People visiting Japan often ask me for sushi recommendations. Despite my status as a Tokyoite, there’s no easy answer to the question I’m asked regularly by visitors to Japan: “Which sushi restaurant do you recommend?”
My recommendation largely depends on the answers to four key questions:
Q1: What is your budget?
It regularly happens that an American friend comes to Tokyo in search of “the best sushi”, claims that money is not a factor, and is later shocked that the place I recommended he eat charges him ¥40,000 per person. There are certainly far cheaper alternatives for good sushi, but to provide a suitable recommendation I need to know if you are looking to spend ¥3000 or ¥30,000.
¥3000: Kaiten (Conveyer Belt) Sushi
Oh yes, those conveyer belt sushi spots that have became famous around the world are still in existence in Japan, but noticeably less popular than in the past. With the penetration of the tablet ordering system, people are finding it more convenient to place the order through a touch panel rather than grabbing a plate closing in on the 100th lap. For the best Kaiten sushi, you will need to venture to the suburbs, where you will find the most successful chain establishments like “Sushiro” and “Kappa Sushi”. These large companies with massive purchasing power continue to fine-tune their process, replacing sushi chefs with robots. In Tokyo, try places like Sushiro Minamisuna Branch and Kappa Zushi Nerimanukui.
¥5000: Cheap Sushi Chains
If you want economical sushi, but prefer the sushi chef to be a human rather than a robot, cheap sushi chains are a step up from conveyer belt sushi. A good portion of my non-foodie friends feel that this category of sushi restaurant gives you the best bang for your Yen. There is a significant quality increase from Kaiten Sushi, yet the budget is manageable. The most representative company of this category is the “Sushi Zanmai” chain. While their main branch is in Tsukiji, they have 54 locations all over Japan. Their strength is their own sushi school, which is enables them to produce skilled sushi chefs without years of apprenticeship, which leads to cheap sushi for customers. I have seen too many foreign visitors going out of their way to eat at their main branch in Tsukiji while there is a perfectly fine Sushi Zanmai branch near their hotel. Remember that their strength is in chef training and mass buying power of quality fish, which leads to consistent quality throughout their branches. (This is why I ask where your hotel is before giving out my recommendation.)
While Umegaoka Sushi No Midori Sohonten Ginza also fits in this segment, I am hesitant to recommend this place due to the huge line. You can try any one of Sushi No Midori branches, but prepare to wait a long time for your table.
Try a chain called Gatten Zushi. A branch at Ochiai-Minaminagasaki is most accessible from center of Tokyo. Gatten Zushi does have a conveyer belt, but their quality is much higher than cheaper Kaiten Sushi chains.
¥5000-¥15,000: Neighborhood sushi bar
This price point is where sushi bars start to get very interesting. I highly recommend that you try one of those large sushi chains once, but do not keep going there saying “it’s the best sushi in Japan!” These neighborhood sushi bars are the root of sushi culture in Japan. In most of these, there is one master who will prepare the sushi for all guests. He might be the second or third generation chef, operating from the same building where his grandfather first started the business. In the old days, the first son born in a sushi family was destined to carry the “noren” (shop name). While some of this old school culture is changing, you can still see some of this culture in these neighborhood sushi bars. In most instances, they are not famous but as good as or even better than some sushi restaurants in guidebooks. They do not want to become famous, and often reject media coverage, because they want to maintain a steady flow of regular customers.
An example of this type is Ota Sushi in Ningyocho. Their 2300 Yen Omakase lunch is a great deal. For dinner, their Omakase Nigiri jumps to 6000 Yen, but also a very good quality for the money.
¥10,000–15,000: Premium Sushi
This is a very popular segment of sushi bars for sushi aficionado in Japan. While foodies would love to go to the best sushi bars, but let’s face it, sushi is a luxury food. They look for cheaper alternatives, but when you know the taste of 20,000 Yen sushi, dining at some of the cheap sushi bars just doesn’t cut it. When cost per person for a sushi meal (excluding drinks) goes over 5000 Yen per person, the quality becomes significantly better than a 3000 Yen per person meal. Places like Manten Sushi near Tokyo Station offers quality sushi for less than 10,000 per person (including drinks).
¥15,000–30,000: Apprentices of famous masters (Noren Wake)
Becoming a master sushi chef is much like becoming a Jedi Master — you need to go through years of apprenticeship. When the master gives you the nod, you are allowed to run your own sushi bar. Some chooses to use the same business name as the master (noren wake), while others open a new business using their own name. The job of the apprentice is to “steal” the craft of their master. If you are having a hard time booking a seat at one of the famous sushi bars, you might want to consider checking out establishments started by apprentices of famous chefs.
If you cannot get a seat a Sushi Saito, try Sushi Takahashi, a sushi bar in Ginza started by a former Saito apprentice. If getting into Sukiyabashi Jiro is difficult, try Sukiyabashi Jiro Toyosu, a sushi bar started by a former apprentice that received a nod from Jiro to open a noren wake sushi bar in Toyosu. You might consider Harutaka and Masuda as well, which are sushi bars started by Jiro’s apprentices.
If you cannot get a seat a Sushi Mitani, you might want to try Sushi Rosan Shinjuku. While Rosan does not have Sushi Mitani’s apprentice, this is where Mitani-san received his apprenticeship. Make sure you go to this branch on top of Shinjuku Isetan Department Store. Also, make sure you sit at the counter, not the table.
¥30,000: Best of the best
These are top-level sushi bars in Japan, hence the best in the world. What makes them so great? They maintain a strong relationship with one of the top fish distributors in Tsukiji who will set aside the highest quality catches. This relationship is not something money could buy as it is often initiated from chef’s master (this is why a faithful apprenticeship is important). The best sushi bars spend hours on “Shigoto” (preparing the fish), skillfully executed not only by the master chef, but also by his well-trained apprentices. Execution of course is top notch. Remember this: at the best sushi bars, one master chef is the only person that makes the nigiri — every single time. When you go to Sushi Mitani, you know that Chef Mitani will stand in front of you and serve the sushi one piece at a time. Sushi master cannot afford to get sick. When he is on a vacation, the shop is closed. Mitani-san believes it is a fraud if a customer enters “noren” with the name “Mitani” and finds Mr. Suzuki making the sushi. The only exception I have seen is Sukiyabashi Jiro where his son often acts as the Sushi Master instead of Jiro himself. Please understand that Jiro is now 90 years old. There are some top sushi bars with a private room sushi bar. In these instances, the top apprentice serves the private room customers. As you can see, this business is not scalable. Each night, only 11 people could dine at Sushi Mitani.
Sushi Saito is known as best of the best. 95% of the customers are his regulars, so the only way to get a seat is to go with a regular. Securing a reservation without knowing someone is nearly impossible. Another is Sushi Mitani. His style is very different from Sushi Saito in that the first half of the meal are small dish appetizers paired with wine. I usually make reservations at Sushi Mitani one year out. I so look forward to my next year’s visit.
Q2: Does “Kohada” mean anything to you?
I once hosted a business client who boasted about being a sushi aficionado, telling me that he ate sushi once a week back home in San Jose. As we sat at a sushi bar in Tokyo, I quickly learned that he would not eat anything raw. His version of sushi consisted of spicy tuna and tempura rolls, and various creations that included the word “dynamite”. It is not important whether or not you have really eaten Kohada (Gizzard Shad), but whether you have heard of Kohada or not will help me understand your expectations of a good sushi. Fish like Kohada, saba, aji, and kasugo are all considered “Hikari-mono” (shiny fish), where the skin is shiny silver. Highly rated sushi bars in Tokyo has skilled chefs who age these fish using Kombu (type of seaweed), salt, and vinegar. Such effort takes time and skill, which lead to higher cost. Sushi beginners often find “Hikari-mono” to be too “fishy” and avoid them. In that case, you might be wasting money by going to sushi bars loved by the locals. If you do not care for a good Kohada, you might far more enjoy your experiences at places like Shari The Tokyo Sushi Bar or Sushi＆Vege Japanese Cuisine Aoki.
Q3: Where is your hotel?
Tokyo is gigantic. Neighborhoods like Shibuya and Ikebukuro are micro-cities within the city. While there are special instances where traveling across the city for sushi makes sense, there is a chance that you are overlooking a perfectly fine sushi bar near your hotel. Every neighborhood has both good quality chain sushi establishments and old school sushi bars. The other reason your hotel becomes important is if you are aiming to eat at one of those “hard to get a reservation sushi bars” like Sukiyabashi Jiro. At some upscale hotels like Park Hyatt Tokyo, The Peninsula Tokyo, and Aman Tokyo, your concierge may have a special pull to secure these reservations.
Q4: How many people are you going with?
In Japan, it is a common knowledge that you go to a sushi bar in a small group. If you want to bring your three kids as well as Grandpa and Grandma, you will receive more family friendly service at one of the chain establishments like Tsukiji Tamasushi or Mawashi Sushi Katsu. If you are looking for a group business meal where budget is not a huge deal, try Roku Roku, a sushi restaurant with in Grand Hyatt Tokyo that could accommodate groups and serves very good quality sushi.
While the places I recommended are Tokyo centric, asking the same four questions outside of Tokyo will certainly help guide you to the sushi bar that will meet your expectations. For example, you can find Sushi Zanmai in Osaka. I have to say it though: The best city in Japan to enjoy sushi is Tokyo. That is bit of a controversial statement, but that is my observation after frequent culinary visits to Hokkaido, Osaka, Kyoto, Sendai, Fukuoka, etc. Of course there are very famous sushi bars all over Japan, like Tenzushi Kyomachi in Kika-Kyushu, Sushi Yasukichi in Fukuoka, Otomezushi in Kanazawa, Saeki in Osaka, but these are exceptions. There are reasons why Tokyo is the epicenter for Edo-mae Sushi, which I plan to detail in a future post.