Tenjinbashi O-Sakana Shokudō

Hayashi is originally from Osaka, where his restaurant is now. After graduating university, he worked at several restaurants, supermarkets, and wholesale markets, engaging with the entire distribution chain from beginning to end. Opening Tenjinbashi O-Sakana Shokudō (Tenjinbashi Fish Restaurant) in August 2024 with the combination of all his experiences, Hayashi's signature dish is fried horse mackerel.

Hayashi chose to work with horse mackerel because of his stronger relationship to it than other fish. When he worked at a fishery company in the central wholesale market, he was in the department that sampled fish to be exported to Africa. He was in the process of examining every detail of these fish, and told us he was probably handling more horse mackerel than anyone else in Japan at the time.

So, horse mackerel comes with a strong sense of familiarity to Hayashi.

Hayashi mentions that, infact, most of the restuarants where he trained were French restaurants or high-priced ones that people tended to visit for anniversaries or special occasions.

What those places valued most was giving customers the experience of enjoying freshly prepared dishes right before their eyes in an open kitchen.

Filleting horse mackerel right in front of the customers is exactly in line with that. The aroma of freshly cooked rice rises from the steaming clay pot, accompanied by piping-hot miso soup and fresh horse mackerel, fried to the perfect level of crispness right before their eyes.

Ultimately, Hayashi says he is happy if he can just add a little joy to the daily lives of many people with the fried horse mackerel that he has made.

Hayashi remembers that his senior at a restaurant he used to work at used Sakai Ichimonji Mitsuhide knives. And from there, he bought his first knife from us at twenty years old. A long-term relationship was born.

His deba and yanagiba have seen a lot of usage over the years. He said he's never had them professionally sharpened through us, but he's considering giving it a try.

Now that Hayashi has turned 40, he realizes that cooking is all he really has. Losing his father in 2023, he more strongly realised that we can't take anything with us when our time is up. This rekindled a fire in him, encouraging the thought: "I want to leave something in the world."

The last location where Hayashi trained was a French restuarant, but he decided to put aside everything he had done up until then, such as his experience and meticulousness, and take on a new challenge for a wider audience by opening a teishoku restaurant.

In the end, everything seems to have come together for Hayashi. From using horse mackerel, a fish he has always been familiar with, to having colleagues from the seafood company he used to work for involved in the deliveries, it feels as though all the experiences he’s had up to now are connected to what he’s doing today.

He started out on his own later than most people and took many detours along the way, but once he made up his mind that “this is what I’m going to do,” more and more people began to support him.

Now, he can finally say that he’s glad he chose this path, and he’s come to accept and take pride in his decision.

Hayashi says there are various kinds of regular customers. Many are local elderly people and young people living alone. When they say “thank you,” it makes him feels like he’s found his place in life.

Right now, Hayashi’s first priority is to stabilize Tenjinbashi O-sakana Shokudō, but there are many things he wants to challenge himself with in the future.

He hopes to serve simmered dishes, further promote the appeal of fish, and above all, he dreams that someday, with his signature fried horse mackerel, the restaurant can become the best in Japan.

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Our Japanese YouTube team also filmed a mini video documentary on Chef Hayashi and Tenjinbashi O-Sakana Shokudō . Enjoy the video below.

Please note it only officially has Japanese audio and subtitles, but automatic translations are available. Nuance and meaning may be lost though, so please refer back to the original Japanese as fact over any translations.

A customer of ours for over twenty years, Hayashi is experienced with what we offer, especially in the world of preparing aji fry. See some of his favorites of ours below.