Hiroshima

Hiroshima sits on the Seto Inland Sea, giving its sushi chefs direct access to some of Japan’s most prized white-flesh fish. The Setouchi current delivers tai (sea bream), sayori (halfbeak), and the region’s legendary anago (conger eel).

The sushi scene here is smaller than Tokyo or Osaka, but that’s precisely the point. Fewer tourists means more intimate experiences, and the chefs who stay in Hiroshima do so because the local catch is worth building a career around.