Hamazushi (はま寿司) is a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, popular and quite common in Japan.

It has many varieties of sushi, a lot of seasonal and limited-time menu additions, and from the beginning of November, it started the “Uni Matsuri”.

Uni (ウニ) is the Japanese word for sea urchin, and matsuri (祭り) means festival.

During a limited period, you can enjoy various pairings of sea urchin sushi for only 100-yen!

The various sea urchin pairings, however, are not limited to sushi!

You can also try out their uni cream pasta, rich in flavor with a thick texture and perfect to warm you up during the cold season.

Here are some other sea urchin plates you can order during the Uni Matsuri:

1. Uni Tsutsumi (うにつつみ / wrapped sea urchin)

If you are a fan of sea urchin and just want to enjoy its sweet flavor, I recommend trying out the Uni Tsutsumi. It is creamy, a bit crispy thanks to the seaweed used to wrap it in, and very flavorsome!

2. Hotate Uni Nosé　(ほたてうにのせ / sea urchin on scallop)

My favorite pairing is the Hotate Uni Nose. It was the first one I ordered and I loved the combination of hotate and sea urchin!

The scallops give it a soft, yet chewy texture, and the sea urchin on top made me feel like I ordered such an expensive plate when in reality, it costs only 100-yen! 

3. Uni Ikura Gunkan (うにいくら軍艦 / sea urchin and ikura gunkan)

Another great combination is the half ikura (salmon roe) and half sea urchin.

It is a mix of salty and sweet, but with a perfect balance and in harmony with each other.

4. Uni Gunkan (うに軍艦)

For those who want to eat just a sea urchin plate, I recommend the Uni Gunkan. It has plenty of sea urchin on top, and it is so creamy and flavorful!

5. Ika-Sashi no Uni-Ae Gunkan (いか刺しのうに和え軍艦 / Squid sashimi and sea urchin)

Ika-sashi means squid sashimi. This plate consists of two sushi that has squid sashimi combined with sea urchin on top of the rice.

6. Ma-Ika no Uni Nosé (真いかうにのせ / sea urchin on Japanese flying squid)

Again, from the “uni nosé” (sea urchin put on top) series, we have the sea urchin on top of a Japanese flying squid plate. It has a chewy texture, and it is such a great pairing!

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Besides the many sea urchin plates, you can also try out the other limited edition items such as the Grape Parfait (ぶどうのパルフェ/ Budō no parfait) or the Zabuton Nigiri.

The Zabuton Nigiri is a plate with two sushi that have meat on top of the rice. Zabuton is a type of Japanese cushion, but also another name used for the Denver Cut Steak. The meat looks like a small cushion that covers the rice. It tastes so rich, has a soft and tender texture, and is a must-try this season.

See more on the Hamazushi official website.