This cozy izakaya restaurant, located right next to the ocean on Oshima Island, is run by a friendly couple with their dog. The husband is a former fisherman himself, so knows how to buy and prepare the best seafood. Tairyomaru was part of the locally acclaimed Kesennuma Yatai Mura, a temporary shopping area built in the aftermath of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami to help revitalize damaged areas. Five years later, they moved to this permanent location on Oshima Island.

The first thing you notice when you enter Tairyomaru is that it’s actually a house. It is one of the many old kominka houses that were restored thanks to a volunteer project initiated by a group of local architecture students.

When you make your reservation by phone, tell them your budget and they will prepare a suitable course of the freshest seafood dishes of the season. Oshima oysters are abundant during winter, so while they are in season Tairyomaru offers a special all-oyster course lunch. You can have your meal at a dining table, or sitting on a sofa, legs tucked under a cozy kotatsu, chatting with the welcoming hosts. As the husband has traveled the world as a fisherman, there’s a chance he’s been somewhere near your hometown.

Tairyomaru also offers lodging, so you can come for dinner and and hang out with the locals here at night.