Eitaro 海鮮料理 えいたろう (Beppu, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

Eitaro (海鮮料理 えいたろう) is one of the three distinguished restaurants at Amane Resort Seikai (潮騒の宿 晴海), offering a refined Japanese seafood kaiseki course menu to hotel guests. Located on the second floor of the complex, Eitaro specializes in showcasing the delicate flavors of seasonal ingredients, and tonight, it provided the perfect setting for a quiet celebration.

If my memory served me correctly, it was the winter solstice, a special day of the year. After a long and eventful drive from Fukuoka City, the idea of dining in the comfort of our hotel felt like the best gift we could give ourselves. To our pleasant surprise, we were offered a private dining room — a welcome and much-appreciated touch that added a layer of intimacy to the evening.

Starter (先附) – Dinner started off with a crispy burdock tofu elegantly paired with mentaiko, ginkgo nuts and fried burdock strips, and served in a warm burdock broth. A really comforting dish perfected suited to the chilled winter night.

Assorted sashimi (造里) – It was followed by a sashimi platter of bonito, sea bream and amberjack. Not bad.

Steamed dish (蒸物) – Next up, a surprise dish of steamed vegetables (cabbage, mushroom, carrot, lotus root) alongside a shitake mushroom dumpling all hidden in a small wooden box. The flavors were subtle, fresh, and clean — an excellent interlude in the meal. 

Hot dish (熱鉢) – A seafood pasta tossed in a creamy sea urchin sauce that leaned towards the sweet side. 

This came with all kinds of seafood including squid ring, shrimps, crab meat and scallops (small ones), finished off with dried chili and chopped cabbage on top.

And there were uni tongues hidden underneath too! This was reasonably good, although I found the texture of the vegetable slaw somewhat distracting and not quite in harmony with the rest of the dish.

Fried dish (揚げ物) – The wheels began to fall off from here with pieces of fried chicken that came with a batter that was way too thick for my liking.

Rice (食事) – Our steamed rice was served with slices of soy marinated tuna on top, along with pickles and a white miso soup on the side.

Dessert (甘味) – Dessert was a local delicacy from Ōita Prefecture called Yaseuma.

Wheat flour noodles shaped like our Chinese thick noodles (河粉), was finished with a nice sprinkle of soy bean powder (kinako) on top. While I enjoyed the nutty flavor of the kinako, the noodles themselves were a bit too bland, sticky, and chewy for me.

That marked the end of what turned out to be a longer-than-expected meal. As we were all beaten up, we decided to race back to our room and prepare ourselves for a quick swim in the onsen bath before calling it the night.

Food Rating: 6/10

Price: ￥￥￥

Address: Amane Resort Seikai, 6-24 Shoningahamacho, Beppu, Oita, 874-0023, Japan

Tel: +81 (0)977-66-3680

Website: https://www.seikai.co.jp

Opening Hours: 11:30am - 1:30pm (Mon - Sun), 6:00pm - 9:00pm (Wed - Mon)