Kawatoyo Honten is Narita's oldest specialist eel (unagi) restaurant, dating to 1910 when the Ito family began wholesaling freshwater fish from the Tone River near Naritasan Temple. Set in a century-old wooden building along the Omotesando approach, with a 10-meter cedar beam and a hand-carved transom, the dining room centers on an open counter where chefs split, steam, and char-grill each eel to order, finishing it in a secret soy-based sauce replenished since the restaurant's founding. Signature dishes include unaju (grilled eel over rice), shirayaki (unsauced grilled eel), and kimo-sui (eel liver soup).
