Restaurant in Fukushima, Japan
Fukushima's strongest case for serious Japanese dining.
Marushin is Koriyama's most consistently decorated Japanese restaurant, holding Tabelog Bronze awards in 2022, 2024, 2025, and 2026 alongside three Tabelog 100 selections for Japanese Cuisine EAST. Dinner runs JPY 10,000–14,999 with a serious sake and wine list; lunch is walk-in only and under JPY 3,000. Book for dinner if it's a special occasion — the private room seats six.
Yes — and if you're planning a celebration or a serious meal in Fukushima Prefecture, Marushin is the clearest answer in the region. A Tabelog Bronze Award winner in 2022, 2024, 2025, and 2026, and selected for the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine EAST "Tabelog 100" in 2021, 2023, and 2025, this is a restaurant with a sustained track record that most Fukushima competitors cannot match. Its Tabelog score of 3.98 (approaching 4.0, which is a meaningful threshold on a platform where 3.5 is already considered good) puts it in a tier where the food justifies planning your evening around it.
Marushin positions itself around a clear philosophy stated on its own Tabelog profile: "The Star is the Producer." The kitchen works with carefully sourced ingredients from across Japan, with a declared focus on fish. The cuisine covers Japanese dining broadly — seafood, kaisen-don (seafood rice bowls), and broader washoku formats , making it accessible whether you're after a composed dinner course or something more casual at lunch.
The room holds 42 seats and offers counter seating, a tatami room, and a private room for up to six people. The atmosphere leans toward a relaxed residential character , described as a "house restaurant" and a "hideout" in its own category tags , which means the energy is deliberately quiet rather than lively. If you want a place to have an actual conversation at dinner, Marushin's format works in your favour. For a special occasion, the private room for six is a practical option worth requesting, and the restaurant explicitly serves celebrations and memorial services.
The drinks list signals genuine investment: the restaurant describes itself as particular about both sake and wine, with a full selection of Nihonshu, shochu, and wine available. For a dinner at the JPY 10,000–14,999 price point, that level of drinks curation is appropriate and adds to the value of the overall experience.
Lunch here is a different proposition from dinner. At JPY 1,000–1,999 per head (with some review data suggesting JPY 2,000–2,999 in practice), lunch is one of the better-value ways to experience the kitchen. Dinner runs JPY 10,000–14,999, which is serious money for Fukushima but reasonable against the award credentials on the wall. Compare that to what JPY 15,000+ buys you at kaiseki-focused venues in Tokyo , Marushin at dinner sits in a category where the quality-to-price ratio genuinely holds up.
One practical detail worth knowing: lunch reservations are not accepted for regular service. Walk-in only for lunch, Tuesday through Sunday. Saturday lunch is an exception , reservations are accepted for course meals only. Dinner reservations are available and are the sensible route if you have a fixed date. The restaurant is open seven days a week, including public holidays, which makes it more flexible than many comparable venues.
Getting there without a car: Marushin is a 15-minute walk from Koriyama Station's West Exit, or a short bus ride on the Sakura Loop Toramaru route, alighting at the "Toramaru" stop and walking two minutes. Sixteen parking spaces are available on-site for those driving.
Marushin is well-suited to three types of visit: a business dinner where you need a private room and a serious drinks list; a celebration meal for a small group (up to six in the private room); or a solo or paired counter experience at dinner where the focus is squarely on the food. Families with children are explicitly welcome. For solo diners, the counter seating is the right call , it's available, and the format suits individual dining without the awkwardness of a table for one in a tatami room.
For more to do before or after dinner, see our full Fukushima restaurants guide, our full Fukushima bars guide, and our full Fukushima hotels guide. If you're building a broader Fukushima itinerary, our full Fukushima experiences guide and our full Fukushima wineries guide are worth checking too.
Other Fukushima options worth considering alongside Marushin include HAGI and Rantei Vivian, both of which offer different formats and price points for comparison.
If you're travelling beyond Fukushima and want a reference point for where Marushin sits in the wider Japanese dining picture, consider how it compares to award-level Japanese cuisine elsewhere: Gion Sasaki in Kyoto, Goh in Fukuoka, and affetto akita in Akita offer useful context for what sustained Tabelog recognition looks like across Japan's regions.
Booking difficulty: Easy. Dinner reservations available by phone (+81-24-922-1851). Credit cards accepted (VISA, Mastercard, JCB, AMEX, Diners). Non-smoking room available. 16 parking spaces on-site.
Yes. Counter seating is available, and the calm, residential atmosphere makes solo dining comfortable rather than conspicuous. At dinner (JPY 10,000–14,999), it's a considered spend for one person, but the award credentials make it a reasonable choice for a solo meal with intent. Lunch as a walk-in is the lower-commitment option if you want to try the kitchen first.
Lunch reservations are not accepted for regular service , walk-in only, except Saturday course meals which require a booking. Dinner reservations are available and recommended. The kitchen focuses on high-quality sourced fish and seafood, so come with that expectation rather than a broader Japanese menu. Tabelog Bronze recognition across four consecutive award cycles (2022, 2024, 2025, 2026) and three Tabelog 100 selections for Japanese Cuisine EAST give you a reliable baseline for what to expect. Budget JPY 10,000–14,999 for dinner.
Dinner if you want the full experience. The price point (JPY 10,000–14,999) aligns with a more composed kitchen output, a serious drinks list with curated sake and wine, and a deliberate atmosphere. Lunch (JPY 1,000–1,999, or up to JPY 2,999 in practice) is a practical entry point , good value for a kitchen at this level, but walk-in only on most days. If you have flexibility, book dinner and treat lunch as a fallback.
Counter seating is available. It's the right choice for solo diners or pairs who want proximity to the kitchen's rhythm without committing to a tatami room or private space. The counter format suits the restaurant's ingredient-forward approach, and the sake list is strong enough to make a counter seat with drinks a complete evening.
HAGI and Rantei Vivian are the nearest alternatives in Fukushima worth considering. For a different cuisine register at a comparable award level, akordu in Nara or 1000 in Yokohama offer a sense of what regional Japanese fine dining looks like at adjacent price points. If you're willing to travel to Tokyo for the comparison, Harutaka in Tokyo shows what the premium sushi end of the spectrum costs and delivers.
Yes, and it's set up for it. The restaurant explicitly serves celebrations and memorial services, has a private room for up to six people, and the dinner price point (JPY 10,000–14,999) fits an occasion meal budget without the anxiety of a higher-end Tokyo booking. Four Tabelog Bronze awards give you confidence that the food will hold up. Book the private room if your group is four to six; request it when making your reservation.
The kitchen declares itself "particular about fish" and the categories on its Tabelog profile foreground seafood and kaisen-don. Order around the fish. The sake list is curated with the same seriousness , ask for a recommendation alongside whatever the kitchen is doing with the catch. Beyond that, without a published menu available to reference, let the kitchen's ingredient focus guide you rather than arriving with a fixed order in mind.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marushin | Easy | ||
| HAJIME | French, Innovative | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| Harutaka | Sushi | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| L'Effervescence | French | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| RyuGin | Kaiseki, Japanese | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
| HOMMAGE | Innovtive French, French | ¥¥¥¥ | Unknown |
Comparing your options in Fukushima for this tier.
Yes. Marushin has counter seating, which makes it a practical solo option — you can eat at the counter without needing to fill a table. Lunch runs JPY 1,000–2,999 per head, so the counter at lunch is low-commitment. For dinner (JPY 10,000–14,999), solo diners at the counter get full access to the seafood-focused menu and the sake list the kitchen is particular about.
Lunch reservations are not accepted — walk in for the midday sitting. Dinner reservations are available and worth making, particularly if you want the private room (fits up to 6). The kitchen's stated philosophy is 'The Star is the Producer,' meaning ingredient sourcing drives the menu rather than technical showmanship. Marushin holds Tabelog Bronze Awards in 2022, 2024, 2025, and 2026, and has been listed in the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine EAST Top 100 three times — that's a consistent track record, not a one-year spike.
Dinner, if you want the full experience. At JPY 10,000–14,999 per head, dinner is where the kitchen's focus on premium sourced ingredients makes the most sense to spend time on. Lunch at JPY 1,000–2,999 is good value — likely the kaisen-don format the restaurant is categorised under — but reservations aren't accepted, so it's walk-in only and more casual. Saturday lunch is an exception: reservation-only course meals are available, which sits closer to the dinner experience at a lunch slot.
Yes. The venue has counter seating among its listed facilities. The drinks list covers sake (nihonshu), shochu, and wine, with the restaurant described as particular about both sake and wine — so the counter is a reasonable place to order drinks alongside food rather than just eating and leaving.
Marushin is the only Tabelog Bronze Award holder with multiple consecutive years of recognition currently documented in Koriyama, which makes direct local comparisons limited in the same tier. If you're willing to travel within Fukushima Prefecture, checking the Tabelog Japanese Cuisine EAST Top 100 list for other Fukushima entries is the most reliable way to find comparable options. For the same price range in Tokyo, the field is more competitive.
Yes — it's one of the clearest answers for a celebration in Fukushima Prefecture. Private rooms are available for up to 6 people, the venue explicitly caters to celebrations and memorial services, and dinner at JPY 10,000–14,999 sits at a price point that signals occasion without being extreme. The multiple Tabelog Bronze Awards and Top 100 listings give it the credibility you want when you're booking somewhere for a significant meal.
The venue's Tabelog categories flag Japanese cuisine, seafood, and kaisen-don (seafood rice bowl) as the focus areas, and the kitchen describes itself as 'particular about fish' — so the seafood-led dishes are the point. Beyond that, specific menu items are published details are limited, so it's worth checking the Tabelog listing or calling ahead on +81-24-922-1851 to confirm current offerings before visiting. Check the venue's official channels for the latest details.
Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun, Public Holiday, Day before public holiday, Day after public holiday 11:30 - 14:00 L.O. 13:00 17:00 - 22:00 L.O. Food 20:00 Drinks 21:30
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
