01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
A short walk from Ikejiri-Ohashi Station into the Higashiyama neighborhood brings you to Hinotama Boy, an izakaya dedicated to the fresh seafood and regional cooking of Kagoshima Prefecture. Topping the menu is sashimi of tea-fed yellowtail, or cha-buri, sourced from Nagashima; diners frequently praise its luscious, fatty sweetness. The selection also features silver-stripe round herring sashimi from around Kagoshima and day-boat skipjack tuna caught off Makurazaki. Ordering an assorted sashimi platter allows you to compare the bounty of these coastal waters in a single sitting.
Alongside the seafood, pristine poultry dishes are essential to the table, such as morning-butchered local chicken sashimi and charcoal-grilled Satsuma jidori, known for its satisfying chew and fragrant char. Following the chicken, the rich black motsu stew is an obvious pick, its deep, slow-simmered broth coating tender offal. The kitchen also prepares buri dashi oden—simmered skewers of Kagoshima Berkshire pork belly, daikon radish, and Satsuma-age fried fishcakes bathed in a broth steeped in yellowtail umami that gently warms the body.
These hearty regional dishes are matched by a broad lineup of Kagoshima shochu. Selections include Kagoshima-exclusive sweet potato shochu labels such as Akazaru and Satsuma Ishin, alongside pre-diluted maewari shochu mellowed over time, crisp Kagoshima green tea highballs, and sweet potato shochu punches spiked with lemon. For longer sessions, drinks can be supersized into generous yokanise servings, allowing you to settle in and drink at an unhurried pace.
To finish the evening, substantial rice bowls bring the meal to a satisfying close, including seafood raw egg rice (TKG) and raw chicken and egg bowls, both dressed with Kagoshima’s characteristically sweet soy sauce. The first-floor counter welcomes solo patrons dropping in without fuss, while the second floor provides tables suited to groups lingering over a shared meal. Filled with the convivial buzz of a food stall, the pub serves Kagoshima’s standout food and drink in a thoroughly unpretentious setting.
