I had a meal at Oryori Matsuyama in Kurosaki, Kitakyushu.Tabelog Rating: 4.41 Tabelog Award 2026 Silver Selected as one of Tabelog's Top 100 Japanese Restaurants in the WEST for 2025.Let’s enjoy Matsuyama after a long time.- Ice-brewed Yame Gyokuro✨ It calms my heated body.- Somen from Ukiha, Fukuoka This somen is made without oil, unlike the usual ones that use oil during the stretching process. ☝️ You can enjoy the natural flavor of the wheat, its smooth texture, and the unique throat feel. This somen is paired with a slightly thickened dashi made from bonito and soft-shelled turtle.✨ Topped with an abundant amount of Hagi saltwater red sea urchin ♥️❤️ It’s incredibly sweet, with about JPY 6000-7000 worth of red sea urchin per person. Heavenly from the first bite.- Karasumi Mochi ❤️ The owner carefully grills it for you. It’s undeniably delicious.- Freshly shaved Bonito flakes As usual, both ara-bushi and honkarebushi. I want to share this with my Rita.- Homemade sesame tofu and a bowl with new lotus root from Shiroishi, Saga The dashi is made from bonito. The lotus root is lightly grilled over charcoal to absorb some flavor. The cutting style is designed to enhance the crunchy texture rather than a sticky feel.- A 1.7m long swordfish from Kinko Bay, Kagoshima An ultra-large dragon measuring eight fingers wide. Served with wasabi and salt kombu, or momiji oroshi and ponzu. The most delicious swordfish from Kinko Bay. Matsuyama's exquisite cooking technique is remarkable, with a rare center and a strong sweetness.- This month's Hassun Since it's July, we celebrate Tanabata. 1) Representing the Milky Way, the bamboo plate features chilled summer vegetables in a delicious broth. Steamed lotus root, pumpkin, boiled okra, grilled eggplant, and more, each paired with a suitable dashi. Finally topped with dashi jelly.✨ 2) Fried sandfish and edamame from Minami-ku, Kitakyushu Sandfish is in season❣️ Crispy and delicious.3) Fukuoka's fig "Toyomitsuhime" Drizzled with vinegar made from soybean flour, topped with a mix of five types of crushed nuts combined with brown sugar. A sweet and salty "addictive powder"❗ "Kitakyushu's addictive powder"‼️ The chef emphasized it for a repeat.This place is dangerous!4) Wrapped in bamboo leaves is minced Hiraikouji chicken mixed with sweet pickled myoga and sushi vinegar, served with rice.Matsuyama's seasonal Hassun is always beautiful.- Ayu from the Tenryu River I absolutely love Matsuyama's ayu ♥️❤️ While the origin is important, the grilling technique is even more crucial. ☝️ With larger ayu, a bit of charring is fine since the overall flavor is robust, but with smaller ayu, if it gets too blackened, it loses the delicate bitterness of the fish. Thus, it is carefully grilled while constantly checking its condition. The fins cannot be burnt, and to avoid an overpowering saltiness, no finishing salt is used.The green sauce is made from wild pepper, finished with rice oil for a smooth, oily texture.The light green sauce is made from cucumber, using Japanese mustard for a slight kick.Mmm, it’s still delicious. You can fully enjoy the natural flavor of the ayu from head to tail.They mentioned that ayu will no longer be served after July, and from August, there will be more flexibility in the dishes. It requires that much attention.Here, I had a black beer from Sendai called "BAEREN SCHWARZ."To cleanse the palate, I enjoyed local watermelon, Wakamatsu Queen, for a refreshing touch.- Chawanmushi made with local turban shell The turban shell is vacuum-cooked with kombu dashi. The delicious essence of the turban shell is used to make a homemade garlic butter sauce with local garlic.- Tempura made from night-harvested corn from Wakamatsu Corn stores nutrients (sweetness) through photosynthesis. Once photosynthesis begins, the sweetness decreases, so it is harvested at midnight.✨Here, I paired it with "Eshikoto Awa" from Kuro-ryu.The other tempura is seasoned with truffle salt.✨- Rice dishes 1) Miso soup Made with wakame from Aijima, Kitakyushu, and unpressed yudofu. 2) Homemade mentaiko 3) Meat miso made with sirloin from Nozaki beef in Kagoshima 4) Rice topped with egg yolk from Hiraikouji chicken.The crispy rice pairs perfectly with the accompaniments. The egg over rice is also superb!- Rare variety mango "Palmero" from Miyazaki A delicate flavor that is a cross between peach and mango, created by a team of six like the Avengers.✨ Simply served with Jersey milk ice cream and cider jelly. Here, I had Hungarian Tokaji dessert wine.- Matcha It was a great meal.A thoroughly satisfying day trip dinner. Matsuyama plans to retire in five years, so I must visit every year to enjoy ayu.