Welcome to Goto Islands at the southern end of the Japanese archipelago. It is home to one of the best fishing grounds of Japan and a rustic cuisine that you can savour in this izakaya in Tokyo called Gotojin, thanks to modern logistics.

No, this is not Malacca. This is Goto-retto 五島列島 in Nagasaki. It comprises the south-west half of the Gotō Islands plus (uninhabited) Danjo and Hizen Torishima archipelagos in the East China Sea, and the junction of the Kuroshio Current and the Tsushima Current.

A Dark History

The Edo Period of Japan (1603-1868) is best known for Shogun, samurai, and being one of the longest eras of peace in Japanese history. However, it was also a period of intense persecution for Japanese Christians. Although the persecution had begun before the Edo era, Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu formally expelled the Portuguese Jesuits from Japan in 1612 and declared Christianity illegal.

Those found to practice Christianity were imprisoned, tortured, and murdered, often along with their families or entire villages. Fearing for their own lives and those of their loved ones, many Japanese Christians chose to go into hiding, practicing their faith in secret and fleeing areas where Christianity was once prevalent.

The persecution drove many of these “Hidden Christians” to the Goto Islands, where they practiced their faith under the disguise of Buddhism and Shintoism. This continued until 1873 when the ban on Christianity in Japan was finally lifted, and the Hidden Christians were able to emerge from hiding. Many groups rejoined the Catholic Church and set about building places of worship around the islands. Fukue Island hosts many of these churches, several of which have been identified as UNESCO World Heritage sites in 2018.

Goto Cuisine

Goto Islands is located at one of the world’s leading continental shelves spreads, and is endowed with excellent fishery grounds, just like the nearby Jeju. So the cuisine would feature a lot of wonderful sakana cuisine.

五島列島のアジタタキ Ajitataki in the Goto Islands

Aji (horse mackerel) caught off the coasts of Goto Islands is a local specialty. And this aji tataki was part of the otoshi お通し, a customary cover charge that every izakaya will impose on each individual. Every table was placed a bottle of アゴ(あご)出汁醬油 tobiuo dashi stock, a special sweet soy sauce that has a dried flying fish soaked in it for that extra umami. The sauce was especially delicious wit the chopped horse mackerel.

本日の五島列島鮮魚盛り Today’s Goto Islands Fresh Fish Platter

Next came the sashimi moriawase comprising three types of fresh fish from Goto – hiramasa (yellowtail amberjack), tai (Japanese sea bream) and medai (sea bass). All were freshly delivered from the ports of Goto daily. It’s wonderful to be rid of the pandemic!

牛タン刺し Beef Tongue Sashimi

Do not feel squeamish about this next course – gyutan sashimi or sliced raw beef tongue. Usually they are served grilled or braised, but if the source of the beef is of an especially high quality like Japanese wagyu, one can also eat them as a sashimi. And they were very soft and similar to texture of eating fish sashimi. Excess blood has been drained off and they tasted like combination of beef tartare and liver.

イカ刺し雲丹醤 Squid Sashimi Sea Urchin Sauce

Aoki ika

鶏竜田揚げ Fried Chicken Tatsuta

This was the surprise of the evening, and easily the best item we had for the evening that warranted a second order. 鶏竜田揚げ Deep-fried soy sauce-marinated chicken was so flavourful and satisfying we couldn’t stop eating until they were all gone from the plate.

出汁巻き玉子 Rolled Egg Omelette

Izakaya-standard rolled egg omelette, nothing to brag about. The trick to the omelette was the use of dashi stock in the egg mixture. The dashi used for the egg mix was slightly sweet and full of umami.

きびなごの炉端焼き Kibinago Robatayaki

Kibinago キビナゴ/きびなご/黍魚子 Silver-stripe Round Herring is fully grown at around 10 cm. These minnows grilled on a stick were all adult fish, and they are not an endangered species. They are found in abundance around Nagasaki, Okinawa and Kagoshima coastlines. I would loved for them to grill them more.

揚げ出し豆腐 Agedashi Tofu

Agedashi tōfu is a Japanese hot tofu dish. Soft silken tofu is cut into cubes, before being lightly dusted with potato starch or cornstarch and then deep fried until golden brown, and served in a dashi sauce with green onions and grated radish and ginger on top. Of course the dashi was made from the same tobiuo dashi stock.

特製いかの塩辛 Special Salted Squid

Ika no shiokara イカの塩辛 Salted squid is one of the traditional Japanese fermented foods. It has strong saltiness and umami, a sticky texture and characteristic flavour. The Japanese eat it as an appetiser and on rice. Enzymes in innards ferment amino acids and increase free amino acids, thus making them delicious. Great eats, albeit an acquired taste.

きゅうりと五島灘の塩たたき Salted Cucumber Tataki Of Goto Beach

This was a bit like the smashed cucumbers from Sichuan. The taste by this time had become quite singular – everything was flavoured with the same tobiuo shoyu.

あおさ海苔天麩羅 Aosa Nori Tempura

This was the only failed item for the evening. The seaweed tempura was too oily, even with the tempura sauce and radish to cut through the greasiness.

五島列島あご出汁で食べる 黒バラ肉のしゃぶしゃぶ Kusano Farm Pork Belly with Goto-retto Tobiuo Dashi Shabu-Shabu

Gotojin served the Goto Biton pork reared exclusively on the archipelago and fed with different types of wheat grain and mineral water. Each slice is so succulent and devoid of the smell that typically accompanies pork that you’ll never want to go back to the stuff you get at your supermarket again.

あご 飛魚 Tobiuo or flying fish is found in the nearby waters of Goto Islands. This dried fish was used in the special dashi stock for the shabu-shabu.

The pork belly was sliced around 1mm thin and only sliced upon ordering. Carefully taking one slice at a time to dip into the boiling soup stock, the pork instantly cooked and was absolutely delicious.

あご出汁焼きおにぎり醤油 Tobiuo Dashi Stock Grilled Rice Ball With Soy Sauce

The onigiri (rice balls) were grilled perfectly, forming a crust on the outside while keeping the inside soft and moist. The outside had that caramelised taste of the tobiuo soy sauce that has been so featured in the restaurant. There’s no filling in the rice ball, so it was perfect to eat them with the shiokara.

Afterthoughts

Sometimes you have to ignore the reviews in Google (only a 3.9) and go with the locals for the best places to go after work. It was a good izakaya, full of atmosphere and office workers seeking a quick reprieve from the busy day. The price was alright but the location was a little hard to find.

There was a good selection to choose from with a list of daily specials from the deliveries from Goto. Look out for the noticeboards so that you would not miss anything.

Gotojin Hamamatsucho 五島人 浜松町店
Hamamatsucho, 2 Chome−6−2, Minato City, Tokyo, Japan
〒105-0013 東京都港区浜松町2-6-2 浜松町262ビル1F
Tel : +81 (0)3-6402-3538 

Visited Jul 2023

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