Sushi guide to Tokyo
Sushi is so good in Japan—especially in Tokyo—that it’s an embarrassment of riches. Any average high-end sushiya would likely beat out 99% of the ones in the US. It’s useful to keep this lens in mind when reading my reviews. I have not been to any where the food was bad so you can’t really go wrong. My goal is to show which ones stood out more to me. This is a list of all the sushiyas I’ve visited thus far.
Sushi Arai
Worth trying once: Yes
Would I go back: Yes
Price: $$$$
Every sushi restaurant is different and the great ones have at least a few items that are just unforgettable. At Arai, it’s the tuna that hits that mark. The toro just melts in your mouth and when available, they serve a seared tuna cheek that is just heavenly.
The restaurant offers online reservations which are somewhat easy to get as long as you reserve 2-3 months ahead. However, you can only get lunch time slots at the side counter where you are served by the sous chef. The sous chef is very friendly and is fairly proficient in English.
From the pictures taken by regulars on Instagram, the menu that Arai himself serves does seem to be different than what is served at the side counter. I’m not sure if it’s because the dinner menu is different or if regulars get better treatment. It is very difficult to get a reservation at the main counter served by Arai. Regardless, I love the sushi at Arai and will keep coming back.
Sushisho Masa
Worth trying once: Yes
Would I go back: Yes
Price: $$$$
What I love about Sushisho Masa is the vast variety of fishes served. There are nearly 50 dishes in the omakase! Cooked items — some as small as a single bite — are interspersed among nigiri. All of them are very delicious. Considering the amount of food served at such high quality, I find this restaurant to be one of the better valued ones for its price.
The team here tends to be younger, full of energy, and very friendly. They speak decent English so you can have conversations with the chefs. Online reservations are available but can be difficult to get unless book at least a month in advance.
Umi
Worth trying once: Yes
Would I go back: Yes
Price: $$$$
Everything at Umi is extremely solid with high quality ingredients and nigiri that glistens under the light. The anago they serve near the end of the meal is the best anago I’ve ever had. It’s lightly torched so the flavor is enhanced from the oils. The outside has a slight crisp, yet the inside is melt-in-your mouth soft. Every restaurant prepares their anago slightly differently but this one is my favorite.
Reservations are difficult but they can be made online. Just make sure to book at least a month out if not more.
Sushi Tokami
Worth trying once: Yes
Would I go back: No
Price: $$$$
Around 2016, Tokami was ranked top ten sushi restaurants in Tokyo by Tabelog. This well regarded sushiya has also opened up a location in Hong Kong. I enjoyed all the nigiri served here as the ingredients were high quality and the presentation was beautiful. However, nothing stood out in particular to me that I felt was better than other sushiyas I’ve visited.
They seem to have a lunch menu that is considerably lower in price which probably delivers great value. I went during dinner and the price was comparable to other high-end places.
It also felt a little weird that every single guest was a foreigner when I visited. There wasn’t much interaction between the chef and the guests possibly due to language barrier (not all guests spoke English either).
The restaurant isn’t terribly hard to book so I would recommend it to anyone who wants to try good sushi but isn’t able to find reservations elsewhere.
Sushi Dai
Worth trying once: Yes
Would I go back: Unlikely
Price: $$
Back when Tsukiji market was around, Sushi Dai was considered the best sushiya in the market. The only problem was that the counter only sat thirteen people and the lines were legendary. You had to get in line at 4am if you wanted to get seated when they opened at 7am. Also, the waiting area was outdoors — quite the endurance challenge in the middle of winter.
Now that Tsukiji has moved to Toyosu, it seems like the restaurant has made a few changes. Tabelog notes that the counter seats twenty and the restaurant opens at 5:30am. These should help with the wait times but I would imagine lines to still be long.
All this hype is not for nothing. Sushi Dai is hands down the best sushi I’ve had under $100. In fact, a meal will probably run closer to $50 per person. The presentation of the nigiri may not come close to what you get at the high-end restaurants, but there’s little to complain about when it comes to the quality of the fish.
People may have the impression that because it’s located right next to the market, the fish will be the freshest possible. While some fish are killed and served immediately, many are often aged. Also, nearly all high-end restaurants get their fish from Toyosu daily as well. This is all to say that the proximity of this restaurant to the market doesn’t actually make a material difference to the sushi.
The bottom line is I absolutely love the food at Sushi Dai and if the wait were shorter, I would go back. But my experiences waiting for it have been painful and character-building in the past. At this point, I’d rather pay more money to not have to wait. However, I haven’t visited since they’ve moved to Toyosu. If a friend really wanted to try it for their first time, I’d likely tag along.
Daiwa Sushi
Worth trying once: Yes
Would I go back: Yes
Price: $$
Daiwa is another sushiya in Toyosu market. Back when it was in Tsukiji, Sushi Dai was regarded as #1 and Daiwa was #2. The biggest benefit to Daiwa was that they had more counter seats, hence the wait was only around thirty minutes and you could line up at a reasonable hour such as 7am.
The food is also incredible for its price. I prefer Sushi Dai more but not enough to justify the big difference in wait times. If I were in Toyosu and Sushi Dai had a much longer wait time, I wouldn’t mind coming back to Daiwa.
Hashiguchi
Worth trying once: No
Would I go back: No
Price: $$$$
This restaurant is quite famous and consistently earns the Tabelog Silver Award each year. The chef does not allow pictures inside the restaurant hence I do not actually have any images of the food.
There are only eight seats at the bar and everyone is served by Hashiguchi himself. The chef is from an older generation and the ambiance is extremely quiet. When a mere whisper to your partner can be heard by nearly everyone, I find the atmosphere a bit stifling and not very relaxing.
As for the nigiri, it is light and minimally seasoned — too light for my liking. There was a limited selection of fish as well. I remember eating three types of clams and wishing I could try other types of fish. The food was fine, but nothing stood out.
Reservation are best made through a hotel concierge.
Given that the restaurant continues to be highly regarded by others, all I can say is that this restaurant is not for me. Still, I can imagine some people preferring the lightly seasoned sushi style in an old school setting.