Hoteizushi

We stumbled upon this little gem of an authentic, not-​watered-​down-​by-​tourism, sushi joint. Nobody speaks English and the menus are not tweaked for foreigners. We were able to convey what we wanted by pointing to the various fish on display and saying the single noun as slowly as possible.
It was delicious! A bit pricey (eg. 800 yen for uni? About $ 10 AUD) but you definitely get what you pay for. If you’re in the area … it’s a must-​stop for the sushi lover.

Yet another recommendation from my wonderful host family in Kyotanabe.
To be Japanese and have a craving for sushi is difficult in the US for many obvious reasons:
1. No matter where in the 48 lower states you may find yourself, the chance that your local Japanese restaurant is actually run by Japanese people is relatively low (unless you live in areas called San Francisco, Torrance, Manhattan, or Redondo Beach)
2. Even if you somehow find a Japanese restaurant run by Japanese people, the chance that the fish being served there will be fresh enough to meet your expectations is infinitely close to nil, as even the biggest of the Japanese ex-​pat hubs in any country are usually somewhat estranged from major fishing markets (e.g. San Francisco vis-​a-​vis CA Central Coast)
3. Japanese restaurants that meet the above two criteria usually will not leave your stomach satiated for a reasonable price, so you’ll probably end up ordering some sort of Americanized entrée like «teriyaki chicken.»
But as we are in Japan, and none of the three caveats apply, the dilemma is more about «which of these restaurants that all serve very fresh, very elegantly crafted sushi do I want to visit?»
The correct answer is probably «all of them, so long as they don’t serve their food on rotating conveyor belts,» but Hotei proved to be an enjoyable choice for myself and an undergrad classmate that I serendipitous found out to be finishing school in Osaka.
Like most well-​established sushi restaurants in Japan, Hotei only serves the freshest of the fish available straight from Osaka’s world-​renowned Central Fish Market. The interior of the restaurant is cozy, like most sushi joints in Japan; we were promptly seated at the middle of the sushi bar, which upon about 30 minutes of us being there was at full capacity.
One thing that I really appreciated about Hotei is the simplicity of the menu; Hotei simply lists three ways of enjoying your favorite fish – seared/​grilled, nigiri, and sashimi – and a list of whatever fish is in season; the beauty of eating sushi in Japan is that you’re usually only offered whatever is in season at the time; unlike the American «set menus» which look identical no matter where you go.
Hotei also has a great assortment of nihonshu and shouchuu and the itamaecho was definitely not shy about recommending pairings; I particularly liked this location over the others (and the flagship store) due to its proximity to the malls in Uehonmachi, and probably due to the fact that the place doesn’t turn into a zoo after 7:00PM.
Is this probably the best sushi you’ll taste in Osaka? Probably not. But will you still probably walk out of this establishment thinking it was probably among the best sushi you’ve ever had? If you understood most of the content in this review, chances are, YES.