Daiki Suisan - Super Fresh Sushi Cut out the middleman and go straight ot the sushi source

Daiki Suisan Group, or Daiki Fisheries group, has a fresh fish distribution system. They do all kinds of business related to fish, from selling at markets, to kaitenzushi (Sushi-Go-Round restaurants), to classic sushiya restaurants.

Their restaurants are located in Osaka and Nara prefecture, and I visited one of them in Sakai, Osaka. This is a great place where you can eat delicious sushi. Because they sell fish that they catch themselves, you get really fresh sushi and seafood dishes for a reasonable price. Let's dive into our Daiki Suisan Sushi restaurant review and an ocean of fresh fish flavor!

I first visited the Daiki Suisan traditional sushi restaurant. As you can see, this restaurant has a nice decor and is really clean. I visited between lunch and dinner time, so there were hardly any customers. Apparently, it gets very busy during peak times, so try to come during that window between meal times, like I did, to avoid the crowds.

I really liked the interior of Daiki Suisan. This pretty wall, decorated with various fish kanji, is particularly neat. I'm not sure how many of them are on WaniKani, but if none of these are on there, I'll suggest that Tofugu create a "Level sakana 魚（さかな）." Do you think that's a good idea?

Their fish are very fresh and the chefs make sushi and sashimi behind the counter. Can you read the leftmost sign? It says "meibutsunama 名物 生（めいぶつなま）・hon 本（ほん）まぐろkaitai 解体（かいたい）(めいぶつ なま・ほんまぐろかいたい)."

"meibutsu 名物（めいぶつ）" means "specialty," "nama 生（なま）" means "raw," "本まぐろ" means "bluefin tuna," and "Kaitai 解体（かいたい）" means "filleting." They have a bluefin tuna filleting event just for your information. Just so you know, this event doesn't take place everyday. I didn't get to see it. For the event schedule, please contact the restaurant at 072-258-1003. You can say, "hon 本（ほん）まぐろのKaitai 解体（かいたい）ショーはいつですか？"(ほんまぐろのかいたいしょーはいつですか？/Honmaguro no kaitai shou wa itsu desu ka?) which means, "When is the bluefin tuna filleting show?"

There are fresh ingredients on sieves with an adequate amount of ice to keep them at the perfect temperature. From shellfish to fish to…a lemon and horse beans?

Once you are seated, you can place an oder simply by touching the screen on your table. It's easy because you don't have to speak Japanese. But if you prefer to speak Japanese, just call out, "すみませーん！" (Excuse me!) and a waiter will come and take your order in person. The phrase to get this started would be, "Chokusetsu chūmon 直接注文（ちょくせつちゅうもん）していいですか？"(ちょくせつちゅうもんしていいですか？/Can I order directly?)

I ordered assorted Tempura for 780 yen (tax excluded). The crunchiness of the outside was just right. It wasn't too oily and the and the inside was soft. I really enjoyed this delicate dish.

Do you know what this is? It's sliced octopus with a vinegar and miso dressing, called "sumiso". While I didn't have any alcohol with it that day, but this goes really well with beer, sake, or shochu.

And, here is my "Tokujō （とくじょう）にぎりsakari 盛（さかり）りa 合（あ）わせ" (とくじょうにぎりもりあわせ / tokujou nigiri moriawase /Premium assorted sushi) for 1280 yen (tax excluded). It's been a while since I ate real Japanese sushi. They were all fresh and well made. I like all-you-can-eat sushi in Canada as well, but Japanese sushi is more sophisticated and elegant, I think. I actually stopped by this place the day I arrived at Kansai airport. After one bite, I had a big smile on my face, perhaps as big as Totoro's.

My mom and I ordered miso soup. The left one is called "aka-dashi" using red miso. The right one is normal miso soup (miso-shiru) using mixed miso (red and white).

Besides the traditional restaurant, there is actually a Daiki Suisan Kaitenzushi (Sushi-Go-Round) restaurant, as well.

I just peeked inside. It's fun to grab sushi from the conveyor belt, especially if you like eating a lot of great sushi really quickly without having to stop and order.

If you want to learn fish kanji before WaniKani uploads "Level sakana 魚（さかな）," you can grab a sheet here for free. Yay!

After all that, I was stuffed and satisfied. It was such a lovely meal, especially as it was the first meal of my trip to Japan.

Mami’s Review7/10

Nothing too special, but they serve super fresh sushi for a reasonable price. They also have a show when they filet big tuna, and it’s pretty cool to watch—except it’s a bluefin tuna, and that part is not cool.

Darin’s Review7/10

Seeing the fresh tuna filleted was novel, but the fact that it was bluefin (which is overfished) detracted from the demonstration. The sushi from the shop was, indeed, super fresh and hit the spot after walking around town for a while.