negima skewer is a good dish for discovering another way to enjoy tuna beyond sushi. Since it is easy to eat in small bites, it is also a good item to order between other hamayaki dishes.
💡 Did You Know?
The Origin of "Negima"
If you say "Negima" at a Yakitori restaurant in Japan today, it refers to skewers of chicken and green onion (*Negi*). However, the word actually originates from "Negi" and "Maguro" (Tuna).
In the Edo period, when tuna was cheap and abundant, a hot pot dish called "Negima Nabe," where tuna and green onions were simmered together, was a popular taste of the common people. Eating Tuna Negima here means you are tasting the dish in its original, historical form.
Mirin-Marinated Sardine Skewer
The final dish to introduce is the mirin-marinated sardine skewer.
Compared with scallops or squid, it may look a little modest. However, it is a very good dish for feeling Japan’s everyday fish culture.
Mirin is a sweet seasoning often used in Japanese cooking. When fish is marinated in mirin and then grilled, it gains a gentle sweetness and a fragrant aroma. As it cooks, the surface becomes slightly glossy, and a sweet-savory smell rises from the grill.
Sardines have long been a familiar everyday fish in Japan. They are not luxury seafood, but they are very common as both a side dish with rice and a snack with drinks.
Mirin-marinated sardine skewer is not a dish for tasting luxurious seafood. It is about taking a small fish, marinating it in mirin, and grilling it until fragrant. In that simple style, you can feel a humble fish culture connected to Japanese home cooking and izakaya food.
Tokyo or Trip?
🟢 Great-in-Tokyo — Great experience you can enjoy in Tokyo.
If you want to experience truly authentic hamayaki, the ideal place to go is a seaside town or fishing port. In a scallop-producing area, you eat scallops. In a squid town, you eat squid. Near a fishing port, you may enjoy local fish. That kind of hamayaki has a regional character that can only be tasted during a trip.
On the other hand, what makes Isomaru Suisan interesting is that you can enjoy small portions of seafood from across Japan while staying in Tokyo. Instead of being limited to the flavors of one region, various seafood items such as scallops, crab miso, squid, tuna, and mirin-marinated sardine skewers can appear together on the same table.
This is a Tokyo-style hamayaki experience, made possible because ingredients from all over Japan gather in the capital. By experiencing hamayaki at Isomaru Suisan, you may become interested in individual regions of Japan and feel inspired to visit seaside towns and fishing ports on your next trip.
Similar Dishes
- Hokkaido Crab & Seafood — King Crab, Transparent Squid, and Fresh Uni 🦀
- Toyama Crab Miso — Grilled Winter Luxury in a Shell 🦀
- Goma Saba in Fukuoka — Truly Raw Sesame Mackerel You Can’t Replicate Elsewhere 🐟
External Links
- Ama Hut Experience (JNTO) — The Cultural Roots of Hamayaki 🔗
- Seafood BBQ Guide (Visit Chiba) — How to Enjoy DIY Grilling 🔗
About "Taste of Japan"
Hello, I'm Yuta.
Born in landlocked Yamanashi and having lived in the gourmet city of Sendai for 10 years, I now call Togoshi-Ginza home. My frequent business trips across Japan allow me to constantly explore the diversity of regional flavors.
Why Togoshi-Ginza?
This street is Tokyo’s longest shopping arcade (about 1.3 km), but it holds a special history. It was the very first street in Japan to adopt the "Ginza" name—a tradition that later spread across the country—after receiving bricks from the famous Ginza district following the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
My Wish as a Local
I am not a culinary expert. However, as a Japanese local who knows both the convenience of Tokyo and the origins of regional food, I want to share the "atmosphere" and "personal feelings" that you won't find in standard guidebooks.
The Concept: "Tokyo or Trip?"
Visiting every region of Japan in a single trip is nearly impossible. Some food experiences are worth the travel to the source, while others offer a fully satisfying experience right here in Tokyo.
This blog is a guide to help you make that choice. Based in Togoshi-Ginza, I share my honest experiences and "my personal answer" to help you maximize your culinary journey in Japan.
- 🟠 Local-First: Best experienced in its home region. Worth a trip.
- 🟢 Great-in-Tokyo: A nationwide favorite or regional specialty that offers a fully satisfying, authentic experience right here in Tokyo.
- 🟣 Tokyo-Do-Must: A unique food culture born in or exclusive to Tokyo.