Buyers inspecting the catch at a Fukui fish auction

Every Thursday, without fail

5 a.m., and two hours north

Every Thursday the owner sets out from Kyoto at five in the morning and drives his own live-fish tank truck about two hours to the ports of Obama and Takahama, on the Wakasa Bay coast of Fukui. He steps onto the auction floor alongside the licensed buyers, picks the fish with his own eyes, and carries them back to the restaurant the same day.

Live-Fish Tank Truck

Straight from the tank, still swimming

Because the truck carries live tanks, the fish do not simply arrive fresh — many arrive alive. In winter that means live squid, live monkfish and live cod: things you will rarely meet on a plate in Kyoto.

Our own routes

Fish Kyoto never sees

Beyond Wakasa, seafood from Hokkaido (Akkeshi, Kushiro, Nemuro and more) and the Sanriku coast (Miyako, Kuji and more) is shipped to us direct from the source, while fish and shellfish from Kyushu and Shikoku are hand-selected by the owner at Kyoto Central Wholesale Market. Which is why this restaurant serves things the city's markets rarely carry. See our courses →

Sourcing Map

From seas across Japan, straight to Taisho

Wakasa (Fukui) Obama & Takahama ports: Bought in person every week, in our own live-fish tank truck. The fish travels back to Kyoto still alive.
Hokkaido Akkeshi, Kushiro, Nemuro and more: Shipped direct from the port the day it lands — including the Akkeshi oysters we are known for, which you will not find together anywhere in Kyoto.
Sanriku Miyako & Kuji and more: Sent to us direct from the Sanriku ports, on the day of the catch.
Kyushu & Shikoku Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Ehime, Kochi and more: Seasonal fish from Kyushu and Shikoku, hand-picked at the Kyoto Central Wholesale Market.
Kyoto Central Wholesale Market: Three times a week the owner goes to the market himself and chooses, with his own eyes, from the seasonal fish gathered there from all over Japan.

Some things are only in season today. Come and taste what the seas of Japan send us, through the turning of the year.

Why It Matters

Standing on the auction floor

In Japan, as a rule, only buyers who hold a market's licence — a baisanken, or buying right — may bid directly at a port's fish auction. The licences are issued in limited numbers by each market, and obtaining a new one today is, by most accounts, no easy matter. That is why most restaurants buy their fish through a wholesaler instead.

TAISHO, founded in 1965, has driven to Obama and Takahama week after week, and over decades of trade has earned the trust to enter the auction floor together with the licensed buyers — a Kyoto restaurant that checks the day's fish with its own eyes and secures them right there at the auction. Leaving at 5 a.m., about two hours each way, in its own live-fish tank truck — that is how the fish the owner picked himself reaches the kitchen alive, the same day.

Fish routed through markets and wholesalers can take several days to reach a restaurant. Here it takes one. That difference in distance is, quite simply, the difference in freshness.

* Baisanken: the licence that allows a buyer to bid directly at a wholesale fish market.

FAQ

Questions about our fish

Where do you buy your fish?

The owner leaves Kyoto at 5 a.m. every Thursday and drives his own live-fish tank truck about two hours to the ports of Obama and Takahama in Fukui, where he joins the licensed buyers on the auction floor and picks the fish with his own eyes. Seafood from Hokkaido (Akkeshi, Kushiro, Nemuro and more) and Sanriku (Miyako, Kuji and more) is shipped direct from the source, and fish from Kyushu and Shikoku is hand-selected at Kyoto Central Wholesale Market.

Can I eat live fish here?

Yes. Because we run live tanks in the truck, we can serve fish that are still alive when they arrive — live squid, live monkfish and live cod in the winter months.

What do you recommend?

The live-fish sashimi platter from the auction, raw oysters and our signature “Taisho roll”. The most popular course is the “Take”; there is also a fugu full course, and in winter the hot-pot courses. See Courses and À la carte for details.