Restaurant in Fukuoka, Japan
Six seats, no alcohol, book far ahead.
Tenzushi Kyomachi is a six-seat counter in Kitakyushu ranked #3 in all of Japan by Opinionated About Dining (2025) and a Tabelog Gold winner for eight consecutive years. Expect to spend JPY 50,000–59,999 per head for chef Isao Amano's Kyushu-mae sushi with kaiseki-influenced construction. Book well in advance — capacity is tiny and the national reputation fills seats fast.
At JPY 50,000–59,999 per head (before a 10% service charge), Tenzushi Kyomachi is a serious financial commitment for a meal in Kitakyushu. Book it anyway — if you are visiting Fukuoka and sushi is your priority, this is the counter to target. Ranked #3 among all restaurants in Japan by Opinionated About Dining (2025), awarded Tabelog Gold every year from 2017 through 2025, and named in the Tabelog Sushi WEST Top 100 three times, Tenzushi Kyomachi has one of the most consistent award track records of any sushi counter outside Tokyo. The drop to Silver in the 2026 Tabelog cycle is worth noting, but the venue's La Liste score climbed from 82.5pts (2025) to 88pts (2026), and the Tabelog score sits at 4.57 — still among the highest-rated sushi restaurants in western Japan.
Six seats. Counter only. No private rooms, no overflow seating. That physical constraint is the whole point: Tenzushi Kyomachi operates more like a private dining room than a restaurant, and chef Isao Amano's Kyushu-mae approach , sushi with kaiseki-influenced construction, built around the distinctive seafood of Kyushu's waters , requires proximity to land properly. If you want a large-group booking or a private room for a corporate dinner, this is not the venue. The counter seats six, parties cannot use the space exclusively, and the format rewards attention rather than conversation across the table. For a solo diner or a pair, that limitation becomes an advantage: you get direct access to the counter and the rhythm of the meal without distraction.
The space itself is described as a relaxing counter environment. No alcohol is served and no BYO is permitted , that is a firm policy, not a soft preference. If a wine pairing or sake progression matters to your occasion, factor that in before booking. What you are paying for is the fish, the technique, and the format: four seatings per service day (12:00, 14:00, 17:30, 19:30), with the counter turning over in tight, unhurried sessions. The venue is a five-minute walk from Kokura Station, which makes access direct from central Fukuoka via the Shinkansen.
Tenzushi Kyomachi accepts reservations, and given six seats across four seatings per day , and only five operating days per week (closed Monday, Tuesday, and the first and third Sundays of each month) , the effective weekly capacity is around 120 covers. That sounds workable until you account for the venue's national profile: Tabelog Gold for eight consecutive years draws diners from across Japan, not just Kitakyushu locals. Book as far ahead as your schedule allows; for a specific date, several weeks in advance is a reasonable minimum. Note that any changes to date, time, or party size after booking will trigger a cancellation fee under the venue's stated policy , treat your reservation as fixed once made. Payment by credit card is accepted; PayPay (QR) is also accepted. Electronic money is not.
On dress code: the venue asks guests to avoid overly casual attire , specifically slippers or sandals , and reserves the right to refuse entry. Smart casual is the safe call for a counter at this price point. This is a special-occasion venue by price and format, and dressing accordingly is simply consistent with the setting.
Tenzushi Kyomachi makes most sense for solo diners or pairs treating a Fukuoka or Kitakyushu visit as a food-first trip. It is listed by Tabelog as particularly suited to solo dining and friend dinners, and the six-seat counter reinforces that framing. For a celebratory meal , an anniversary, a milestone birthday, a serious food trip , the combination of the Kyushu-mae format, the award pedigree, and the intimacy of six seats is hard to replicate at this level in western Japan. Compare it to Sushi Gyoten or Sushi Karashima if you want other high-end sushi options in Fukuoka proper; both offer counter sushi at a comparable tier. For a broader view of Fukuoka's dining options, see our full Fukuoka restaurants guide.
If you are building a Japan itinerary around counter dining, Tenzushi Kyomachi sits in the same conversation as Harutaka in Tokyo and Sushi Shikon in Hong Kong , technically serious, spatially intimate, and priced to match. For Kyushu specifically, there is no sushi counter with a stronger verifiable award record. The OAD #3 ranking for all of Japan in 2025 is the single most useful data point: it means this counter is being evaluated against venues like HAJIME in Osaka and Gion Sasaki in Kyoto and holding its position. At JPY 50,000–59,999 per head, you are paying Tokyo omakase prices in a Kitakyushu counter , and the credentials suggest that pricing is justified.
Plan your broader Fukuoka trip with our full Fukuoka hotels guide, bars guide, and experiences guide. For regional comparisons across Japan, also consider akordu in Nara, 1000 in Yokohama, and 6 in Okinawa if your itinerary extends beyond Fukuoka.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenzushi Kyomachi | Sushi | Easy | |
| Chikamatsu | Sushi | Unknown | |
| Gahoujin 我逢人 | Sushi | Unknown | |
| Genkiippai | Ramen | Unknown | |
| Matsuyama | Western | Unknown | |
| Mihara Tofuten | Tofu | Unknown |
What to weigh when choosing between Tenzushi Kyomachi and alternatives.
Dress neatly — the venue explicitly states it may refuse entry to guests in slippers or sandals, so treat this as at minimum business casual. There is no formal dress code beyond that, but given the JPY 50,000–59,999 price point and counter-only format, overdressing is safer than underdressing. Avoid strong fragrances, which disrupt the experience at any close-quarters sushi counter.
Yes — Tabelog lists solo dining as a recommended occasion, and a 6-seat counter is one of the more natural formats for eating alone in Japan. At JPY 50,000–59,999 per head, it is a significant solo spend, but the counter setting means you get the full experience without the awkwardness of a table for one. Tenzushi Kyomachi is among the more accessible top-tier sushi counters in western Japan for solo visitors, given its Tabelog 4.57 score and eight consecutive Gold awards through 2025.
Only in the loosest sense: the entire restaurant is six counter seats, with no private rooms and no private hire available. A group of six could theoretically fill the counter for one seating, but there is no mechanism for exclusive use, and the venue does not list group occasions as recommended. For groups larger than three, consider venues in Fukuoka city with more flexible seating arrangements.
For sushi at a comparable award level in the Fukuoka prefecture area, Matsuyama and Chikamatsu are worth investigating. If you want to stay in Fukuoka city rather than travelling to Kitakyushu, Genkiippai offers a different format. Gahoujin 我逢人 and Mihara Tofuten operate in distinct categories — kaiseki and tofu cuisine respectively — and suit diners who want a different type of high-commitment meal in the region.
Pricing is identical for both — JPY 50,000–59,999 at lunch and dinner — so the decision comes down to scheduling. Lunch runs across two short seatings (12:00–13:30, 14:00–15:30) and dinner across two more (17:30–19:00, 19:30–21:00), all four days the restaurant operates. There is no documented quality difference between services; booking whichever slot is available should take priority given how few seats exist.
Yes, but with two caveats: the restaurant does not serve alcohol and does not permit BYO, which limits the celebratory format for guests who drink. It also has no private room and cannot be booked for exclusive use. If the occasion suits a quiet, focused counter meal at the JPY 50,000–59,999 level, backed by eight Tabelog Gold awards and an OAD Japan ranking of #3 in 2025, it holds up. For a celebration requiring wine service or a private setting, look elsewhere in the region.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
