Being an archipelago of about 3,000 islands, Japan's best dining often revolves around fruits of the sea. The average Japanese person consumes a whopping 66 kg of fish each year, more than four times the world average. Though very tasty, seafood experiences in Japan can also be challenging, most typically illustrated by a visit to a fugu restaurant for a potentially poisonous encounter with blowfish.
Hazards (or delights, depending on your sense of adventure) also lurk on many a humble restaurant menu. Even when translated into English, names like ark shell (akagai) or gizzard shad (kohada) are difficult to visualize. Pictures, when available, offer few additional clues into unidentifiable sea species or bizarre fish parts. Sometimes the menu is so baffling that it would be tempting to rifle through the chef's refrigerator and hand him whatever whets the appetite. Zauo goes one better. This theme restaurant's hook is just that -- catching your own dinner.
Ascending the stairs to Zauo's Kameido branch in Koto-ku, the sight of squid swimming in a tank above you erases any expectations of an ordinary izakaya (bar/restaurant) experience. Beyond an entrance fittingly draped with fishing nets awaits a dining room decked in marine paraphernalia, the centerpiece being a large wooden boat fitted with seats and tables.