Welcome to the tempura edition of our popular series, "Rising Star Restaurants"!
This time, we'll be introducing 9 restaurants carving their own path separate from the standard Edo-mae tempura, instead choosing to explore new options unthinkable in traditional tempura recipes!

This restaurant forges its own unique style of tempura, deviating from standard Edo-mae style by using ingredients such as vegetables harvested at the foot of Mt. Fuji and seafood from Suruga Bay.
The owner of Naruse happily told us, "My tempura begins with the ingredients. I get my fish from a fishmonger in Yaizu and my vegetables every morning from farmers in Haibara. I've created tempura that you can only get here thanks to my collaboration with them."
The omakase course here changes by the day, but it begins with thick cuts of locally-fished beltfish and ten or so pieces made with seasonal fish and vegetables.
The climax of our visit was a thick piece of aji (horse mackerel) tempura, made with a fish that was raised eating plenty of sakura shrimp in Suruga Bay.
As you bite into the medium-cooked piece, wrapped in delightful tempura coating, the moist fish explodes into deliciously clean umami flavors, and the mellow aroma from the meat fills your nose.
Naruse created its own "Suruga-style" tempura thanks to how closely the restaurant and its ingredients are intertwined.
Many gourmands and foodies from across Japan are eagerly heading to Shizuoka to enjoy this take on tempura that uses fresh ingredients from the mountains and sea, said to truly make you feel alive.

Niitome has garnered significant attention as the holder of the #1 spot on Tabelog's tempura restaurant ratings.
Now customers are flocking in from across Japan to try the exquisite tempura served here at "Niitome."
The tempura here is unique in that its batter is made with flour that has been chilled to around -10°C, resulting in a melt-in-your-mouth texture almost reminiscent of a light snowfall.
The ingredients used are, of course, the highest-quality fish caught in local waters, including ayu (sweetfish), awabi (abalone), fugu (pufferfish), and tai (sea bream).
Chef Takaaki Sugita of iconic Tokyo sushi restaurant "Nihonbashi Kakigaracho Sugita" and Chef Yasuji Kimura of "Kimura" are said to visit Niitome frequently looking for an exciting meal. If you're looking for the hottest tempura in Japan right now, this is the place!

This is the only tempura restaurant in Tokyo where you can enjoy "Shizuoka tempura," a style that broke out thanks to "Naruse."
Much like "Naruse," Sonoji throws itself free of traditional ingredients and uses blue-backed fish and sliced fish in its tempura, considered taboos in traditional Edo-mae tempura restaurants, and even sometimes utilizes venison!
We'd like to give a special mention to their vegetable tempura, made with vegetables from Shizuoka, as it has a distinctly powerful flavor.
There's probably no other tempura restaurant where you can enjoy the pure flavors of vegetables like carrots, onions, lotus root, and sweet potato this much.
As the owner's family runs a soba restaurant, Sonoji is also unique in that the final dish served is not kakiage, but rather house-made soba noodles.
Finish up the lovely course with a refreshing serving of satisfying soba!

This famous restaurant is tucked away near Tsukiji Station, and it's definitely a restaurant that's known to those in the know.
The owner here is an experienced tempura chef, who trained for over 17 years at world-famous restaurant "Mikawa Zezankyo."
The techniques that the owner uses to cook, honed for the 10 years he has run his own establishment, are said to be so high-level that they are even superior to that at "Mikawa Zezankyo," according to some gourmands.
Here you can enjoy both airy dishes and fragrant and crispy dishes while listening to tales of adventures.
The dishes put out by the chef here using first-class ingredients are truly splendid, including preparations of seasonal ingredients like mountain vegetables in the spring, anago in the summer, matsutake mushrooms in the fall, and tiger puffer in the winter.
Nakagawa is somewhere that you'll want to visit intermittently to take full advantage of its delicious seasonal tempura.

This new restaurant was opened in 2017 by a chef who has experience working at "Yamanoue," a restaurant lauded as the best tempura restaurant in Tokyo.
While the chef here follows traditional Edo-mae tempura techniques, recently he has begun to offer several trendy tempura options as well, gathering much attention from tempura fans.
Among all of the pieces served in the exquisite omakase course, the "anago tendon" stands out above the rest.
If you break up the burdock and ginger kakiage and mix it in with the rice, you'll get to experience delicious harmony between the crispy and soft textures and contrasting flavors!

This noteworthy new restaurant was opened by a chef who has no experience working at tempura restaurants.
The owner found himself enamored with "Mikawa Zezankyo," which he frequented as a customer, and he practiced tempura-making by watching the movements of legendary tempura chef Tetsuya Saotome and cooking at home. As a result of his hard work, he finally was able to realize his dreams and hopen his own tempura restaurant.
The "Mikawa-style" anago is split into pieces with chopsticks before the customers' eyes, and the combination of the exquisitely tender meat with the crisp batter is indescribably delicious.
The pairing of the tempura with the aged sake here, said to be the owner's favorite, is also splendid.
Courses here are finished off with refreshing maguro (tuna) ochazuke, a lovely fresh final note.
This is because the "once-newbie" owner has great sense, believing that "some people may think that ending the meal with kakiage is a bit heavy after eating so much tempura."

This hot tempura restaurant is located in Tokyo's shitamachi and is owned by a chef who trained at the famous restaurant "Yamanoue."
The lunch courses available are priced at 4500 and 6000 yen, surprisingly affordable for a restaurant with ties to the "Yamanoue" group.
While none of the ingredients used in the tempura here stand out in particular, the delicious harmony between the vibrant and delicate fish and vegetables and the high-quality airy batter is truly something special.
How will the tempura served by this chef with over 20 years of experience evolve from its current style very reminiscent of that at "Yamanoue"? This is absolutely an excellent restaurant to keep your eye on as it continues to grow.

This reasonably-priced tempura restaurant was opened by a chef who worked under Tetsuya Saotome, the so-called god of tempura who runs "Mikawa Zezankyo," for 7 years.
While Fukuan caters to the everyday customer and is decidedly "izakaya-esque," the food you get here absolutely is influenced by "Mikawa."
Tiger shrimp, kisu (sillago), bigfin reef squid, mantis shrimp, anago... The Edo-mae ingredients used here are certainly not of the absolute highest quality, but the chef of Fukuan is able to turn them into first-class dishes with his incredible talents.
The dinnertime omakase course is surprisingly cheap at just 3500 yen.
If you're looking for authentic Edo-mae tempura in Tokyo for 5000 yen or less, "Fukuan" is a great option for you.

This unique tempura restaurant is owned by someone who has also served as the producer of the Cabinet Office's Cool Japan policies.
Tempura Ono seeks to create a marriage between tempura and wine and champagne, going so far as retaining a French staff-member from Champagne.
A scallop cooked to rare and topped with truffle is paired with champagne, when you order the tempura and wine pairings.
Finely sliced ginger provides an accent flavor for flaked tuna, which is paired with white wine.
The owner of Tempura Ono has switched careers from being a businessman to being a tempura chef, but his sense for flavors is top-notch.
Can tempura and wine be paired together well? If you'd like to find out the answer for yourself, stop by this decidedly unique tempura restaurant.