Yangsan sushi restaurant, weekday noon futomaki lunch: Shirokuma

I went to Shirokuma, a place known for doing sushi right in Yangsan! Let me introduce a lunch sushi set that felt properly satisfying thanks to thick cuts of fish and springy rice :)

Where is Shirokuma in Yangsan, and how do reservations and parking work?

Shirokuma is a sushi restaurant on the 1st floor of 11-5 Hwahap 4-gil, Mulgeum-eup, Yangsan, Gyeongnam, South Korea, with parking for 4 cars total — 2 in front of the restaurant and 2 in the building lot. I reserved a weekday noon slot and got seated without any wait.

Shirokuma says it's working to become the best sushi spot in Yangsan, and it uses only good ingredients — fresh large flounder and Norwegian raw salmon — for sushi that leans toward the fundamentals rather than flashiness. The rice is also made with Koshihikari rice, which they say gives it a springy yet soft texture.

I visited after reserving a weekday noon slot and got seated right away, but this place is famous enough as a Yangsan favorite that there's a wait without a reservation! Catch Table reservations are available, so I'd recommend booking ahead or joining the waitlist before visiting :)

Parking totals 4 spots — 2 right in front of the restaurant, 2 in the building lot. When we arrived it was already full, so we parked on the roadside instead.

📍Or use Hwangsan Village public parking lot (free from 6pm to 9am)

Inside Shirokuma: seating and the lunch menu lineup

Inside, Shirokuma is centered on 4-person tables, with a private space behind partitions that's nice for a quiet meal. Beyond the lunch menu, there's also assorted platters, à la carte items, noodles, tempura, and desserts.

A cute bear greets you as you walk in. True to the name Shirokuma, which means polar bear, the cute bear even watches over the desserts.

Walking in, you'll find 4-person tables along with a private partitioned space, making it a good spot for a quiet meal.

We visited during lunch hours so we got to try the lunch menu! Beyond lunch, there's also assorted platters, à la carte, noodles, tempura, and desserts, so you can finish a full meal from start to dessert here.

📍What we ordered — Special Sushi 10p + udon, Premium Sushi 12p + soba

There's also a no-lose review draw event here, so keep that in mind and give it a try :)

What are the Special Sushi 10p and Premium Sushi 12p lunch sets like?

Shirokuma's lunch sushi is made to order after you order, so it takes a little time, but the thick cuts of fish and the dark reddish vinegared rice made the wait worth it. The Special comes with 10 pieces and the Premium with 12, both filling enough servings.

We started with salad and miso soup to calm our hungry stomachs, then began tasting the sushi piece by piece.

My husband ordered the Premium with 12 pieces, and I had the Special with 10 — both filling, satisfying portions! Wasabi comes applied by default, so if you don't want it, it's better to ask ahead. The Premium also comes with a hefty futomaki, which felt like a nice bonus to the set.

First bite: white fish sushi! The moment you eat it, your mouth fills up so much it gives you that involuntary 'this is real' furrowed brow, haha

True to its reputation as a Yangsan sushi favorite, the thickly cut fish gave a proper, satisfying texture. On top of that, the special vinegared rice gave it that distinctive dark reddish color! Since it's a special recipe developed in-house by Shirokuma in Yangsan, you could really taste the umami even without soy sauce, letting the sushi's own flavor come through.

I usually think of squid sushi as something plain you'd find at any sushi buffet, but Shirokuma's squid sushi opened my eyes with its texture and freshness. And don't even get me started on the tuna belly. Following the sushi guide shown on the kiosk, I tried it without soy sauce, and the tuna's clean, delicate flavor came through even more clearly, which I loved.

On top of that, there was tender beef, sweet egg, and especially the signature eggplant sushi that really widened my eyes — a genuinely delicious sushi spread!

And the futomaki was as big as my fist! My husband tried to take it in one bite, failed, and ended up eating it in three goes... haha

On top of that, pairing it with the rich udon and soba made me feel like this is a Yangsan restaurant where you can enjoy the lunch set with really good value for money :)

Is Shirokuma's Yangsan sushi lunch worth the price?

I love sushi so much that I often go to buffets and budget sushi spots. Meeting Shirokuma in Yangsan this time felt like tasting a proper, texture-focused sushi set for the first time in a while — a lunch set with both the portion and the price done right :)

Who should eat at Shirokuma in Yangsan?

• Anyone who wants to try texture-focused sushi at a Yangsan sushi favorite
• Anyone looking for a Yangsan lunch spot with good portions, price, and taste all together
• Anyone who prefers sushi that's true to the basics rather than flashy technique
• Anyone looking for a date spot with a nice atmosphere and clean, well-put-together food