Restaurant in Imabari, Japan
Six seats, island-sourced fish, serious credentials.
Akakichi is a six-seat, reservation-only sushi counter on Hakata Island in Ehime, scoring 4.30 on Tabelog and holding Bronze awards in 2024, 2025, and 2026. At JPY 20,000–29,999 per head with a focused nihonshu program and Setouchi-sourced fish, it is the most compelling case for a special-occasion omakase dinner in the Imabari area — but getting there requires planning your transport carefully.
A 4.30 Tabelog score, three consecutive Bronze awards (2024, 2025, 2026), and a seat count of six tells you most of what you need to know about Akakichi. This is a counter-only, reservation-only sushi restaurant on Hakata Island — a remote outpost in the Seto Inland Sea that rewards the journey with Setouchi seafood at a level that has earned it a place in Tabelog's Sushi WEST 100 list twice. At JPY 20,000–29,999 per person, the price is serious but the credentials back it up. If you are planning a special occasion meal in Ehime and want omakase sushi rather than kaiseki, this is the booking to make.
Akakichi operates out of a house restaurant on Hakata Island, accessible via the Nishiseto Expressway (Shimanami Kaido). The six-seat counter is the entire room. There are no private dining options, no walk-in possibilities, and reservations must be made through the OMAKASE platform. That constraint is also its signal: this is a chef feeding a small, committed group of guests each evening, and the format demands full engagement from the diner.
The kitchen's stated focus is on fish from the Setouchi — the inland sea that connects Ehime to Hiroshima Prefecture , with a drinks program built around nihonshu (sake). The sake selection is treated with the same seriousness as the seafood, which means pairings here are not an afterthought. If you are the kind of diner who wants a curated sake progression alongside your nigiri, Akakichi is one of the better arguments for that format in western Japan. For comparison, venues like Harutaka in Tokyo and Gion Sasaki in Kyoto operate at a similar omakase price tier with their own regional sourcing philosophies , Akakichi's differentiator is its hyperlocal Setouchi sourcing and its physical remoteness, which concentrates the experience considerably.
The restaurant opens at 18:00 and service runs to 21:00 (closed Tuesday and Wednesday). Given that public transport on Hakata Island stops around 6 PM, dinner guests returning to Imabari or Onomichi after the meal will need a taxi. Guests staying overnight on the island can request a complimentary shuttle when making their reservation by email. There are guesthouses and unmanned hotels on Hakata Island, making an overnight stay a practical and worthwhile option if you are travelling from outside Ehime. This logistical reality is not a deterrent , it is part of the proposition. Dining at Akakichi is a deliberate trip, not a last-minute add-on.
Sake program deserves specific attention for guests planning around the drinks as much as the food. Tabelog's data flags the restaurant as particularly focused on nihonshu, which at this price point and in this format likely means a curated sequence selected to match the progression of fish courses. Bring that context to your booking: if sake is secondary for your group, communicate that when reserving. If it is central to the occasion, this counter is set up to deliver exactly that. For dedicated sake-and-sushi evenings in a remote, intimate setting, it is difficult to find a closer match in western Japan.
Credit cards are accepted (Visa, Mastercard, JCB, Amex, Diners). Electronic money and QR code payments are not. Parking is available on-site, which reinforces that arriving by car is the most practical option. The space is non-smoking throughout.
For more options in the region, see Nijikichi and Shinoda, or browse our full Imabari restaurants guide. If you are building a full trip around the area, our Imabari hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide cover the wider area.
Reservations are made exclusively through the OMAKASE platform. There is no walk-in option. Booking difficulty is rated Easy, meaning seats are not as pressured as Tokyo counter institutions like Harutaka , but the six-seat format means any single booking takes a meaningful share of the night's capacity. Book as far ahead as your travel dates allow. If you are staying on Hakata Island overnight, note the shuttle service request must be made by email at the time of reservation.
No dress code is listed in the venue's records. Given the format — a six-seat counter in a house restaurant on Hakata Island with a Tabelog score of 4.30 — tidy, respectful clothing is the practical call. Overly formal attire would be out of place in a relaxed counter setting; overly casual would feel at odds with JPY 20,000–29,999 per head.
Yes, and arguably it is the format the counter is built for. Six seats, counter-only, and an omakase structure mean solo diners get the full experience without any compromise. Booking through OMAKASE as a single diner is straightforward, and the house restaurant setting makes it less transactional than a city omakase bar.
Booking difficulty is rated Easy on Pearl, meaning seats are not as contested as comparable Tabelog Bronze counters in Osaka or Tokyo. That said, with only six seats and reservation-only access through the OMAKASE platform, you should still book at least two to three weeks out, especially for weekend evenings. Tuesday and Wednesday are closed, so plan around Mon, Thu–Sun service.
Documented alternatives within Imabari city at this award level are limited in the Pearl database. If you are willing to travel the Shimanami Kaido corridor, broader Ehime and the Setouchi region have other Tabelog-recognised sushi counters. For a higher-credential omakase in western Japan, Osaka and Hiroshima offer more options at similar or higher price points.
Dinner is the stronger operational window. Business hours run 18:00–21:00 on open days, and the venue's Tabelog pricing covers both meal periods at JPY 20,000–29,999. Public transport to Hakata Island stops around 6 PM, so dinner guests arriving by transit will need to arrange accommodation on the island or a taxi back — factor that into your planning before booking.
Yes, within the right expectations. The venue is listed as recommended for groups of friends, and private use of the full counter is available, which makes it a viable option for a small celebration. At JPY 20,000–29,999 per head, with three consecutive Tabelog Bronze awards and a 4.30 score, the credentials support a special occasion — but the remote island location and no-walk-in policy mean logistics need to be sorted well in advance.
Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun 18:00 - 22:00
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