Nonta Sushi — Port-Fresh Fish

Nonta Sushi is a top rated, conveyor-belt sushi restaurant near Hiroshima Peace Park serving seasonal, locally-caught fish at reasonable prices because they own the market.

Fresh, Local Kaiten Sushi

Though Nonta Sushi is a chain store, each Nonta Sushi location (there are six) has a unique menu. (Joy Photo / Michael Farrell)

It’s hard to get fresher fish than this without buying it off the boat. Nonta Sushi in Kamiyacho, Hiroshima gets their fish from nearby Yanai Port Fish Market which their parent company, Fujima Group, manages themselves. This ensures they always have the freshest local, seasonal fish at reasonable prices. 

Located near Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park, Nonta Sushi is a local, kaiten (conveyor-belt) sushi restaurant from neighboring Yamaguchi Prefecture. With access to high-quality, local seafood, Nonta Sushi is frequently ranked above the other kaiten sushi shops in the city, which tend to be large, national chains with less overall quality. 

Diverse Menu

Nonta has a large, seasonally changing menu, but you can always find standbys like salmon, tuna, and shrimp nigiri, plus a variety of makizushi, gunkan and unique dishes. Fish from the Seto Inland Sea, located just beside Hiroshima, includes yellowtail in the winter while amberjack and red sea bream are available throughout the year. Other seafood includes flounder, jumbo shrimp, conger eel, horse mackerel, flying fish roe, squid and scallops. The list goes on.

This crab shell is stuffed with crab meat and tomalley. (Joy Photo / Michael Farrell)

One dish of nigiri includes two generous portions with large pieces of fish and creative plating that includes vibrant and flavorful contrasts between ingredients.

From 11:00 to 15:00, lunch hours, a variety of sushi moriawase are available—long trays with arrangements of popular nigiri sushi. They come with a bowl of miso soup that can be changed to clam miso soup made with Japanese clams.

For the adventurous, the uni (sea urchin gonad) gunkan is rich and complex. And the kani-miso (crab tomalley), while intimidating, is creamy and nutmegy. 

Traditional Layout

Many national chains have multiple conveyor belts, but Nonta sticks to the traditional format of a central conveyor belt with counter seating around it and booths along the sides of the shop. The conveyor belt wraps around the kitchen, giving diners direct views of the chefs at work from almost anywhere in the shop. With occasionally dramatic movements and loud slaps, it can be an entertaining cultural experience.

Easy Digital Ordering

Each table at Nonta Sushi has touchscreen ordering in English. (Joy Photo / Michael Farrell)

Ordering is easy. Every table has a touch screen device with English language options. When you’re done, they’ll bring your bill to the table. In typical Japanese style, the bill is paid at the register, not at the table. 

In the Middle of the Action

Nonta Sushi is a five-minute walk from every major site in the area: Hiroden Kamiyacho-Higashi Station, Peace Memorial Park, Orizuru Tower, the Atomic Bomb Dome, and Gate Park. It is a minute from Hondori covered shopping street 

More Fresh Hiroshima Seafood:

Hiroshima is a coastal city with great access to fresh seafood. While staying in the prefecture, consider dinner at Suigun no Sato in Saijo, one of Japan’s three sake capitals. In addition to a large selection of sake, the restaurant catches your meal from a pond in the middle of the shop.

Hiroshima is also nationally renowned for their oysters. Some oyster farms even have their own restaurant where you can try the best the sea has to offer. At Oyster House Teraiwa, you can grill your own oysters beside views of Miyajima Island across the bay. 

Nonta Sushi has generous portions that overflow the rice. (Joy Photo / Michael Farrell)

In collaboration with Hiroshima_Lunchsan (Japanese IG / English IG)