February 16, 2026
Kurumasushi: Ehime restaurant offers fish of a different dimension
Kurumasushi, in the Ehime Prefecture city of Matsuyama, was selected as a Destination Restaurant for 2025, marking the fifth year of The Japan Times’ honors and the first time a Shikoku restaurant has received the award. Located in a lively area about 30 minutes by car from Matsuyama Airport, the restaurant is run by owner-chef Koji Takahira, who was born and raised nearby. He succeeded his father — who founded Kurumasushi in 1976 — in 2017 after training in Edomae-style sushi at Ginza Sushi Aoki and Sushi Yoshitake in Tokyo, returning home the previous year.
The eight-seat counter, fragrant with fresh wood and set beneath a wickerwork ceiling of locally sourced cedar, evokes the calm of a teahouse. An omakase menu priced at ¥27,500 ($180), including tax, is served in two evening seatings. About 70% of guests come from outside Ehime, including a growing number of international visitors.
Nearly all the seafood is sourced within the prefecture, sometimes featuring fish prepared using the shinkeijime nerve-pinching method by Imabari fisherman Junichi Fujimoto. While quality fish and precise knife work are fundamentals of sushi, Takahira distinguishes himself through meticulous cutting techniques. His hamo (conger eel) sashimi, for example, is deboned entirely by knife rather than finely scored, producing an unusually smooth texture. He also refines tools to suit each ingredient, sharpening the blade used for managatsuo (butterfish) to achieve a glossier surface and cleaner flavor.
Far from Tokyo’s sushi capital, Takahira is exploring the expressive potential of knife work — a defining element of Japanese cuisine — and quietly expanding the boundaries of sushi from his home in Ehime.
Kurumasushi
1-6-9 Ichiban-cho, Matsuyama-shi, Ehime Prefecture
Tel: 089-932-3689
https://www.kurumasushi.com
Tokihiro Nakamura
Governor of Ehime
I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Kurumasushi.
Ehime Prefecture is blessed with abundant nature and is bordered by two seas: the calm Seto Inland Sea and the Uwa Sea, which is influenced by the warm Kuroshio Current. Thanks to the exceptional skills of our fishermen, premium seafood — most notably red sea bream — is shipped in large quantities not only throughout Japan but also overseas. We warmly invite you to visit Ehime, where delicious seafood is produced in abundance, and to savor our finest specialties.
Katsuhito Noshi
Mayor of Matsuyama
I am very pleased that Kurumasushi has been selected for The Japan Times Destination Restaurants 2025.
The city of Matsuyama faces the Seto Inland Sea and is blessed with rich ocean currents, allowing a wide variety of fresh seafood to be available year-round. The city also boasts a history of over 3,000 years and is home to Dogo Onsen, said to be the oldest hot spring in Japan, as well as Matsuyama Castle, one of the country’s 12 original castles still standing. Matsuyama aims to be “the most hospitable city in Japan.” I warmly invite you to visit.
