Restaurant in Chiba, Japan
A serious detour from Tokyo. Book ahead.

Ushimaru is a 20-seat farm-to-table Italian house restaurant in rural Sammu, Chiba, holding a Tabelog Silver Award and a 4.40 score. At JPY 15,000–JPY 19,999 per head, with a sommelier, BYO policy, and private rooms, it justifies the 2-hour journey from Tokyo for food and wine enthusiasts. Book ahead online; walk-ins are not reliable.
A second visit to Ushimaru sharpens the picture considerably. The 20-seat house restaurant in Sammu, Chiba, roughly 2 hours and 20 minutes from Tokyo Station by train, isn't a destination that reveals itself fully on a first pass. The wine program, the fish sourcing philosophy, and the private room logistics all reward the guest who comes back knowing what to ask for. If you're still deciding whether the first visit is worth the trip, the answer is yes — provided you're willing to make the journey on its terms.
The physical space sets the tone immediately. Ushimaru operates out of a converted house , the Tabelog listing classifies it as a house restaurant with a stylish and relaxing atmosphere, an open terrace, and free Wi-Fi. With only 20 seats total and private rooms for parties of four to seven, the room is small enough to feel considered without being precious. The terrace is the one place where smokers are accommodated; the rest of the restaurant is non-smoking. Wheelchair access is available, and parking is on-site , practical details that matter considerably given how rural the surrounding area is.
For a farm-to-table Italian restaurant in rural Chiba, the drinks list at Ushimaru is more deliberately curated than you'd expect from a 20-seat house restaurant. The venue carries sake, shochu, wine, and cocktails, and Tabelog's own notes flag that wine receives particular focus, with a sommelier on staff. BYO is also permitted, which is a meaningful option at this price tier , if you're traveling from Tokyo and want to bring something specific, you can. For food-and-wine enthusiasts making the journey from Tokyo, this combination of sommelier service and BYO flexibility is worth planning around: bring a bottle you care about, and let the team work with it. The drink program punches above what the remote location might suggest, and it's one of the clearest reasons a second visit lands differently than the first.
Ushimaru holds a Tabelog Silver Award for 2026 , its third consecutive Silver, having moved up from Bronze in 2024 , and carries a score of 4.40. It has also been selected for the Tabelog Italian EAST "Tabelog 100" list in 2021, 2023, and 2025. These are not casual credentials: Tabelog Silver places Ushimaru among a small group of restaurants in Japan that Tabelog's reviewer community consistently rates at the highest tier outside of Gold. For context, restaurants at this level in Tokyo regularly require weeks of advance booking and charge comparable prices.
The listed price range is JPY 15,000 to JPY 19,999 per person for both lunch and dinner, with review-based spending data suggesting actual bills often reach JPY 20,000 to JPY 29,999 once drinks and the 10% service charge are added. At that all-in figure, you're looking at roughly USD 130 to USD 200 per head depending on the exchange rate. That's serious money for Italian food in rural Chiba, but the award trajectory , Bronze from 2017 through 2022, Silver from 2024 onward , suggests the kitchen has been consistently raising its standard. Children are welcomed, with a dedicated children's course at JPY 6,000 and a children's lasagna available from JPY 1,500, which is a practical detail for family groups considering the trip.
Getting here requires planning. Matsuo Station on the JR Sobu Main Line is the nearest station, approximately 3 km away , a 35-minute walk that is impractical in most conditions. The recommended approach is a taxi from Matsuo Station (around JPY 1,400 one way) or from Narutou Station, one stop closer to Tokyo, for around JPY 2,800. Train frequency at Matsuo is limited, so check timetables before you go. Alternatively, by car it's about 6 km from the Matsuo-Yokoshiba interchange on the Chiba Togane Road, and parking is free on-site. If you're driving from Tokyo, this is the easier option.
Reservations are accepted online through the venue's own website (ushimaru.biz) and are strongly advised. The second and fourth Tuesdays of each month are additional closures beyond the standard Wednesday and Thursday rest days , confirm before you travel. The restaurant also permits private hire for full-venue bookings and accepts small wedding events organized by customers directly, which makes it a usable option for intimate celebrations. Payment flexibility is thorough: major credit cards, electronic money, and QR code payment systems including PayPay, Rakuten Pay, Alipay, and WeChat Pay are all accepted.
See below for how Ushimaru sits relative to other Chiba restaurants worth knowing about , and for broader Japan context, see how it compares to destinations like HAJIME in Osaka, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, or akordu in Nara for farm-forward, produce-driven cooking at a similar price tier. For fish-focused omakase in Tokyo, Harutaka represents what the leading of that category looks like. For international farm-to-table parallels, Lazy Bear in San Francisco and Le Bernardin in New York City give useful benchmarks for what this price point delivers elsewhere. Also worth exploring: Goh in Fukuoka and 1000 in Yokohama for comparable creative Japanese dining. Our full Chiba restaurants guide, Chiba bars guide, Chiba hotels guide, Chiba wineries guide, and Chiba experiences guide cover the full picture if you're planning an overnight or extended trip.
Ushimaru is the only Tabelog Silver-awarded Italian restaurant in the Sammu area, so direct comparisons are limited. For Italian dining closer to central Chiba or Tokyo, you're looking at a different category of venue — urban rather than destination house restaurant. If the farm-to-table format and the out-of-the-way setting are what draw you, there is no close substitute in the region. If the awards and score (4.40) are your primary filter, check Tabelog's Chiba Italian listings for Bronze-tier alternatives before committing to the trip.
Pricing is the same for both sessions — ¥15,000–19,999 listed, with reviews averaging ¥20,000–29,999 — so neither session offers a budget advantage. Lunch runs 12:00–15:00 and dinner 18:00–22:00, giving you roughly the same time window either way. For a day trip from Tokyo, lunch makes more practical sense: you arrive midday, dine, and return without a late-night journey on infrequent rural trains. Dinner suits those staying nearby or driving.
Book as early as possible — this is a 20-seat house restaurant with a Tabelog Silver Award (2026, score 4.40) and a loyal repeat-visitor base. Online reservations are available through ushimaru.biz, which is the most reliable route. Given the limited seat count and the venue's consistent award recognition since 2017, last-minute availability is unlikely, especially on weekends. Aim for at least several weeks ahead; more for Saturday dinner.
The venue is noted as being particular about fish, which is central to the farm-to-table Italian format, but no specific dietary restriction policy is listed in available data. A children's course at ¥6,000 and a standalone children's lasagna from ¥1,500 confirm some menu flexibility. check the venue's official channels at 0479-86-1222 or via ushimaru.biz before booking if you have specific requirements — confirming in advance is especially worth doing given the remote location and set-course format.
No bar seating is listed for Ushimaru. The venue has 20 seats total, with private rooms available for groups of 4–7, and is described as a house restaurant. The format is course dining rather than counter or bar service, so walk-in bar dining is not a realistic option. Reservations are expected, and the restaurant actively requests them even during quieter periods.
Yes — the venue explicitly supports celebrations and surprises, has private rooms for 4–7 guests, and permits weddings including small ones organised by customers. At ¥15,000–20,000+ per head with a 10% service charge, the price point fits a special occasion spend. The house restaurant setting in rural Chiba also gives it a sense of occasion that a city restaurant rarely delivers. Book a private room if your group is 4 or more.
It can work for solo diners, but Ushimaru is not configured primarily for solo visits. The 20-seat house restaurant format, course-based Italian menu, and roughly 2-hour journey from Tokyo all point toward a planned outing rather than a casual solo drop-in. Reservations are required, and the venue's own framing emphasises family, business, and friend groups. That said, nothing in the venue data explicitly excludes solo bookings — confirm directly via ushimaru.biz when reserving.
Mon, Tue, Fri, Sat, Sun 12:00 - 15:00 18:00 - 22:00
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