01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Opening the menu at Tomosu reveals a selection of horse sashimi rarely seen in standard izakaya dining. Beyond familiar lean akami and well-marbled belly (jo-bara), the kitchen offers specialized cuts including koune (mane fat), heart, and raw liver. Guests looking to explore can order assortments of three, five, or seven cuts to compare textures and richness side by side. Taster platters featuring tongue, rib meat (himo), and lung (fuwa) are also on hand, making it easy to sample the breadth of horsemeat cuts.
The cooking extends well beyond meat, with seasonal seafood and inventive drinking snacks playing an equal role. Platters of mixed sashimi arrive cut to order, while winter yellowtail is seared tataki-style and accented with grated daikon and ponzu. Salmon and avocado feature in an herb-strewn carpaccio, alongside dried fish such as blackthroat seaperch (nodoguro) and splendid alfonsino. Fried oysters come with a white miso-scented tartar sauce, and potato salads rotate through seasonal variations, providing plenty of variety across courses.
To accompany the meal, sake is served in single- or double-measure carafes (one or two go), spanning bottles like the lively, textured Kaze no Mori and the crisp, bone-dry Hakkaisan. Diners leaning toward spirits will find premium shochu highballs flavored with regional citrus including Unshu mikan, hebesu, and hyuganatsu. For a final course, the menu offers dashi chazuke as well as horsemeat specialties like a seared horsemeat rice bowl (aburi baniku-don) and seasoned horse yukhoe sushi rolls.
Counter seats welcome solo diners and pairs, while a comfortable second-floor tatami seating area accommodates larger gatherings and drinking parties. Tomosu opens Monday through Saturday from 17:00 until 24:00 late at night, and remains closed on Sundays. With smoking permitted throughout, it provides a relaxed, unhurried base for drinks and savory snacks into the late hours.
