It is delicious, but I liked going to a small shop in Shizuoka-shi (premed with Shimizu). Japan is really only expensive if you are using resources from the outside. When I landed there, I stayed at the cheapest hostel in Tokyo that I could. I ran out of money within two weeks. I HAD to find work as soon as possible, and I did. From then on, I was living within the economy, which, as you said, was very reasonable. The only time I really had problems was when I had to come up with a huge amount of money. I was going to the local bakeries and buying their pan-mimi for 50yen for a huge bag that would last me for about 20 meals. Yep, ai learned about the bread and water diet real quick, up front and personal. The only respite was when my students felt the need to take me to lunch or dinner.

Unagi anywhere in Shizuoka prefecture is really good. Yaizu, near Shizuoka, is a fishing town that had really excellent unagi. I only ate it once in Hamamatsu and it was good, but I liked Yaizu and Shizuoka product better (I also ate it many more times).