In shortHorse-meat izakaya — basashi, grilled horse offal and a famous plate of bean sprouts, in business for over half a century. Reservations run in Japanese and are hard to place from abroad, so our Tokyo desk requests the table for you, by phone and in Japanese.
Price
À la carte; most guests spend ¥4,000–5,000 at dinner (basashi ¥1,680, horse offal ¥1,000, bean-sprout stir-fry ¥450 in early 2026), tax included; cash only
Hours
Dinner Monday–Saturday 17:30–23:00 (last order 22:30); a lunch service (12:00–14:00) is reported by local media but is not listed on Tabelog
Closed
Sundays
Seats
Counter and tatami rooms — Retty lists 67 seats; no private rooms
Payment
Cash only
Getting there
Suizenji-kōen tram stop (Kumamoto City Tram, A line), directly in front — under a minute on foot
Kumamoto’s meat is horse, and the question every visitor asks is where
the city actually eats it — not the tourist floors of the arcades but
a place with a red lantern where regulars keep their shochu bottles
behind the counter. Iroha is that place. The sign reads 五郎八, and
even Kumamoto people need telling that it is pronounced “Iroha”; it
stands directly in front of the Suizenji‑kōen tram stop, a few minutes
from the Suizenji Jōjuen garden, and has been serving horse for more
than half a century — the local paper Higo Journal counted 56 years in
2021. Tabelog’s reviewers put it in the “Izakaya WEST 100” for 2024
and 2025. The frontage is small and the room runs surprisingly deep,
loud with office workers and families rather than travelers.
What you eat
Everything is à la carte. Basashi — raw horse, ¥1,680 in early
2026 — and horse liver sashimi (¥1,500) come with sweet soy, garlic
and onion. The house signature is grilled horse offal, uma‑horumon
at ¥1,000, brought sizzling on a hot plate, and reviewers order the
horse himo, a belly cut, grilled alongside. The other dish people
mention as often as the horse is a mountain of bean‑sprout
stir‑fry at ¥450, soy‑seasoned and famous in its own right. Around
those: sakura nattō (horse with fermented soybeans), yakitori
platters, and a chanpon or a ¥600 ramen to finish. Shochu is the
drink. Two people eating well in January 2026 paid ¥6,080 between
them. Cash only.
The booking reality
There is no release day, no platform and no website: you telephone,
in Japanese, 096‑382‑6336. Tabelog, Retty and Jalan all list the
phone as the only channel, and the Hot Pepper and Gurunavi pages carry
no booking function. The room fills with reservations most nights —
reviewers describe weekday evenings booked out, a Saturday at 18:30
with thirty‑five people inside, a walk‑in party admitted only on
condition they leave by 19:00, and one guest in June 2026 who got in
on a “we’ll call if a seat opens” waitlist for the following night.
The phone rang repeatedly through a January dinner. Our desk makes
the call in Japanese, ideally a few weeks ahead, and asks whether the
table has a time limit — one holiday reviewer reported a firm one.
The house does not publish cancellation terms, a minimum party or a
policy on solo diners; there is a counter, so we ask. Phone hours are
not published either, but a reviewer reached the house at midday.
Lunch — reported as 12:00–14:00 by local media, with a chanpon and a
horumon set — does not appear on Tabelog, so treat it as something to
confirm when booking.
Travelers with one Kumamoto night who want horse the way the city
eats it, at izakaya prices, a short tram ride from the castle side of
town and next door to Suizenji garden. Not for anyone who wants a
quiet counter, a card machine or a set course.
Free release-date alerts: the day before, on the morning of release day (08:00 JST) and about 30 minutes before when the time is known — or a weekly summary if the house opens a little every day.
Iroha: common questions
Can you book Iroha from abroad?
Yes, through our Tokyo desk. Phone in Japanese; no release day, but the room is booked out most nights, so call weeks ahead. We call the restaurant for you, in Japanese, and the ¥6,000-per-seat fee is charged only if we confirm your table — no seat, no fee.
Some of these links are referral links: if you book through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. Restaurants never pay us to be listed or ranked. Editorial policy
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