Restaurant in Mie, Japan
Six seats, cash only, book early.
Komada is a six-seat, cash-only omakase counter in Ise City that earned the Tabelog Award Gold in 2026 — ranked 14th nationally — after consecutive award wins since 2018. At 33,000–49,000 yen per head for dinner only (Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun), it is the reference sushi address in Mie and a credible reason to route a Japan itinerary through Ise.
Is Komada worth traveling to Ise for? The short answer is yes — if you are willing to plan ahead, pay in cash, and accept that six counter seats in a converted house in Mie Prefecture represent one of the most consistently decorated sushi counters in western Japan. Komada earned the Tabelog Award Gold in 2026 (ranked 14th nationally in that tier), a step up from Silver in 2025, and has held a Tabelog award of some level every year since 2018. That trajectory matters: it signals a counter that is getting sharper, not coasting. For anyone building a serious Japan food itinerary — particularly those pairing Ise with Kyoto or Osaka , Komada belongs on the shortlist.
Komada opened on 8 January 2013 in the Kawasaki riverside district of Ise City, operating out of what Tabelog classifies as a house restaurant. Chef Kenri Komada runs the counter alone in the format Japan does leading: an omakase chef's-choice course at six seats, counter-only, no private rooms, reservation only. The setting is described as stylish and relaxing , the kind of room where the counter is the architecture and the course is the conversation.
The budget listed by the venue starts at 33,000 yen for the chef's-choice course. Review-based spending data on Tabelog puts actual outlay at JPY 40,000–49,999 per person, which likely reflects sake and additional pours. Budget accordingly. Payment is cash only: no credit cards, no electronic money, no QR code payments. This is not a minor detail , arrive with cash or you will not eat. Sake, shochu, and wine are available at the counter, so beverage spending can add up quickly over a four-hour sitting.
The course structure follows the architecture of Edomae sushi in western Japan: ingredients drawn from Ise Bay and the surrounding region, technique-led rather than ingredient-led. The Tabelog listing notes the kitchen is "particular about fish," which at this price point and award level implies sourcing decisions made at or near the level of Tokyo's leading counters. Komada has been selected for the Tabelog Sushi WEST "Tabelog 100" in 2021, 2022, and 2025 , a peer list that places it among the reference addresses for sushi in western Japan, alongside venues that draw from Osaka and Kyoto. For context, counters like Harutaka in Tokyo or Sushi Shikon in Hong Kong operate in far higher-traffic, higher-competition environments; Komada's award consistency in a secondary city is the more striking achievement.
Recent evolution worth noting is the 2026 Gold award , a genuine upgrade from Silver the year prior. For Tabelog, Gold at rank 14 nationally represents a meaningful signal: this is not a restaurant holding its position but one that reviewers are reassessing upward. If you were on the fence about a Mie detour a year ago, the current award status tips the calculation.
Practically, Komada operates Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, 18:00 to 22:00 only. Monday and Thursday are closed, and closures are described as "not fixed" beyond those days. There is no lunch service. The venue is roughly 650 metres from Ise-shi Station on the Kintetsu Line, around a ten-minute walk. Four parking spaces are available approximately 50 metres from the restaurant (spaces 15–18). The occasion data flags Komada as suitable for solo dining and for groups of friends , the six-seat counter makes both formats work, though a party larger than four would need to confirm whether the full counter can be arranged. For a broader view of dining in the region, see our full Mie restaurants guide, and if you are extending your trip, our Mie hotels guide covers accommodation options near the Ise Shrine area.
For Japan-wide omakase sushi context, Gion Sasaki in Kyoto and HAJIME in Osaka are the natural regional anchors in the Kansai corridor. Komada does not compete on city prestige or global name recognition , it competes on the quality of what arrives in front of you at the counter, and on that basis its award record argues for itself. If Ise is already in your itinerary for the Grand Shrine, adding a dinner at Komada converts a sightseeing stop into a food destination.
Quick reference: Six-seat cash-only counter, Tue/Wed/Fri/Sat/Sun evenings only, course from 33,000 yen, reserve well in advance via the venue website (ise-komada.com) or by phone.
Reservations are required , walk-ins are not an option at a six-seat counter that operates five evenings a week. Book through the venue website at ise-komada.com or by phone at +81-596-28-7747. Booking difficulty is rated Easy relative to Tokyo's top-tier counters, but that rating reflects category norms, not a guarantee of last-minute availability. Given the Gold award upgrade in 2026 and the Opinionated About Dining ranking, lead time of several weeks is reasonable, particularly for weekend sittings. Confirm your reservation well before travel since this is a solo-chef operation and substitutions are not possible.
For other dining options in the prefecture, browse our Mie restaurant guide. If you are building a wider Kansai itinerary, akordu in Nara and Goh in Fukuoka are worth considering as bookends. Explore Mie bars, Mie wineries, and Mie experiences to round out the trip.
Yes, with one firm caveat: the format is intimate counter dining, not a celebratory banquet setup. Six seats, no private rooms, and a chef's-choice course mean the occasion is defined by the meal itself rather than table décor or flexible pacing. That said, a 2026 Tabelog Gold counter with a course starting at 33,000 yen in a ryokan-district town carries its own weight as a special-occasion statement. It works well for a milestone dinner between two people who care seriously about food. For larger groups or anyone who wants a more conventional celebration layout, Komada is not the right fit.
There is no lunch service , dinner is the only option. The counter runs Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 18:00 to 22:00. If your schedule does not allow an evening sitting on one of those five days, you will need to plan your Ise visit around the restaurant rather than the other way around. For daytime dining in Mie, Hinode (Seafood) or Edo Machi Sugimoto may offer more scheduling flexibility.
Komada is explicitly flagged as solo-dining friendly, and the counter format supports it well. A six-seat counter gives a solo diner direct engagement with the chef and the course without any of the awkwardness of a table for one in a formal dining room. At JPY 40,000–49,999 all-in, it is a significant solo spend, but for a food-focused traveler building a Japan itinerary, a solo counter seat at a Gold-tier venue in Ise is a coherent choice. Comparable solo counter experiences in the region include Hinome in Mie or, further afield, 1000 in Yokohama.
The closest sushi alternative in Mie is Edo Machi Sugimoto, which operates at JPY 20,000–29,999 (lunch at JPY 15,000–19,999) , roughly half Komada's price point and a reasonable choice if the Gold-tier spend is out of range. For a different protein register, Nikawa offers creative yakitori at JPY 15,000–19,999, and La Mer adds a French-leaning option. If you are open to broader Kansai alternatives at a similar award level, Shoukouwa in Singapore is a useful benchmark for what Edomae sushi at this tier looks like outside Japan.
There is no à la carte at Komada. The entire experience is the chef's-choice omakase course starting at 33,000 yen , you order nothing. Chef Kenri Komada determines the sequence, and the Tabelog listing notes the kitchen is "particular about fish," which at this award level means the sourcing from Ise Bay and the surrounding region drives the menu night to night. The only decision you make is what to drink: sake, shochu, and wine are available. Given the cash-only policy, factor beverage spend into your budget before you arrive.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Booking Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Komada | Sushi | Easy | |
| Hinode | Seafood | Unknown | |
| Wadakin | Sukiyaki | Unknown | |
| Edo Machi Sugimoto | Sushi | JPY 20,000 - JPY 29,999 JPY 15,000 - JPY 19,999 | Unknown |
| La Mer | Unknown | ||
| Nikawa | Yakitori (Grilled chicken skewers), Creative | JPY 15,000 - JPY 19,999 | Unknown |
How Komada stacks up against the competition.
Yes, provided the format suits you. Komada is a six-seat counter running a single chef's choice course from ¥33,000 per person — the structure is inherently occasion-focused. It holds a Tabelog Gold 2026 and a score of 4.60, which puts it among the most decorated sushi counters in western Japan. Cash only, no private rooms, so bear both in mind if you are planning a celebratory dinner for more than two.
Dinner only. Komada operates exclusively in the evening (18:00–22:00, five days a week) and offers no lunch service. There is one format: the chef's choice course, priced from ¥33,000.
Genuinely yes — Tabelog lists solo dining as a recommended occasion, and a six-seat counter by definition suits single diners well. You will have a direct line of sight to the chef and no awkward table configuration to worry about. At ¥33,000–¥40,000+ per head based on review averages, the spend is the same regardless of group size, so solo is not a penalty here.
For sushi in Mie, Edo Machi Sugimoto is the most direct comparable: also a counter-format, reservation-only operation in the region. If you want a different cuisine angle in the prefecture, Wadakin is the reference point for Matsusaka beef and has a much longer history. La Mer covers French dining in Mie if the counter-sushi format is not your preference. None of the local alternatives match Komada's current Tabelog Gold standing.
There is no ordering — Komada serves a single chef's choice course only, starting from ¥33,000. The database notes the kitchen is particular about fish, which reflects the access Ise provides to high-quality Pacific seafood. Drinks include sake, shochu, and wine, so factor beverage spend into your budget beyond the course price.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
