What is Ise Mabushi? How it differs from hitsumabushi | Unagi Kitaya Ise Mabushi
Ise Mabushi is a grilled eel rice bowl unique to the Ise region of Mie Prefecture. The secret sauce is mixed into the white rice first, and the grilled eel is then laid on top. Unlike Nagoya's better-known hitsumabushi, no dashi broth is poured over it — you eat it exactly as it arrives, with the sauce already soaked into every grain. Kitaya has served this dish since its founding in 1910.
Ise Mabushi vs. Hitsumabushi
| Ise Mabushi (Ise, Mie) |
Hitsumabushi (Nagoya, Aichi) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Sauce | Mixed into the rice beforehand | Poured over the eel |
| Dashi broth | Never used | Poured over partway through |
| The eel | Left whole, laid on top | Chopped into pieces |
| How to eat | As served, from start to finish | Three stages (plain / condiments / broth) |
| Vessel | A donburi bowl | A wooden ohitsu tub |
| Flavour | Even throughout | Changes as you eat |
Neither is better than the other — they are two traditions that grew in two different places. While you are in Ise, try the Ise way.
Why Mix the Sauce Into the Rice?
The character of grilled eel lives in the sauce. But laid over plain white rice, the sauce reaches some mouthfuls and misses others.
Fold the sauce through the rice first, and every spoonful tastes the same. You finish the bowl with sauce, rice and eel still together in the last bite. That is the simple logic behind Ise Mabushi.
Our sauce has been replenished, never replaced, since 1910. We adjust it by season — sharper in summer, sweeter in winter. The rice is local, the eel is from Mikawa in Aichi, and the grilling is done over binchotan charcoal. Mixing the sauce only works because those three things are right to begin with.
Our Ise Mabushi
Portions differ by the amount of eel. All prices include tax.
- Mini (for children)¥1,650
- Regular¥2,200
- Medium¥2,750
- Large¥3,300
- X-Large¥3,850
- Premium¥4,400
- Kitaya Ume¥5,500
- Kitaya Take¥6,600
- Kitaya Matsu¥7,700
Extra rice (one bowl) +¥200 / Double extra (two bowls) +¥400
We also serve Unaju, with the sauce served separately.
All dishes are available to take away — calling ahead is quickest.
Three minutes on foot from Ise Jingu Geku. Takeout orders by phone.
+81 596-28-3064Dine-in 11:00–15:30 (L.O. 15:00) / Takeout 11:00–17:00
We do not accept seat reservations