On the 1st floor of ACTA Nishinomiya West Wing, 
went to eat at “Sushi Takatatsu”, a sushi restaurant founded in 1916!
Enter ACTA from the Hankyu Imazu Line railroad crossing, and it’s right in front of you!
Sushi places like this can look a little intimidating, but I heard they also get lots of women dining alone.
So let’s step inside～～～～
On the floor map, it’s here↓
It’s on the 1st floor of ACTA West Wing. Go in from the entrance by the railroad crossing, and it’s almost straight ahead, so it’s super easy to find.
Inside, there are table seats too, and it doesn’t feel formal at all.
Of course, there are counter seats too. Apparently, quite a few people are surprised when they walk in and see mostly women there.
Sushi Takatatsu’s “Jo Chirashi Sushi”
The most popular item at Takatatsu is their Jo Chirashi Sushi.
It looks like a treasure box!
Open it up and↓
Oh my goodness～～～!No wonder it’s popular with women.
Jo Chirashi Sushi with red miso soup 3,000 yen(tax included)
Candied chestnut!! Isn’t that unusual?
The anago looks so good～～!
So tender!!Seriously, I’ve never had anago this soft before.
The reason it’s so tender is because it’s seared. It’s a lot of work, but searing it apparently makes it so much more delicious by a huge margin.
Telling us this is Mr. Sakagami, the 5th-generation owner of “Takatatsu.” But seriously, the 5th generation? What kind of history is that～～!
Since it was founded in 1916, that means 109 years in business?! This is a super long-established shop that’s been around longer than Nishinomiya City and even Koshien Stadium!
A photo from the days when the area beyond the railroad crossing on the way to ACTA was a shopping street. Of course, Takatatsu has been operating in Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi all along.
That’s exactly why their sushi rice is taken seriously on another level. The owner passionately says, “Sushi is 80% rice!”
They don’t just use sticky Koshihikari rice. They blend multiple varieties and fine-tune the firmness specifically for sushi.
Into that sushi rice, they mix shiitake mushrooms simmered sweet and savory until the flavor soaks in deeply. The prep takes a whole day.
For the Jo Chirashi, they also mix in charcoal-grilled anago +oboro made only from 100% shrimp.
That’s why the rice in the Jo Chirashi Sushi has an incredible depth of umami!
Personally, I also love the red miso soup. It goes way too perfectly with the chirashi sushi!
The gari has this perfect hint of sweetness mixed in too! So good. Apparently they source it from Nara Prefecture.
I was unsure how to eat chirashi sushi with so many toppings, so I asked, “What’s the best way to eat this?”
“You can eat it however you like～” said the owner, so kindly～～. When they say something like that, it really makes the place feel much more approachable.
Also, if there’s an ingredient you don’t like, such as green peas, you can just let them know and they’ll leave it out, so no worries～
The Menu at “Sushi Takatatsu”
There are lots of other menu items that caught my eye too.
