Sakai, Osaka, Japan｜鮨一花

As adventurous travelers, we randomly walked in this unassuming restaurant in Sakai City. This little and charming Japanese restaurant delivered nice surprise, welcoming hospitality, and impressive quality! The chefs (also served as servers) spoke little English and we spoke no Japanese and we ordered two dishes based on the reference pictures and price (as well the Google Translate apps that facilitated our not-so-effective communications)! The dishes turned out to be sashimi rice and sushi set (NOTE: the appetizer was some kind of marinated fish roes, very interesting fusion)! The sushi and sashimi were super-fresh! The most remarkable piece of sushi was eel! Not only was it delicious and crunchy, the chefs managed to not over-season it so to preserve its authentic taste! The squid and octopus were so juicy and not chewy at all! Although communications between us and the chef were minimal, the chefs were pleasantly surprised by the way we, as foreign travelers, found out their restaurant! They learned that we were travelers and then kindly gave us a little complimentary local travel guide to help us explore the city! The whole dinner cost ¥2900 [note: (1)the dinner menu was slightly more expensive than the lunch menu and (2) table charges, which were common in Japanese restaurants, applied]! The chefs' niceties and the quality food are definitely worthy of revisits and recommendations!

The atmosphere is illuminated by light bulb-colored lights, so when you look at the toppings, it's very fresh. It seems that the sushi rice is also made with aged rice, and it is very delicious. You can eat at a reasonable price during lunch time. The dinner menu is a la carte dishes other than nigiri.

Lunch is cheap, but the taste is good. It's a shop I want to visit again 😃