When I landed at Fukuoka Airport at 10 a.m., I went straight to Tempura Hirao Main Store (天麩羅処ひらお本店), located about a 20-minute walk from the airport. They are a very popular tempura shop that serves freshly fried tempura one piece at a time at an affordable price. However, my main target wasn’t the tempura—it was the free shiokara :p
Shiokara is a Japanese dish made of salted and fermented squid. The restaurant allows you to enjoy as much shiokara as you want, but unfortunately, they have temporarily limited its serving due to a shortage of squid. As a result, I could only have one serving.
Despite it being Saturday, I expected there would be some vacant seats when I arrived at 10:30 a.m., just after opening. However, I found around 15 people waiting outside, and even more inside, with about 20 people lined up along the wall. But since tempura is served quickly, and people usually eat without much chatting, the wait wasn’t long.
The entrance is on the parking lot side, though there’s a door along the road, which is for exit only.
There are two ticket vending machines, offering either “小めし” (a regular portion of rice) or “中めし” (a large portion). The tempura set costs only 760 yen—quite inexpensive!
They also sell salted squid at the vending machine outside.
Inside, the shop is large, with counter seating surrounding the two kitchens. After cooking the tempura, the staff serves it on your tray.
I was seated and handed my ticket to the staff in front of me. Then, everything except the tempura was served: miso soup, rice, sauce, and shiokara.
The shiokara had a crunchy texture and wasn’t too salty. It was seasoned with yuzu citrus, giving it a refreshing taste. Even though the tempura hadn’t arrived yet, I started eating the rice with the squid and ended up having a second helping of shiokara! By the way, the rice was served in a small bowl, but there was actually quite a lot of rice in it, so it was enough for me.
The tempura set includes seven pieces. From left to right, there was eggplant, sweet potato, and mackerel. None of them were greasy, and the batter was crisp. The sweet potato was especially sweet, and the mackerel was also delicious.
The set also included white fish (which had a texture similar to chicken) and sand borer.
Finally, a sweet pepper and squid were served. The squid was just as amazing as the rest.
The tempura sauce, based on soy sauce, paired perfectly with the rice. Not only the shiokara but also the tempura was incredibly satisfying. When I left the shop, I noticed there were about 80 people waiting… Oh no!
About
Name Tempura Hirao Main Store (天麩羅処ひらお 本店)
Open Day through night
Reservation Unavailable
Credit card Unavailable
URL Website
Google Map
