Izakaya Sunshine: an izakaya restaurant run by Niijima's one and only salt artisan

Sunshine is an izakaya restaurant, located on the main street of Niijima island. This Izakaya restaurant is run by Niijima’s only salt artisan. Starting with artisanal salt served as an appetizer, the restaurant offers various dishes using salt made in a cauldron of Koga stone, a type of stone that can only be found in two places in the world, which includes Niijima. In general the restaurant is open at the weekends. During peak season, the restaurant may be open day and night. It is a salt-themed izakaya run by a young man who, inspired by the charm of making salt, revived the salt production industry on Niijima, where this had not been carried out for at least 200 years.

Sunshine, located on Niijima’s main street

Just 7 minutes by car from Niijima Port, Izakaya Sunshine opened in 2015 on the main street of Honson(本村). The first owner called the present owner, Mr. Saiki to open Sunshine Izakaya together and he moved to Niijima from New York city in 2015. Mr. Saiki started to run the Izakaya restaurant in 2018. When COVID-19 started to spread and all restaurants were hit, he had plenty of time to think about the future and he came to the conclusion that he would like to offer food that he truly wants people to eat, and for this, we must now focus on salt:

Trained in natural salt production and building a salt factory, "Shio Sai" because of Niijima

Mr. Saiki went and trained at a natural salt production factory in Yamaguchi and moved back to Niijima. With a lot of help from the islanders, he finally created his own salt factory, SHIO SAI. He has built a kiln using Koga stone, a precious stone only be found in two places in the world, where they manufacture natural salt. As for salt manufacturing on Niijima, this custom has been revived after over 200 years now.

The appetizer is salt. And a variety of dishes using our signature salt.

Meals are prepared using island ingredients which are in season at that time. A recommended dish is a simple salted rice ball (onigiri). You may think it is just a rice ball, but the fluffy rice balls made with handmade natural salt from Niijima are irresistibly delicious. Other menu items include Niijima's Tataki (fried fish) and salt lemon sours with Niijima salt. The owner has selected a variety of island flavors for the restaurant, which is served not only to tourists but also to islanders.

Don't worry! You can order in English
As the owner lived in the United States, he speaks English fluently. When travelling overseas there’s always the fear of not being able to communicate, but as English is spoken at Sunshine, you needn’t worry about ordering.

Perhaps it’s due to the owner’s personality, but it seems people of all walks of life end up visiting Sunshine, and by the end of the day it’s as though all are old friends.
Family, friends, or just someone you met here on the island… whoever it is you are with, Sunshine is the place tyou’d want to return to every time you’re back on the island. An izakaya offering a true sense of belonging.