Niigata’s popular robata kappo restaurant, “Suminajji,” whose proprietress was formerly a “fish hater” but overcame her fear of fish through fishing, celebrated its 3rd anniversary on July 1st. The couple’s restaurant, which started with a fishing YouTube channel, has now launched a new channel that reveals the “behind-the-scenes of sourcing ingredients.”
Note for those outside of Japan: “Robata” is a centuries-old Japanese fireside cooking method, similar to barbecue, but slow-grilling skewers of meat, seafood and vegetables over hot charcoal.
On July 1st and 2nd, we will be holding an anniversary celebration with special prices, offering our “Whole Nodoguro Course” for a special price of 15,000 yen (tax included). We will be challenging ourselves to create a new style of cuisine, featuring “Echigo-mae Robatayaki,” which combines seasonal fish from all over Japan with vegetables and seasonings from Niigata.
Robata Kappo Sumi Naji, a robata kappo restaurant in the Furumachi area of Chuo Ward, Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture (address: 1-4524-1 Yokonanabancho-dori, Chuo Ward, Niigata City, Niigata Prefecture; owner: Genki Noguchi), which operates on a reservation -only basis, will celebrate its 3rd anniversary on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 .
To commemorate this milestone, we will be holding a “3rd Anniversary Special Course” for two days only, on Wednesday, July 1st and Thursday, July 2nd, 2026. In addition, as a new initiative for the restaurant, we will be launching a YouTube channel called “Suminaji [Landlady, Sometimes Shop Owner]” which will closely follow the proprietress as she procures ingredients and tableware .
■A fishing YouTube channel came first, and that’s where “Suminaj” was born.
“Robata Kappo Sumi Naji” wasn’t originally conceived as a restaurant; rather, it was born from the fishing YouTube channel that the couple had been running .
Owner Genki Noguchi and his wife Sara Noguchi had always dreamed of owning their own restaurant someday, but having no prior experience in the food and beverage industry, they started with YouTube as a platform to introduce themselves to the public . Through their fishing videos, they shared their personalities and their approach to fish, which fostered connections with viewers and eventually led to the creation of their restaurant.
In fact, the recognition and trust we had built in the community through YouTube at the time of our founding was a great boost and a big step towards independence. Even now, about 40% of our customers come from outside the prefecture, and many customers visit us because they found us on YouTube, or they come to “meet” the couple they had seen on social media.
Furthermore, the shop’s name, “Suminaji,” is derived from the Niigata dialect phrase “Najirane?” and the name of the fishing YouTube channel the creators have been running. The fact that “sharing fishing” and “the opening of the shop” are directly connected is another unique aspect of Suminaji’s background.
■The proprietress, who couldn’t eat fish, came to love it through fishing.
An essential part of discussing Sumi-naji is the story of the proprietress’s own transformation .
The proprietress originally couldn’t eat fish at all. What helped her overcome her aversion to fish was fishing , which she started doing with the shop owner . By fishing herself, touching the fish, and confronting them as food, she gradually became able to eat them.
This process has become a central theme in the couple’s fishing YouTube channel. That’s why many viewers, like the couple, used to dislike fish or struggled with picky eating, and some customers come to the restaurant saying, “If the proprietress can eat it now, I want to try it too,” or “I want to try that dish.”
It’s not just a restaurant that serves delicious fish; it also has a proprietress who understands the feelings of people who don’t like fish . I believe this is a very significant and unique characteristic for a restaurant that focuses on fish dishes.
■The reason it’s so beloved is the proprietress’s approachable personality.
he interior of Sumi Naji doesn’t have the excessive tension often found in high-end Japanese restaurants.
The proprietress is a major factor in creating that atmosphere.
Always cheerful, natural, and innocent, she’s not overly formal, yet she maintains a close relationship with her customers. Even those who arrive feeling nervous find their atmosphere eased by the proprietress’s gentle presence, and before you know it, conversation is flowing. Such moments are an integral part of the dining experience at Suminaji.
Their personalities are exactly as they appear on YouTube and social media, leading many to comment, “You’re just like that in real life,” and customers often ask for photos and autographs as a memento of their visit. Some fans even cherish stickers from their fishing channel, creating a unique relationship that sets them apart from typical restaurants—a shop run by a couple who have been loved as content creators .
It’s not just the food that makes the restaurant appealing; the personality of the staff is also a part of its charm. That’s one of the reasons why people choose Sumi-Naji.
■ “Echigo-mae Robatayaki” to be launched to commemorate the 3rd anniversary
s Suminaji celebrates its third anniversary, it is once again emphasizing the concept of “Echigo-style robatayaki” (fireside grilling).
This isn’t limited to fish from Niigata. The idea is to use seasonal fish carefully selected from all over Japan, and combine them with Niigata’s vegetables, salt, seasonings, local sake, and the local culture to express the meaning of operating in Niigata with each dish.
For people in Niigata, we want to showcase the fascinating seasonal ingredients from all over Japan. For people from outside the prefecture, we want to share the charm of Niigata’s climate, culture, and food traditions.
From its third year onward, Sumi-Naji’s theme is to deliver a dish that brings together the best of Niigata and the rest of Japan .
■ For the anniversary celebration, we will be offering a special course featuring a whole blackthroat seaperch.
To celebrate our 3rd anniversary, we will be offering our popular “Whole Nodoguro Course” at a special price for two days only.
The star of the show is the primitive-style grilling of a whole extra-large blackthroat seaperch, weighing around 300g, per person . By slowly grilling it over binchotan charcoal, the outside becomes fragrant and crispy while the inside remains tender and juicy. The course consists of approximately 10 to 12 dishes and is expected to take about 2.5 to 3 hours.
In addition, a special Omachi pairing will be offered, centered around sake made from Omachi rice, which the owner cherishes . The Omachi sakes that have been collected over the years will be presented in a special way for these two days only.
■The new YouTube channel will focus not on “fishing,” but on the “behind-the-scenes of sourcing.”
The new YouTube channel we’re planning to launch is not a fishing-focused channel.
The theme is “The behind-the-scenes process of creating a dish.”
We plan to showcase how the ingredients and tableware used in the restaurant are selected, including scenes of the proprietress going to source ingredients, fishing, gathering wild vegetables, harvesting and farming experiences at farms, and even visits to potters to learn about the process behind their creation .
Restaurants tend to focus on communicating about their finished dishes or the atmosphere inside the restaurant.
However, what Sumi-naji wants to convey is the effort and story behind the price and the experience.
For example, even a single vegetable has a story behind it: who grew it, how they grew it, what thoughts went into its cultivation, and how that value is transformed into a dish. On our new channel, we will deliver these “after-stories”—the stories behind a dish that, once you’ve eaten it, bring the dish back to life once more—through video.
Channel name: Sumi Naji [Landlady, sometimes shop owner]
URL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_Qe7kXOzMLAamWLC_uMXkA
Shop owner: Genki Noguchi’s comment
On July 1st, 2026, Suminaji will celebrate its 3rd anniversary.
We have been able to continue this far thanks to the support of our customers, producers, and the local community. We express our heartfelt gratitude.
We’re not a couple who started out as chefs; we built connections with people through fishing and sharing our experiences, and this restaurant is a result of that. That’s why we want to convey not only the food itself, but also who selects the ingredients, how they are sourced, and how they are delivered.
To commemorate our third anniversary, we’ve launched “Echigo-mae Robatayaki,” a challenge to express the meaning of doing business in Niigata by combining seasonal ingredients from all over Japan with the local culture and traditions of Niigata.
The Japanese word for “eat” (食べる) is written with characters that mean “to make people better,” and “drink” (飲み) is an essential part of that time. We hope to bring a fresh, unique style to this world of eating and drinking.
