Does Shizuoka Shun provide eel bento to take out?

Hi, I went to Unagi Shun last week for lunch and got the grilled eel liver and the unaju and I just wanted to give a bit of my personal thoughts on it.

The eel liver I really enjoyed. The unaju however I found not to be exactly my type as I found the unagi less soft or less "melting" compared to some other places. For example one of my favourite unaju is at Tomoei in Odawara (which I don't see mentioned much in this website at all) and unagi is much softer. I have also been to Uomasa and I preferred it to the unagi at Shun. This is not to say it wasn't good of course, I still quite enjoyed the meal at Shun however I'm not sure it is the best for me. Does anyone that have been to Shun share same thoughts as me for their unaju? Is it generally less softer unagi than some other places (because of chef technique?) or could it be just that day.

Thank you

@memchikatsu good to hear from u. I’m not aware of any Unagi restaurants that worth’s a special trip to Hamamatsu.

My observation would be as same as the same idea I had before exploring in Hokkaido. I thought there would be tons of great dinner options as all tasty fresh seafood are from Hokkaido. I searched many times in a span of more than ten years to find nothing worth a special trip. All best raw materials are shipped to Toyosu. Local restaurants have no dedicated Shokunin like in Tokyo, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Shizuoka, Fukuoka, etc. I could find only food for tourists in the market.

There seems to be respectable Unagi restaurants in Hamamatsu but they are in the city so it’s not something like Hirasansou or Tokuyamazushi kind of restaurant / ambience.

As shipping / transportation improves, it’s not the closest restaurant to the source gets the best raw material.

My recommendation for your Shizuoka trip is lunch at Shun and try getting in Tempura Naruse, which my trustworthy Japanese friend spoke highly about. (I never visit Naruse myself)

Lunch at Shun should fit your bill.

A question for you @localtaste. I will be traveling to Shizuoka in the near future. I was wondering, if it would be worth going further west to Hamamatsu. And if so, is there a particularly noteworthy unagi restaurant to visit there, and sample the freshly caught eels from nearby rivers? It is the source of the very best unagi in the country? It sounded to me like a pilgrimage site for unagi fans. I don't need to be doing a fancy meal at Shun on this trip, but I would like to have some sort of special rustic local unagi fisherman's experience. Thank you. And also to Saito-san, and any others, who have been to Hamamatsu, and have some tips.

@localtaste
I brought up the topic of different regional styles of unagi, to a chef friend of mine who is from Kansai. He told an interesting way to explain the difference between Kanto and Kansai unagi cutting.

That the samurai in Kanto doesn't like seppuku, so unagi is cut from the back side (sebiraki 背開き); while the shogun in Kansai loves seppuku, and so they cut it from the front/stomach (harabiraki 腹開き).

I thought this might have been a joke, but maybe there is some truth to it? That cutting from the front of the unagi resembles stabbing the stomache in seppuku/harakiri, and is like an ominous taboo or superstition. It's a very good way to memorize this, I can't forget it now.